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Emergency-blood in urine

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Popcorn bby

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I was on the bed with my guinea pig, when she peed red. She peed again and it was an even brighter red. I'm really worried. We have a vet appointment tomorrow at 5pm but I'm really scared that this might be something serious. Please help.
 

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ILoveGilbertTheGuineaPig said:
Hi there, I don't have experience with this but I looked at an older thread and it sounds like you will be okay waiting until tomorrow at 5pm.

Bright red blood when urinating - bank holiday so vets practice closed
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We managed to get to the vets today. They both were given Baytril for URI, and an x-ray was done to confirm this was UTI instead of bladder stones. The vet said Baytril should help both the URI and UTI. They'll get better, I know it.
 
Good on you for seeing the vet! Keep on monitoring them on the meds. It can take a day or two for you to stop seeing signs of blood in urine from a UTI. Baytril can sometimes affect the digestive system, so you may want to give a probiotic if they go off food or otherwise behave strangely (some of my pigs do just fine on Baytril, others tried to eat my walls and other non-food items to replenish their gut flora and needed probiotic to settle their stomachs.)
 
Well done for getting to the vets promptly. Hope they soon improve.
 
Hi! As some may know, my piggies both have been diagnosed with URI and one has been diagnosed with UTI. We've been given Baytril for them both, and they've had five doses of it so far (two days and one half day on it), and we've seen no improvements. My girly stopped squeaking when peeing yesterday, but today she's back to squeaking while peeing and she's still peeing blood. We took an x-ray the day they got diagnosed (two days ago) and there's no bladder stones. Shouldn't it have cleared up by now? Also, I don't see much improvement with the URI either. They were showing symptoms like crazy three days before the vet trip, but the actual day we took them the symptoms went away but obviously the vet still diagnosed URI. I hear little to no crackling, which is one improvement, but one Piggie especially is still sneezing and when I listen to their noises sniffing, there's a slight high-pitched noise to it. Shouldn't that have cleared up by now as well? We are going to wait tomorrow to call the vet, and I think we'll see more improvement by then. But your the experts, so you tell me. Should both the URI and UTI have cleared up by now? What should I tell the vet?
 
2.5 days is too soon for the illness to be completely gone. It takes a few days for the antibiotics to kick in and then you should hopefully see an improvement in symptoms.

Were they prescribed any metacam or painkiller? And have the symptoms persisted?
 
Please do keep all posts about one illness to one thread as it really does help those trying to give you advice to be able to see the timeline of what has happened so far and what you have already been advised. I have merged your two threads.

What guidance did your vet give on when to take them back in if there were still problems?
 
Hopefully the baytril will start to work soon but it depends on how stubborn the infections are. After a two weeks or so on the baytril, your vet may consider changing the antibiotic to another one but you really need to give the baytril time to work.

I’ve never experienced URI’s but I have experienced UTI’s. Really stubborn ones have taken 4-6 weeks to clear up
 
Yes it sounds like it is a bit soon to expect the baytril to take full effect, when we had a piggy with a mild URI it was 4 days of baytril before the symptoms improved. How many days of baytril have been prescribed, is it about a week? Once you finish the course, if there are still symptoms go back to the vet. In fact returning for a post treatment check up is probably a good idea anyway.
Of course in the meantime if their symptoms, especially the URI symptoms, get any worse then you should get them to the vet straight away!
 
Siikibam said:
2.5 days is too soon for the illness to be completely gone. It takes a few days for the antibiotics to kick in and then you should hopefully see an improvement in symptoms.

Were they prescribed any metacam or painkiller? And have the symptoms persisted?
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Got it! We called the vet and she said wait at least three more days before anything. One Piggie has started making quite concerning noises. They're both making clicking noises but this Piggie is also breathing quite strangely. Sometimes she breathes with a high pitched wheeze-like noise to it and other times she does that low wheeze guinea pigs do when they have to sneeze. It's on and off but I'm still worried. She's eating and everything but I'm just scared three days is too much. Do you recommend I call if she stops eating? The other piggie is active as can be and seems to be fine, but I'm still worried. Also no metacam was prescribed but we have some (correct dosage and not expired) that we give if their ever in a painful situation. Do you recommend I give it? Other than the Baytril and benebac I'm also giving simethicone in a small amount just to prevent any gases in one of my gas-prone piggies. Would adding metacam be fine? Do you agree with the vet?
 
Claire W said:
I agree with the vet. You need to give the baytril time to kick in. But if any of your piggies worsen over the next 3 days, give your vet a ring back ASAP.

The metacam will do no harm but you may want to check with your vet first
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We've been on it for 6 days now, (13 doses in total cause we gave them one the first day we got the Baytril). Nothing has changed much. Nothing has gotten worse, and a bit has gotten better, but they still don't exactly seem healed. Sneezing is still going on, a bit of crackling, still peeing blood and peeing while squeaking. I was wondering if this could be something else than a URI? Allergies? Just cause 1. Prior to the vet, they were showing symptoms for three days, and they weren't getting worse and 2. They still aren't getting any worse, if the Baytril wasn't working, which I don't believe it is because of their symptoms, wouldn't they be getting worse? What is the treatment for guinea pig allergies?
 
I think you need to go back to the vet, this combination of URI and UTI symptoms is a bit worrying. There are other stronger antibiotics your vet might try, but these arent licensed for guinea pig use and are off label, so most vets will try baytril first. Hope you get some answers, personally I have not heard of a specific treatment for piggy allergies except to identify what is causing the allergy and stop using it... though possibly one of our more experienced members knows of something @Abi_nurse ?Healing wheeks for your piggies! X
 
It can take several weeks of antibiotics to clear respiratory infections. However if you have seen no improvements at all The sounds like the infection may be resistant to the baytril. Though if your seeing some you may need to persist. Sadly baytril (although right to use in this case) is overused and we are seeing some resistance to it now because of inappropriate antibiotic use from owners and vets. I’m sorry you are having a tough time. Respiratory infections are currently quite rife in some groups of piggies these days. Please call your vet for more advice and ask about potentially changing the drugs over. What are their weights doing? Have they lost any?. Something like doxycycline may be of more use for the URI and septrin for the UTI. Hope you get them sorted.

x
 
PigglePuggle said:
I think you need to go back to the vet, this combination of URI and UTI symptoms is a bit worrying. There are other stronger antibiotics your vet might try, but these arent licensed for guinea pig use and are off label, so most vets will try baytril first. Hope you get some answers, personally I have not heard of a specific treatment for piggy allergies except to identify what is causing the allergy and stop using it... though possibly one of our more experienced members knows of something @Abi_nurse ?Healing wheeks for your piggies! X
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We called the vets and we are picking up bactrim tomorrow. I'm actually really starting to think this isn't a URI but maybe allergies, although there's nothing I can think of that's changed in their cage or surroundings. Their URI symptoms are mostly gone, and like I've said, they're not getting worse or anything so yeah. The bactrim will clear the UTI, but I'm still quite confused and have millions of questions I didn't ask the vet (since my mom and the vet has a phone call while I was gone, I wasn't there to ask). I'll ask the questions in the next reply to @Abi_nurse
 
Popcorn bby said:
Hi! As some may know, my piggies both have been diagnosed with URI and one has been diagnosed with UTI. We've been given Baytril for them both, and they've had five doses of it so far (two days and one half day on it), and we've seen no improvements. My girly stopped squeaking when peeing yesterday, but today she's back to squeaking while peeing and she's still peeing blood. We took an x-ray the day they got diagnosed (two days ago) and there's no bladder stones. Shouldn't it have cleared up by now? Also, I don't see much improvement with the URI either. They were showing symptoms like crazy three days before the vet trip, but the actual day we took them the symptoms went away but obviously the vet still diagnosed URI. I hear little to no crackling, which is one improvement, but one Piggie especially is still sneezing and when I listen to their noises sniffing, there's a slight high-pitched noise to it. Shouldn't that have cleared up by now as well? We are going to wait tomorrow to call the vet, and I think we'll see more improvement by then. But your the experts, so you tell me. Should both the URI and UTI have cleared up by now? What should I tell the vet?
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Could be cystitis. Cystease for cats can help.
 
Abi_nurse said:
It can take several weeks of antibiotics to clear respiratory infections. However if you have seen no improvements at all The sounds like the infection may be resistant to the baytril. Though if your seeing some you may need to persist. Sadly baytril (although right to use in this case) is overused and we are seeing some resistance to it now because of inappropriate antibiotic use from owners and vets. I’m sorry you are having a tough time. Respiratory infections are currently quite rife in some groups of piggies these days. Please call your vet for more advice and ask about potentially changing the drugs over. What are their weights doing? Have they lost any?. Something like doxycycline may be of more use for the URI and septrin for the UTI. Hope you get them sorted.

x
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Although I've not got a thing to weigh them (I'm investing but we are quite short on cash from the last vet visit (300 US dollars because of an x-ray), they have a big appetite and are eating like usual, so I doubt there would be weight loss. We've tried doxycline before, but my gas-prone Piggie had to stop because she got quite a bad gas-almost bloat-episode. We are picking up bactrim for the UTI tomorrow, but I've got a few main questions that I would like to ask here first (ill also try to ask the vet again over the phone tomorrow), mainly concerning the URI and the gases. The vet did say to give lots of probiotic to avoid bad side effects, does this mean that bactrim is known for causing bloat/GI tract issues? My Piggie is a bit sensitive to both.

I don't want any bacteria of the uri to be left in her body, so if we were to stop the Baytril for the bactrim six days in, there might still be some bacteria that could become a URI. Should we finish the Baytril first and then start the bactrim, or must this UTI be treated promptly (because bactrim is not really effective in removing URIs, I would like to complete the Baytril course)?

Is it too harsh to give both at the same time?

Can you give simethicone (we don't use it much to treat gas because of what it does, but it's really effective at preventing gas before it starts) and cisapride while on bactrim and/or Baytril?


I know you're not a vet and I might be asking too much in these questions for you to answer, but if there are any you could answer I would greatly appreciate it, although I do understand if I should just leave these questions to the vet.
 
Popcorn bby said:
Although I've not got a thing to weigh them (I'm investing but we are quite short on cash from the last vet visit (300 US dollars because of an x-ray), they have a big appetite and are eating like usual, so I doubt there would be weight loss. We've tried doxycline before, but my gas-prone Piggie had to stop because she got quite a bad gas-almost bloat-episode. We are picking up bactrim for the UTI tomorrow, but I've got a few main questions that I would like to ask here first (ill also try to ask the vet again over the phone tomorrow), mainly concerning the URI and the gases. The vet did say to give lots of probiotic to avoid bad side effects, does this mean that bactrim is known for causing bloat/GI tract issues? My Piggie is a bit sensitive to both.

I don't want any bacteria of the uri to be left in her body, so if we were to stop the Baytril for the bactrim six days in, there might still be some bacteria that could become a URI. Should we finish the Baytril first and then start the bactrim, or must this UTI be treated promptly (because bactrim is not really effective in removing URIs, I would like to complete the Baytril course)?

Is it too harsh to give both at the same time?

Can you give simethicone (we don't use it much to treat gas because of what it does, but it's really effective at preventing gas before it starts) and cisapride while on bactrim and/or Baytril?


I know you're not a vet and I might be asking too much in these questions for you to answer, but if there are any you could answer I would greatly appreciate it, although I do understand if I should just leave these questions to the vet.
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Baytril and Bactria can be used very safely at the same time don't worry. As for does it cause bloat or particularly. Often it's poor gut bacteria prior to being on the antibiotics that causes it and the antibiotics just push the bacterial balance out.

You can give simethicone but there is no proper evidence to show it does much good but some people swear by the stuff. I don't. It works by helping with frothy bloat and connecting all the little bubbles together making one, but piggies don't get frothy bloat. But it won't harm if you wish to give it a try. Cisapride can be used if you have issues, it is a pro kinetic (gut stimulant) so will help getting he gas moving through the guts and out.

Hope this helps.
x
 
Abi_nurse said:
Baytril and Bactria can be used very safely at the same time don't worry. As for does it cause bloat or particularly. Often it's poor gut bacteria prior to being on the antibiotics that causes it and the antibiotics just push the bacterial balance out.

You can give simethicone but there is no proper evidence to show it does much good but some people swear by the stuff. I don't. It works by helping with frothy bloat and connecting all the little bubbles together making one, but piggies don't get frothy bloat. But it won't harm if you wish to give it a try. Cisapride can be used if you have issues, it is a pro kinetic (gut stimulant) so will help getting he gas moving through the guts and out.

Hope this helps.
x
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It helps a lot! Thank you very much. Her urine has way less blood in it, no more than a tiny dot of blood. But since she is still squeaking loudly while peeing, we are starting on the bactrim. We'll be giving both at the same time, good to know it's safe! I've had good experiences with simethicone, but a lot of people haven't. I've never had bloat, only have gotten close. Good to know about the cisapride as well, in case she does get a negative effect from the two antibiotics. We do have benebac and give it to them so hopefully that prevents any issues. Once again, I appreciate the helpful reply! God bless!
 
Abi_nurse said:
Baytril and Bactria can be used very safely at the same time don't worry. As for does it cause bloat or particularly. Often it's poor gut bacteria prior to being on the antibiotics that causes it and the antibiotics just push the bacterial balance out.

You can give simethicone but there is no proper evidence to show it does much good but some people swear by the stuff. I don't. It works by helping with frothy bloat and connecting all the little bubbles together making one, but piggies don't get frothy bloat. But it won't harm if you wish to give it a try. Cisapride can be used if you have issues, it is a pro kinetic (gut stimulant) so will help getting he gas moving through the guts and out.

Hope this helps.
x
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Also forgot to add, they've begun sneezing again, would the baytril x bactrim combo also be effective at getting rid of the URI as well? Thanks 💕
 
Siikibam said:
How are your pigs doing?
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They're doing great so far! They've had three Bactrim doses so far and are taking it very well, and I know they shall continue to take it well :)). The sneezing is quite persistent though, and although I can't hear it when I'm not holding their body against my ear, there is crackling and a bit of the weird sound I've been hearing whenever they sniff. However on the bright side, my Piggie with the UTI has improved tremendously. I have yet to check her today but last night she was peeing no blood, and not squeaking in pain! That's really fortunate, although the URI has been quite bothersome. They're doing great, I'll be here to update when they get all better! 💕
 
Claire W said:
It should do yes. I’ve also given baytril and bactrim as a combo with no ill effects
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Once again, it's really reassuring to hear that someone has used this combo. And also I really do hope so, since there's still sneezing, crackling when I lift them against my ear, and a high pitched soft ring whenever they sniff a lot. The high pitched ring has been present ever since they've recovered from their first official URI (this is the second). Any ideas? I'll ask the vet about possible allergies during the recheck.
 
Popcorn bby said:
Once again, it's really reassuring to hear that someone has used this combo. And also I really do hope so, since there's still sneezing, crackling when I lift them against my ear, and a high pitched soft ring whenever they sniff a lot. The high pitched ring has been present ever since they've recovered from their first official URI (this is the second). Any ideas? I'll ask the vet about possible allergies during the recheck.
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No ideas from me I’m afraid but yes, do ask about allergies. What are they bedded on?
 
Claire W said:
No ideas from me I’m afraid but yes, do ask about allergies. What are they bedded on?
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Last time we asked about allergies the vet said that it's very very rare because they were both showing symptoms. They are bedded on fleece and are using oxbow hay (which honestly depends on the bag, but we always try to get the ones with least dust, overall it's a good brand as long as the right bags are picked).
 
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