melix
New Born Pup
Hi! I’m sorry that my first post to the forum is of this nature; I think I need some assistance moving forward to get more help for my guinea pig. He is a 3 ½-year-old male English Crested guinea pig, and he has never had a history of any illnesses until now.
About two weeks ago, he started showing signs of illness, such as crying when he urinated and then leaving a light pink spot where he peed (blood). My parents and I had him seen virtually (I regretfully do not have a lot of funds; I am pretty young), and he was prescribed Baytril for seven days to treat what was believed to be a UTI. He gradually worsened while on the Baytril, and the blood continued to show as a bright red, sometimes a bit darker. After giving him a week on that medication, I begged my parents to help me take him to the vet in person because he was showing no improvement and was refusing water, hay, and his pellets (I would syringe him water and keep him on watery vegetables, which he ate without issue, and I also gave him some unsweetened cranberry juice).
Upon bringing him in person, the vet checked his penile area and noted no bumps; he did not flinch or whine as she touched. She told me that she would prescribe him a vitamin C injection, a painkiller (meloxicam, .5mg, x1 a day), and stronger antibiotics (orbifloxacin [dog/cat], 30mg, x1 a day). She said to keep him on the painkiller for 7 days and the antibiotics for 14, saying we should see a turnaround in about 3 days if it is a UTI and that it should stop the bleeding; if not, then it would require further testing (urinalysis & x-ray) as it could potentially be a stone. She told me to give him the entire 2 weeks on the medication for him to try and make a recovery, and she would follow up with me on his progress.
It has been 3 days now, and the bleeding has stopped entirely. He is drinking water and eating hay and his pellets without a problem. He temporarily stopped crying when he peed, but that has changed as of today. I woke up this morning, and he was making a higher-pitched cry than usual and appeared to be straining when he would go to pee. He was still producing urine (I have pee pads lining the bottom of his cage to monitor), but he really seems to be struggling when he goes. He hasn’t passed a lot of stools today either, just a few droppings, despite eating his usual amount. What is most concerning to me is that he seems to be in an awful amount of pain based on his loud crying and is making a jerking motion forward while crying as he pees. It looks like a very forceful movement, as it propels him forward entirely, causes his ears to move, and his mouth gaps open as if he was to gag (it only happens when he pees and he looks like he is straining to push something out). This sounds terrible, but it gives a better visual– my dad described it as if he was "doing the wave dance move."
He passed a large sperm rod, which I helped him get out, and I was hoping that would be the cause of this, but inspecting further, it also looked like he had a lump right above his genitalia that was somewhat squishy and could easily move if manipulated to move up or down. This might sound stupid – but I have never noticed that on him before, and I can’t tell if that is a stone or just his penis. I’ve been having a lot of high anxiety regarding his health, so I might not be thinking clearly.
His behavior otherwise has been completely normal, his personality is still there, he is very much alert and lively, and he is still eating but just experiencing these awful spasms whenever he pees.
In summary, I’m awfully worried, as this has been happening consistently for the past 2 hours. I can’t find anything online discussing something like this, and the closest vet to me is only open on Thursdays to take exotics.
He is my entire world and has gotten me through so much, and it is paining me terribly because I don’t know how to help him get through this. Has anyone had similar experiences or any advice on what it might be? I plan on calling my vet again tomorrow to discuss this, as they’re closed today, but I still wanted to post here in case anyone might know of this issue. Thank you so much for reading, and I will post updates should there be any.
About two weeks ago, he started showing signs of illness, such as crying when he urinated and then leaving a light pink spot where he peed (blood). My parents and I had him seen virtually (I regretfully do not have a lot of funds; I am pretty young), and he was prescribed Baytril for seven days to treat what was believed to be a UTI. He gradually worsened while on the Baytril, and the blood continued to show as a bright red, sometimes a bit darker. After giving him a week on that medication, I begged my parents to help me take him to the vet in person because he was showing no improvement and was refusing water, hay, and his pellets (I would syringe him water and keep him on watery vegetables, which he ate without issue, and I also gave him some unsweetened cranberry juice).
Upon bringing him in person, the vet checked his penile area and noted no bumps; he did not flinch or whine as she touched. She told me that she would prescribe him a vitamin C injection, a painkiller (meloxicam, .5mg, x1 a day), and stronger antibiotics (orbifloxacin [dog/cat], 30mg, x1 a day). She said to keep him on the painkiller for 7 days and the antibiotics for 14, saying we should see a turnaround in about 3 days if it is a UTI and that it should stop the bleeding; if not, then it would require further testing (urinalysis & x-ray) as it could potentially be a stone. She told me to give him the entire 2 weeks on the medication for him to try and make a recovery, and she would follow up with me on his progress.
It has been 3 days now, and the bleeding has stopped entirely. He is drinking water and eating hay and his pellets without a problem. He temporarily stopped crying when he peed, but that has changed as of today. I woke up this morning, and he was making a higher-pitched cry than usual and appeared to be straining when he would go to pee. He was still producing urine (I have pee pads lining the bottom of his cage to monitor), but he really seems to be struggling when he goes. He hasn’t passed a lot of stools today either, just a few droppings, despite eating his usual amount. What is most concerning to me is that he seems to be in an awful amount of pain based on his loud crying and is making a jerking motion forward while crying as he pees. It looks like a very forceful movement, as it propels him forward entirely, causes his ears to move, and his mouth gaps open as if he was to gag (it only happens when he pees and he looks like he is straining to push something out). This sounds terrible, but it gives a better visual– my dad described it as if he was "doing the wave dance move."
He passed a large sperm rod, which I helped him get out, and I was hoping that would be the cause of this, but inspecting further, it also looked like he had a lump right above his genitalia that was somewhat squishy and could easily move if manipulated to move up or down. This might sound stupid – but I have never noticed that on him before, and I can’t tell if that is a stone or just his penis. I’ve been having a lot of high anxiety regarding his health, so I might not be thinking clearly.
His behavior otherwise has been completely normal, his personality is still there, he is very much alert and lively, and he is still eating but just experiencing these awful spasms whenever he pees.
In summary, I’m awfully worried, as this has been happening consistently for the past 2 hours. I can’t find anything online discussing something like this, and the closest vet to me is only open on Thursdays to take exotics.
He is my entire world and has gotten me through so much, and it is paining me terribly because I don’t know how to help him get through this. Has anyone had similar experiences or any advice on what it might be? I plan on calling my vet again tomorrow to discuss this, as they’re closed today, but I still wanted to post here in case anyone might know of this issue. Thank you so much for reading, and I will post updates should there be any.
