Help? Guinea Pig Can't Pee And Is In Lots Of Pain...

[mads]

My Guinea pig, lucky (ironically), is a female and she's about 4 and a half years old. She's got a sister who's much much (about .5lb) heavier than she is and my Lucky got much thinner over the past few months, you can feel her bones all over.
Recently I've heard grunting and squeals (painful) coming from their cage and I picked up Lucky, and her bum was al red and raw and there was smelly liquid around it; I also noticed that the skin around her bum was scabbed up and the hair was gone.
I change their cage every 3 days, 4 if I'm away or other circumstances but we feed them like Gods. I know that UTIs and stones are common in Guinea pigs but I CANNOT afford that surgery. J don't even know when I can get her to a vet since my father is super busy with work now and the last thing he needs is to pay that kind of money for her (I sure would, I love her and I've just lost my mom, I can't really lose another family member in the slightest.) any help is wanted. I'm currently holding her in a towel with a heating pad and she seems to enjoy it. I've separated the two girls, but Lucky hasn't peed in a while it seems and her poops are slight and mushier than usual (not that I feel them for fun, just being sure haha)

 

[mads]

Sorry for the gross images. I just need the most accurate help I can get

 

[biscandmatt]

hi, welcome to the forum. that does appear to be a uti, and will be very sore and uncomfortable for her already. it will sadly only get worse without treatment so a vets visit is an absolute must. uti's can be treated with antibiotics and pain medication so surgery may not even be needed. but take it one step at a time for now - it will likely be just a consult and some meds if this is her first time with one, provided the vet doesn't think anything more is going on.

if you are in the uk then the pdsa offer help with vet costs if you qualify for it. perhaps look into that or contact your piggy vet to discuss a payment plan. many will offer this aswell. so there are options.

but i'm afraid a vet visit is essential in this case. there is a vet locator at the top of the page if you need any help locating a recommended vet near to you. best of luck.

eta: if she genuinely cannot pass any urine at all then this is an emergency and she needs to be seen asap. sorry if this adds to your worry but i can only be honest x

 

[biscandmatt]

here is the pdsa link Eligibility - hopefully they can help. i'd tick yes to the part that she requires urgent attention, especially since her digestive tract is now also disrupted. i think this will be due to pain x

 

[Veggies Galore]

I'm so sorry to hear your guinea pig is not well.

I agree with the above poster - she needs to be seen by a vet. A vet will give her something to help with the pain.

 

[Wiebke]

My Guinea pig, lucky (ironically), is a female and she's about 4 and a half years old. She's got a sister who's much much (about .5lb) heavier than she is and my Lucky got much thinner over the past few months, you can feel her bones all over.
Recently I've heard grunting and squeals (painful) coming from their cage and I picked up Lucky, and her bum was al red and raw and there was smelly liquid around it; I also noticed that the skin around her bum was scabbed up and the hair was gone.
I change their cage every 3 days, 4 if I'm away or other circumstances but we feed them like Gods. I know that UTIs and stones are common in Guinea pigs but I CANNOT afford that surgery. J don't even know when I can get her to a vet since my father is super busy with work now and the last thing he needs is to pay that kind of money for her (I sure would, I love her and I've just lost my mom, I can't really lose another family member in the slightest.) any help is wanted. I'm currently holding her in a towel with a heating pad and she seems to enjoy it. I've separated the two girls, but Lucky hasn't peed in a while it seems and her poops are slight and mushier than usual (not that I feel them for fun, just being sure haha)

Hi and welcome!

Please see a vet ASAP as an emergency, unfortunately your guinea pig is severely ill and in major pain. From the sound of it, she has got a severe major infection and quite a lot of urine scald. Whether she has got a stone or not, only a vet can tell, but it all can cause excruciating pain. She is not going to recover without appropriate medical care and she urgently needs at least a strong antibiotic and painkillers.
Right now, you need to start syringe feeding and watering her, as the pain has become too bad for her to eat and drink. If not, her guts will eventually close down. Please weigh her daily at the same time, instead of weekly as with healthy guinea pigs. Please read our step-by-step guide very carefully. You girl cannot pee when she is not drinking and she cannot make healthy poos when she is not able to eat properly.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide
Guinea Lynx :: Urine Scald
Guinea Lynx :: UTI

I am extremely sorry that you are faced with this at such a bad time, but you cannot leave your girl suffering like this and eventually die a very agonising death due to lack of medical treatment. There is unfortunately no magic wand or miracle that is making her problem go away on its own.

 

[mads]

Okay, so I had to go to classes today so I wasn't able to watch her as closely as yesterday but she is eating and I've been spoon feeding her sugar water every 3 hours and keeping her hydrated the rest. She nibbles on carrots and just laying down with me. She poops much less (maybe 10 pellets when I was watching her) but they were smaller, and she's been much quieter today, her and her sister both. I don't know when I can get her to a vet, that's the problem...are there any pain meds at the store or anywhere over-the-counter, now that we've basically clarified what it is? Vets are super expensive at this time since I'm in a very bad rough patch. I realize that if I let it sit any longer it will only get worse, and I wish I could just poof up the money right in front of me but unfortunately that isn't the case.

 

[babydoll]

Sugary water no that's a baaaaaaaaaaad idea, just plain water and you need to syringe feed her mashed pellets to keep
her guts moving.

And the reason why she's lost a lot of weight and not eating much is cause she's is pain she needs a vet
ASAP no pain relief can be bought from a store she need the vet to prescribe it for her.

Without seeing a vet I'm sorry to sound harsh but she could die a very painful death.

 

[gizzy]

dont try any do it yourself remadies , it could cause her a great deal of pain , please take her to the vets or your local p, d, s, a as soon as you
possibaly can !!!

 

[mads]

sugar water isn't bad, my vet tech teacher said her electrolytes may be lower than needed so I few licks wouldn't hurt, and it did help her poop a few more small pellets. Man I wish there was a free vet around me this isn't good at all. I can't afford that, and I love her so much but piling up bills for an older piggie may not be my best bet in the long run.

 

[mads]

dont try any do it yourself remadies , it could cause her a great deal of pain , please take her to the vets or your local p, d, s, a as soon as you
possibaly can !

She has urine scald (and a possible UTI), and scald you can cure at home. That's what I meant. I just need to hold her off until my dad is able to get me to the vets office.

 

[Veggies Galore]

sugar water isn't bad, my vet tech teacher said her electrolytes may be lower than needed so I few licks wouldn't hurt, and it did help her poop a few more small pellets. Man I wish there was a free vet around me this isn't good at all. I can't afford that, and I love her so much but piling up bills for an older piggie may not be my best bet in the long run.

There are no electrolytes in sugar .

Guinea pigs can live for 8 years so, 4 1/2 is not old.

Nobody is talking about "piling up bills". She may just have an infection which could clear up with a course of antibiotics.

When I have taken my animals to the vet, the vet has told me the cost of treatment before we go ahead . If I ever got to the stage I couldn't afford the treatment , I would at least make sure my animal was pain free.

She has urine scald (and a possible UTI), and scald you can cure at home. That's what I meant. I just need to hold her off until my dad is able to get me to the vets office.

Sorry, we can't recommend home treatments for a condition that needs needs a vet.

 

[biscandmatt]

no home treatment will help with this.

did you contact the charities that help, or ask the vet about the payment plan? if you genuinely can't pay then do these options. do it for her. if they can't help then i think you seriously need to consider asking a rescue centre if they will take them both so she can get the treatment she needs.

if you love her and don't want her to be in pain and pass that way then you need to do something and quickly. she only has you to help her. please do something.

 

[Freela]

That looks like a UTI/urine scald to me (and I have a bladder piggie so I've seen it before.) She needs an antibiotic. It's not necessarily a huge bill, just a vet visit and antibiotics. Vet bills obviously vary by area, but where I live it's probably about fifty dollars to see a vet and get a prescription... so not pennies, but not a ridiculous sum of money either. Some pigs get a UTI and never need treatment again, so it's not necessarily a matter of 'piling up bills.' Why not phone area vets and get a cost estimate, ask about payment options, etc?

 

[Sian25]

I don't want to sound harsh but i agree with what someone above said. If you love your guinea pig and can't afford treatment you should try to see if you can hand her over to a rescue to get the treatment she needs because leaving her to live in pain without the chance of treatment for the rest of her life is really not fair

 

[Lady Kelly]

The urine scald cannot be cured at home, this is down to the fact that there is an underlying issue that is causing it which you can't cure without proper treatment. I had a piggy earlier this year with a urine scald and this I believed I "cured" at home after a course of antibiotics but it came back because she had other health problems which meant she was still leaking urine and it was still sitting on her skin