How to prevent another bladder stone

[kiwipig]

my 4 year old female guinea pig has had a problem with sludge in her urine for about four months now. the vet injected her with fluids for five consecutive days and that got the sludge completely out. since that time, I have only been giving her bottled water, have switched to a low calcium pellet (1 tbsp a day), only give her escarole lettuce, cucumber, and bell pepper each day (with the occasional carrot or apple since she loves them). she also gets unlimited timothy hay. for the past few months i have been giving her Sherwood Urinary Support tablets because i have heard they are good to get rid of sludge and stones. apparently it didn’t work.. i give her one in the morning and one at night. i thought we were doing so well because i haven’t seen much sludge in the last month but we just found out she has a bladder stone her surgery is on monday and I'm nervous about how she will do since she is so small (820g) and gets stressed out. is there anything specific i need to do for her recovery? and what can i do differently to make sure she doesn’t get another stone? i thought i was doing everything i could so i just don’t know what else there is to do/change.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this.

There is a genetic element to stones so while you can work to get a good balance in the diet, if genetics are at play then there is sadly nothing you can do about that.

Do you also filter their drinking water? Most calcium comes into the diet via pellets and drinking water and it is recommended that anyone in a hard water area filters their water.
Do be aware that you also cannot go too low with calcium by cutting out too much. A diet which is too low in calcium also risks sludge and stones due to the balance still being wrong.

Best wishes for her surgery

Tips For Post-operative Care

 

[kiwipig]

up until a couple of weeks ago i was filtering the bottled water (through a brita filter) but i heard they don’t do much. i could begin that again but the bottled water i buy is low in calcium.

i’ve heard about the calcium : phosphorus ratio and at one point was giving her cilantro but i noticed more sludge in her cage so i stopped. do you recommend i add in veggies that have calcium?

 

[kiwipig]

also, all day she hasn’t fully peed. i see drops come out but not anything more. she is definitely trying to but hardly anything is coming out. she’s pooping a lot and she’s eating a drinking water. is this concerning? the bladder stone she has is too large to enter the urethra (it’s currently in the bladder) but could it be blocking it? ugh i dont know what to do.

 

[Piggies&buns]

up until a couple of weeks ago i was filtering the bottled water (through a brita filter) but i heard they don’t do much. i could begin that again but the bottled water i buy is low in calcium.

i’ve heard about the calcium : phosphorus ratio and at one point was giving her cilantro but i noticed more sludge in her cage so i stopped. do you recommend i add in veggies that have calcium?

It’s about finding a balance which works for you - what works for one area won’t necessarily work for another.
For example, I feed lettuce, coriander, pepper and cucumber daily. I also feed a lot of grass and wild plants. Their diet is rather a wet one. I only give pellets twice a week in summer and three times a week in winter. Their water is filtered and of course I feed a lot of hay. This is a balance which works for my piggies.

also, all day she hasn’t fully peed. i see drops come out but not anything more. she is definitely trying to but hardly anything is coming out. she’s pooping a lot and she’s eating a drinking water. is this concerning? the bladder stone she has is too large to enter the urethra (it’s currently in the bladder) but could it be blocking it? ugh i dont know what to do.

Are you able to call a vet about this?
If it is across the opening out of the bladder then it may well hinder flow and that should be discussed with your vet. You won’t want urine backing up

 

[kiwipig]

omg I think she just passed the bladder stone! the vet said she wouldn’t be able as it’s 0.4cm big but i dont know what else this could be. i’ll upload a picture (the stone is in a ziplock bag) - it’s a sand color and very hard and looks to be 0.4cm big. wow this might be the best news ever! i’m hoping she didn’t already have one in her urethra but the vet didn’t say she did; just the one in her bladder. she hasn’t peed yet since but i’m keeping a close eye on her to see that she does.

 

[piggieminder]

Fingers crossed that's it.

 

[kiwipig]

@Piggies&buns thank you for your response! i think i might start to give her coriander - do you just give one piece a day? i don’t live in an area where i can give her fresh grass so she just eats timothy hay. i’m worried about not giving her pellets everyday. do you think she would be getting enough nutrients if i gave her 1 tbsp of pellets 3x a week?

 

[Piggies&buns]

@Piggies&buns thank you for your response! i think i might start to give her coriander - do you just give one piece a day? i don’t live in an area where i can give her fresh grass so she just eats timothy hay. i’m worried about not giving her pellets everyday. do you think she would be getting enough nutrients if i gave her 1 tbsp of pellets 3x a week?

You should always introduce new veg slowly. You don’t have to give it at all though.

You can give pellets every day but equally you also don’t have to.
I choose not to give them daily as they aren’t an essential part of the diet and I have the ability to replace them with fresh and dried forages and a wide variety of veg for a full range of nutrition. Therefore my piggies have a wet diet which means they urinate well and their bladders keep flushed through.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

 

[weepweeps]

omg I think she just passed the bladder stone! the vet said she wouldn’t be able as it’s 0.4cm big but i dont know what else this could be. i’ll upload a picture (the stone is in a ziplock bag) - it’s a sand color and very hard and looks to be 0.4cm big. wow this might be the best news ever! i’m hoping she didn’t already have one in her urethra but the vet didn’t say she did; just the one in her bladder. she hasn’t peed yet since but i’m keeping a close eye on her to see that she does.

That’s brilliant. Hopefully she won’t need surgery now

 

[kiwipig]

i think i am going to start growing grass for her to eat (still trying to figure out which kind - i heard orchard and meadow grass is low in calcium).

i will add coriander in afterwards to not change around too much all at once. i will possibly lessen her pellets as well since she will be getting grass but again i will wait on that too.