Is a wet bottom a sign of illness?

[HeatherW]

Or just that they're too lazy to move when they need the toilet? Jasmine has developed a very dirty and soggy bottom over the last week. I bathed her last night (much to her disgust) and it's even worse than before! Then again, I gave her a bag stuffed with hay in it yesterday which she's spent all day in and she's white, so it's really obvious.

I'm just wondering if this could be sign of potential illness? I know hamsters can suffer from wet tail, so not sure if guinea pigs can suffer from an equivalent. Her rear isn't usually this dirty and she's already had a hygiene trim.

I don't have any other concerns; I'm only asking the community for advice in case there's something I could be overlooking and catch it early if so.

Here is a shot of Her Majesty's derrière:



Thank you!

 

[Claire W]

It could be a sign of a uti or cystitis or she could just enjoy sitting in her own urine. I’d keep an eye on her

 

[Lady Kelly]

It could be. My late Bumble went through this twice, first time the vet found huge ovarian cysts. Second time we found she had arthritis in her spine. She could of course just be a dirty girl who's enjoying the warm feeling

 

[PigglePuggle]

Always worth a vet check if you're worried and this is out of character for Jasmine, but Blodwen goes through phases of just not bothering to clean herself until her bum is yucky... previously we've had her at the vets twice just for the mucky bum issue and been told she's just lazy sometimes, and this last couple of weeks her bum looks awful again even though she just got the all clear from the vet after her URI! So Blod will be getting a thorough bum shampoo and trim this weekend, probably doesnt help at this time of year they might be growing their long thick winter coat it!
And with Jasmine maybe the recent social upheavals have made her a bit uncertain, and certainly if my girls are a bit uncertain about things their immediate response is to stink as much as they can as a sort of identity reaffirming... bit like slapping on the makeup and perfume and buying a new outfit after a break up I guess?
Hugs to you all anyway x

 

[VickiA]

I think it’s something to watch carefully. Is it that she’s spending all her time in one place? If so, could that be a sign of concealed discomfort. Perhaps some arthritis? If she is smelly, is it possible that she has a womb infection or a urinary infection? In my own experience when someone suddenly develops a wet dirty or claggy rear end there is usually something underlying so I think if it persists then I would get her seen at the vets.

 

[HeatherW]

Jasmine has had ovarian cysts in the past, but these have cleared. The usual sign that something is wrong is that she starts to lose her hair around her midriff. She's on 0.4ml of metacam twice a day as she now has a thickened uterus due to the cysts, and the vet recommended she's scanned every 6 months to check everything's still okay.

The vet did ask me if she had any discomfort when she pees when she had her scan at the end of July to check the cysts had gone. She definitely has a "toilet face", but she's never seemed to be in any pain. I think she's just enjoyed the hay bag today; she normally switches between sleeping in the log hidey on the "ground" floor and at the top of the ramp on the "mezzanine". I'll wash her bum again this weekend and keep an eye on it.

Thank you!

 

[Freela]

It can be a sign of illness, for two reasons- the first is UTI or cystitis, where pigs may 'leak' urine or pee small amounts frequently and then end up sitting in it. The second is that it may indicate an unwillingness to get up and move, which in itself could be a sign of illness. I would definitely keep a close eye on things.

 

[Lady Kelly]

If she was only scanned at the end of July I wouldn't imagine it would be cysts but sometimes they can balloon up put of nowhere so just keep an eye on her and if it carries on or she starts to get sore with it then you know what you need to do

 

[HeatherW]

Jasmine had an appointment at the vets today. Her bladder was empty and there was no sign of discomfort - yay! He did agree that the stronger wee smell and wet bottom could be a sign of a UTI, so Jasmine will go back for an ultrasound scan on Thursday to check her uterus, just in case, as she has known ovarian cyst issues and it could be a sign of something else.

She's also been given a course of 0.3ml of Marbocyl injectable 20mg/ml to be taken orally once a day. It was certainly fun wrestling to get it in her this evening! Fortunately she caved in and I treated her to her twice daily metacam and a blueberry.

 

[MollythePiggylover]

My guinea pigs often have wet bottoms after they pee on me but when they pee in there cage they never have wet bottoms I would consider going to the vet

 

[PigglePuggle]

Ah the illicit fruits of medicating... Blodwen insisted on a grape every day for a fortnight with her baytril and bisolvon! Sounds like you and the vet are covering all bases treating a potential UTI and investigating possible gynaecological issues, hope it all gets sorted- best case scenario its just a mucky bum! X

 

[HeatherW]

Ah the illicit fruits of medicating... Blodwen insisted on a grape every day for a fortnight with her baytril and bisolvon! Sounds like you and the vet are covering all bases treating a potential UTI and investigating possible gynaecological issues, hope it all gets sorted- best case scenario its just a mucky bum! X

She's been her usual clean self since her last bum bath, but she did squeak when weeing in the towel and her urine smelled stronger than usual, so I decided I'd rather get her checked out, especially in case the twice daily dose of metacam was potentially masking anything.

 

[MollythePiggylover]

yo

She's been her usual clean self since her last bum bath, but she did squeak when weeing in the towel and her urine smelled stronger than usual, so I decided I'd rather get her checked out, especially in case the twice daily dose of metacam was potentially masking anything.

You should be okay with all of the wonderful care you are taking, but if anything unusual happens with her (such as not eating or drinking or not responding as fast as usual) then I highly recommend going to the vet. you regularly should not bathe guinea pigs but you should definitely clean her behind.

 

[HeatherW]

Jasmine had an ultrasound at the vet today and it has been confirmed that her uterus, etc. are perfectly fine! However, she does have a little bit of sediment in her bladder (no stones) and has a flare up of cystitis. She's therefore now on a 15-day course (up from the initial 10 days) of 0.3ml of Marbocyl injectable 20mg/ml to be given orally once a day - much to her immense displeasure.

She's already on a low calcium diet, but I'm going to invest in a water filter as well. Can she still have a bit of spinach as a treat once in a while, e.g. once a month or longer?

Also, I feed my piggies Nature's Own Sweet Green Hay. I take it this isn't a source of calcium (or at least a lot of it)?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Water and pellets contribute most calcium to the diet. If she is going to be prone to bladder issues, then I would really limit the amount of high calcium veg (parsley, kale, spinach) that you give. Perhaps one very occasional leaf would be ok, but you are going to need to see how it goes.
hay does contain calcium and the amounts vary depending on the type of grass but this is of least concern as I say, it’s pellets and water which contribute most calcium to the diet (low calcium pellets contain more calcium than the highest calcium veg)