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Just a few questions.

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Nina

My guinea pig Zakky was diagnosed with cystitis. (he was bleeding from his little manhood) The vet gave us some antibiotics and we did that for one day, the nurse didn't give us enough for the recommended 5 days. He was on probiotics fibreplex for a few days. He didn't eat much, play much and had some runny poo and then the blood came back. We put it down to the assumption that it was either because of the short time on antibiotics or it had come back which it is possible. He was then put on a course of antibiotics not so much for 5 days and then more probiotics.

Just today i found some pee on the floor and when i mopped it up it was an orangey/brown colour on the tissue not really dark or red at all just faint.
so my questions are:

If he was still ill would he be eating and wheeking and popcorning because he was doing that today and also would giving him the probiotics for a period of time affect the colour of his wee because it is orange?

Its just frustrating because every time i go in and look in their cage i expect to find hay covered in blood and then think oh my god its not cystitis, its something worse.

Thanks for the help
Nina
 
Hi, the ones I've had with Cystitis have been pretty much themselves- eating and popcorning. Bladderstones has similar symtoms and I always suspect this when there's blood, though it isn't always the case. When bladderstones have been left untreated they do become miserable.

Antibiotics should be given for a minimum of 10 days and the whole course given. Baytril is recommended dose @ 0.4ml x2 daily, but Septrin is the drug of choice for cystitis @ 0.4ml x2 daily again if the Baytril doesn't have an effect.

The Fibreplex may affect his output colour but I haven't used it so can't comment, is this the carrot flavoured one?
 
Thanks for the replies.

Yeah, this is the carrot flavoured one. The last time we even saw blood was about 2 weeks ago, and this was a minimal amount. Since that day, he was put back on Baytril @ 0.25 ml 2x a day. One week prior he was on 0.6 2x a day, this appeared to make his tummy very unwell. He seems fine, he eats and drinks enough and hasn't lost any weight. The only concern is he doesn't eat as much as he used to and his poop can still be a little soft and small in size. But one other occasions they're fine.
 
0.6ml is too much, if he gets any worse I would up the dose to 0.4ml x2. Is he getting all the probiotics OK? How do you give Fibreplex?
 
Poor little love. Hope he gets better very soon x

And welcome to the forum :)
 
Karen, Fibreflex comes in a tube with a special roller top which delivers the exact amount each time you turn it.I think you put it straight into the piggies mouth.I have never used this product myself but a friend of mine recently used it on one of her pigs.I had the impression she was not very enthusiastic about it.
 
Thanks Mary, it doesn't sound like the dosing could be very accurate. And hygenic ? Though carrot flavoured sounds good.
 
the vet told us to give him that but the nurse only gave us enough for one day, and when he didn't improve we took him back and they lowered the dosage to 0.2ml x2 daily for 5 days. we have done that and then 5 days of fibreplex

So after two weeks do you think it would have all been cleared up by now? and if so or theres a chance it could come back is there anything i can give him that will lower chances of it coming back. Also we weighed him and he has gained some weight not lost any.
 
Nina said:
the vet told us to give him that but the nurse only gave us enough for one day, and when he didn't improve we took him back and they lowered the dosage to 0.2ml x2 daily for 5 days. we have done that and then 5 days of fibreplex

So after two weeks do you think it would have all been cleared up by now? and if so or theres a chance it could come back is there anything i can give him that will lower chances of it coming back. Also we weighed him and he has gained some weight not lost any.
Click to expand...

How typical, i just go upstairs after posting this and what do i see... bright red fresh blood. So were going to go back to the vets, i just have no idea what to expect because they can't diagnose it, its all assumption
 
Nina, Yes,cystitus should clear up in 2 weeks,but it can sometimes be more persistant.As he is bleeding again,there may be a stone/cyst in the bladder.Would not hurt to have an xray/scan done/There is no need for sedation to be given for xrays.
 
hi yeah, we went to the vet and we've dropped him off to our vets other centre. He's due for an ultrasound tomorrow, he's staying in the place and weve given him some food and his little house and some hay
 
how did the scan go, and how is he? hope the little fella's ok. thinking of you both :smitten: :smitten:
 
hi sorry for the late relpy I'm going out of my mind a bit and the cost of all this allow.

Ok so, bad news the ultrasound showed a lump in the bladder wall and he will basically either be fine because the lump is banine but theres a possibility it can turn malignant at any point if its not already. The vet said a laporectomy can be done to remove the lump but i've never heard of this being performed on guinea pigs and if he gets worse is it really worth putting him at risk? he could die he could survive but if left his lifespan is shortened. He will suffer weight loss more bleeding etc.

Do you think it's worth perfoming a big surgery on a guinea pig?
 
Oh Nina I am so sorry you have this awful dilemma.

How old is the piggy?.Is the vet sure eit is a tumour and not a stone.I ask this because I had a boar with a stone growing into the bladder wall.He too had symptoms of cystitis and heamaturia.He was operated on and was fine .He lived till he was 7 years old with no further health problems.
 
it may be a polyip he said, he said he doesn't really know what it is, a growth of some sort. He said it moves aswell. I don't know if it means it still could be a stone but I'm sure then a similar operation would be used right?

He's just over one year old so hes still young. He still eats plenty his poo's come out more on the soft side but alot of them are normal size. I'll be honest though, he's not the same as he was. The vet checked him though and said he was a character when we left him over night and his colour is fine. Theres been no trace of blood in the urine for over a wheek now.

You piggy being operated on in the same area gives me confidence that this isn't a lost cause. Its just so difficult to think what step should i take next and trying to come to terms with maybe we should just leave him to live out his life.

I could go and talk to the vet who deals in small animals if he will be in (finisihing his annual exams) so i might just see what he says also.

I just hate the whole guinea pigs pretend theyre fine when they aren't, why can't they just be ill when theyre ill then we can sort things fast :(
 
As he is so young,surgery may be the answer.If he is not operated on he will get worse anyway.Manuel,the pig I mentioned was 3.5 yrs.

Laporotomy/lithotomy are straightforward ops if done by a vet who is used to operating on gps.Years ago before I met my present vets,I lost 2 pigs 2 botched up lithotomy,but the 3 pigs Anne has operated on were fine.
 
I also had a 3 year old who had 2 cystotomys (whats the difference?) and came through the ops fine if that helps :)
 
should we get him operated on now whilst he is still in ok health OR leave it to the last minute.

Roughly how much does this cost and can you recommend a really good surgeon for guinea pigs my vet is a good vet but he doesn't specialise in this area and i would prefer to have an expert do it. I live right near the Royal Vetinary college do you reckon they are worth a call
 
Nina,

I take it you live in London then?.

Not much point in ringing the RCVS because I do not think they are allowed to recommend vets.,and in any case it is the fault of the RCVS not including gps in the ccurriculum of student vets,that we have this abysmal vet situation.

If you are in London you could fairly easily get to my vet in Surrey,who is a gp expert.Peter lived in London and he used to take all his pigs to Anne or Andy.

Just a diversion here,but owing to the pressure that Peter,and later ,Anne have put on the RCVS they are now going to include gps in the curriculum.Annes surgery is a training one and she makes damn sure the students are taught gp dental work,and it is drummed into them that gps are as important as expensive dogs and cats.

Hopefully the vet situation will gradually improve.,because no piggy owner should have to travel miles just to get the right diagnosis and treatment,and no piggy should have to suffer at the hands of incompetent vets who will not even admit that they know nothing about them.

Sorry,will put my soapbox away now!
 
Karen,

laparotomy is an exploratory operation,

lithotomy is the removal of a renal stone


cystotomy is insicion of the bladder.Another name for this is vesicotomy.
 
Sorry for pignapping your thread Nina :)

Thanks for the explanation Mary and well done to Anne and Peter for getting the RCVS to do this. I agree that people shouldn't have to travel miles to see a vet which is why I asked my vet to have a lecture and dental training from CCT. I also think feedback is very iimportant to vets. Lets just hope that the curriculum is correct and the info is not as dated as the Society itself (sorry to be negative, but I'm watching this one).
Peter was always raving about Anne Nina so I would (and have) recommended her too- don't remember so much about him and Andy though :)
 
Ann is literally a lifesaver! Andy is very good, but Ann is the only one I would leave my piggies with and have!

In answer to your question Mary about charges, I have never been charged the "going" rate. They never even charged me for Snowy being PTS and when I take my piggies there its usually "en mass" I haven't really noticed a consultation charge on the bill, although when I took Rolly there this year I didn't get charged a consultation fee and when I last took Pookie, for suspected mites, she cut his nails FOC! They're so good, I've even had Ann come out to me in my car telling me not to drive home whilst I was sobbing and comforting me! I get Condolescene (sp?) cards ( as we all do) and now even Xmas cards! They're the best!
 
Karen (with apologies to Nina again for the pignap).

Anne is the senior vet at the practise and at the time I met her,about 6 years ago,Andy had only just joined the practise as a junior vet.He soon proved to be a very good surgeon.
When I first met Anne she admitted that she knedw little about gps but was very interested in them and when I told her about Peter, she asked if he would be willling to teach her his dental techniques.Anne and I spent a day with Peter and they were mutually impressed with each other.Therein after Anne became very proficient with the dental work and with gps in general.If she was unsure of anything she would contact Peter for advise.

Peter started taking all his pigs to her and recommended her to other people.She now has clients from all over the country.

Andy started to take an interest in the piggies so Anne taught him the dental work at which he is now very good.Peter did not know Andy so well but respected the way he was learning about the pigsAndy is now almost as good as Anne with the gps.

I agree with you Karen about the RCVS being oldfashioned,they need to be dragged into the modern world and stop being such a closed shop.I too wonder what the gp teaching programme will be like!.
 
Sue,
Anne has literally saved the lives of more than one of my pigs.The very first pig I took to her had been condemed to death by 4 other local vets.Lucy had a large tumour in her neck which no vet would operate on.Anne operated and Lucy was fine,no post op problems except she could only eat soft food for 10 days,after that she lived a healthy further 3 years.If I had not found Anne when I did I would have had to have had Lucy put down.

Andy has actually operated on 2 of my pigs and they were fine.I was very impressed by the tiny neat sutures.,and his post op follow up was very good.

I wish we could clone these 2 vets and send them to every county!.
 
Yep, you're right how I wish every town could have An Ann vet! I think I've seen her at every surgery now, Chessington, Epsom, Ewell, the thing I like most about Ann is she really loves piggies - I have to wrestle Pookie back from her when we go she keeps cuddling him and kissing him!

Nina I hope you go there, they are so honest with you!
 
lol its okay for the pignapping. what a cute word.

So i will definatley contact anne if the operation is 100% recommended. I went to see the exotics specialist at my vet i think he's very good. We've got some new antibiotics and anti-inflammatorys for his bladder wall. We may have to give him an x-ray and another scan to figure out whats going on in there and if its a stone or not. I don't know if the vet has done surgery on GPs i know he's interested in whats in my little piggy (he wants to find out what it is because if its a polyip its like rare in guinea pigs) but then again this particular pig is notorious for having weird unrecognizable things. First he had a weird species of fur mite that had to be diagnose by the RVC, then a weird lump under his chin that must of been gristle because i noticed it when i was giving him chin tickles and it was stuck on his bone but then i kept touching it to see if there was really a lump then and i accidentaly must of broke it off then it was a moving lump and then dissappeared completley.

So yes my weird piggy gets all the vets attention in a scientific way :laugh:
 
yeah, i think an op is the best as he is young. all the best. the exotics vet sounds like he/she might know more. :) aww hope the little dear will be alright. my thought love and big hugs are with both of you. :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :-* :-* :-* :-* keep us posted. :)
 
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