Pink/red Urine

[Hannah P.]

So Ginger has finally gotten rid of her infection from her broken tooth and is once again eating hay, ad lots of it. She is pooping normally, and was peeing normally drinking a lot and she is very active. A few days ago she peed, and it dried a little pinker than normally, and so I thought maybe I gave her too much red pepper, so I've been watching her, and just now I noticed that he pee is darker pink/red than it was yesterday. I am so nervous, as we just got rid of the abscess and now this. She is not squeaking in pain when she pees, and she has been acting normal. I am still giving her the probiotic from after her surgery, but I didn't think that could have any effect. She also had some gas in her digestive track so I was and still am giving her simethicone for that.

 

[sport_billy]

hmmmmm, is it coming out red or drying that way? No arching of back or crying is a good sign. I don't suppose you have any dipsticks in?

 

[Wiebke]

So Ginger has finally gotten rid of her infection from her broken tooth and is once again eating hay, ad lots of it. She is pooping normally, and was peeing normally drinking a lot and she is very active. A few days ago she peed, and it dried a little pinker than normally, and so I thought maybe I gave her too much red pepper, so I've been watching her, and just now I noticed that he pee is darker pink/red than it was yesterday. I am so nervous, as we just got rid of the abscess and now this. She is not squeaking in pain when she pees, and she has been acting normal. I am still giving her the probiotic from after her surgery, but I didn't think that could have any effect. She also had some gas in her digestive track so I was and still am giving her simethicone for that.

Keep an eye on her for the time being as she is not showing any acute symptoms.

Is the urine coming out clear or red coloured and is it only discolouring when drying? Please be aware that the colour of the urine doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the presence of blood. You can have intensely red coloured urine that tests free of blood and clear urine that is very high in blood and protein (sign of an infection).

 

[rome_italy]

there is a quick method for checking the wee, if there is some blood. It is not a test useful for a diagnosis, but it works ad gives a first response: you might have at home some hydrogen peroxide, the one for disinfecting wounds. If you put some drops of it on the wee containing blood you will see foam, even on old spots (for example spots of blood left on towels). If you don't see any foam that stain is not pink for the blood.

 

[Hannah P.]

Thank you very much. I put hydrogen peroxide on some dried urine and it did not foam, which is relieving to me. It is not coming out immediately red, but slightly yellow, then drying red.

hmmmmm, is it coming out red or drying that way? No arching of back or crying is a good sign. I don't suppose you have any dipsticks in?

What are dipsticks?

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you very much. I put hydrogen peroxide on some dried urine and it did not foam, which is relieving to me. It is not coming out immediately red, but slightly yellow, then drying red.

What are dipsticks?

Test sticks that will test for the presence of blood in urine. Be careful - testing for blood can easily become an obsessive behaviour if you have an issue with anxiety! Personally, I would recommend to stay off them as they do not really help and the hunt for blood in urine can become counterproductive.
If you are in doubt whether your guinea pig has urinary tract problems, you may want to see a vet; certainly if you see more clear symptoms like wheeking when peeing or pooing for instance. The onset of urinary tract issues is often not quite straight forward as symptoms come and go, especially traces of blood in the urine, but it generally becomes clearer over the course of a few days.

How watery (clear) or concentrated (yellow) urine is when it leaves the body is very individual and not necessarily a sign of dehydration as the natural water intake of guinea pigs can vary enormously between individuals. The good news is that a concentrated urine is not linked to health problems (especially kidney problems), so it is not something you have to worry about.

Urine can be coloured by some veg. In this case the urine is already coloured when it leaves the body.
Bacteria can oxidise clear urine in contact with the air, often an intense red that looks like blood but doesn't contain any. This happens especially at the onset of a bout of interstitial cystitis. It would be nice if things were straight forward, but they aren't.

 

[Hannah P.]

Bacteria can oxidise clear urine in contact with the air, often an intense red that looks like blood but doesn't contain any. This happens especially at the onset of a bout of interstitial cystitis. It would be nice if things were straight forward, but they aren't.

I was still giving Ginger probiotics, even though she probably didn't need them anymore as she was no longer on antibiotics. I just wanted to finish the tube and there wasn't very much left. Could there be a chance that bacteria from the probiotics were oxidizing in the urine? Her urine is still turning reddish when it dries, and I haven't given her anymore probiotics. She still doesn't seem to be in pain when she pees, but I do think she's experiencing some discomfort from gas now, which I thought had gone away, but it is definitely still there so I'm giving her simethicone more frequently again.