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Pink Urine?

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AlbertandEinstein

AlbertandEinstein

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Hi,
Any advice would be welcome here.
I've just had the boys out for a play and noticed Alberts wee is very slightly pink - he wees a lot, and after watching him, it's not every time, and not very dark in colour, in fact quite the opposite, very very light.
I've looked around at various sites and there seems to be a fair amount of mention about gallstones, but no mention of how dark or how often that would indicate this could be the case.
He hasnt changed at all in his behaviour, has been running around after Einstein and seems happy enough. I've checked out his bum and there's nothing unusual, I'm just a bit concerned of the very slight colour change.
Has anyone had any experience here? Should I keep an eye on him or go to the vet straight away? Could it be his food? (they've both taken a liking to raddichio lately which is red, but theyve gone off red pepper so he hasnt had any of that for a little while now). Can't think of anything else it could be, but obviously don't want to worry unnecessarilly or leave it too long if it could be an issue.
Thank you! mallethead
 
Greetings.
Some foods eg beetroot, can stain the urine red/pink.
Stop giving them any food that you think could be responsible and observe them for a few days. Then, if the urine is still stained red/pink, start to look for other causes. In the meantime don't get too worried too soon!
 
Thank you

Hi, thank you so much - I did think to watch them for a few days but dont want to be a bad mummy lol... bless him, he's only 6 months old and it's the first time anything different has happened for me to look into!
 
Cystitis, ie inflammation of the bladder, can give rise to blood in the urine. There are a number of causes of cystitis. These can include bladder/kidney stones and infection. Bladder stones in a 6 month old pig are quite rare. Cystitis often becomes apparent when the pig wees, it will make a distinctive sound because of the discomfort.
Just watch and wait.
 
My indoor piggies cages are lined with newspaper, and I was worried when I thought mine were doing pink wees, then it turned blue and I realised it was the dye from the newspaper. Just a thought, and another thing for you to consider. Hope all is well. x
 
My Llewelyn has pinkish pee. I had it tested, but there was no blood in his urine! He's been like that since I got him 18 months ago. The strange thing is that some pee are normal yellow...
 
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Still watching

Hi, thank you all for your comments.

2nd night tonight, Albert has done a few wees now, and only one has been pink - it was only a little wee. He hasnt made any sounds of discomfort tonight, and I've made a point of putting a large cream coloured blanket down so I can see the difference. I dont use newspaper so its not that - good point though :o)

He still seems happy enough, if anything Einstein is a bit grumpy today lol!

Think I'll give it another night tomorrow, just to make sure it isnt anything he has eaten and probably take him to the vet anyway, just to be sure. Poor little mite. (They both need their nails cutting for the first time anyway so I could get it all done in one go, save distressing them any more than necessary).

Thanks again - will update when I know whats going on... Fingers crossed I'm worrying for no reason! (If only they could talk lol) x
 
I would say that the pink is possibly blood, now i'm new to the piggie thing but as a human i have recently suffered form and had a Kidney stone removed. It started by weeing a lot then a bit of blood and pain that came and went. I'm sure with a Guinea Pig is the same.

Oh BTW... you don't want to know how they removed them!8...
 
Kidneys

Sorry to hear you went through that - I've a good idea how they were removed (ouch!)

I've also read it could be cystitis or a bladder infection... especially as he's so young.

Will no doubt take him to the vet Thursday or Friday regardless - just to be sure.
 
nutmeg said:
My indoor piggies cages are lined with newspaper, and I was worried when I thought mine were doing pink wees, then it turned blue and I realised it was the dye from the newspaper. Just a thought, and another thing for you to consider. Hope all is well. x
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Mine are the same way! I have tested their urine several times for blood and finally realized it was the newspaper dye! rolleyes


Hopefully the vet can clear it up for you AlbertandEinstein, good luck!
 
You can take an urine sample if you feed the guinea pig in question some cucumber and sit it on some plastic surface for half an hour to an hour (if you want to make sure there is some of his reddish pee). Suck it up with a syringe and place the syringe in a small freezer bag in the fridge until you go to the vets.

That way you can be sure to have the kind of sample you want to have tested! He might not produce it at the vets...

I did that with Llewi, and hopefully, like him, there won't be anything the matter with yours. But of course, you'd rather be sure of that!
 
Appointment

Have made an appointment with the vet for tomorrow afternoon - when I spoke to the lovely lady she seemed to think it's more than likely an infection.

For anyone else who has the same issue, she did say if it is an infection then it can quite quickly be passed onto any other piggies living in the same space, so not to leave it too long before getting it checked out and treated as it can become a bigger problem (after I explained I first noticed it 2 days ago, she advised me not to leave it past the weekend).

Will update tomorrow for Albert's situation and what the vets have to say :)
 
Cucumber

Thanks Vicky - good point, i noticed yesterday he wee'd more after eating some cucumber so will make a point of taking some with me (as I've already made the appointment now) x
 
Phew!

Hi all, have been to the vets and had both Albert and Einstein checked over and all seems to be ok (am SO relieved!)

I have to get a urine sample and take it in so they can make sure but at least for now there is no reason to worry.

I now feel like an over-protective mother, but obviously wont be totally happy until theyve tested the sample - mainly becuase Albert does make such a noise when he is doing the pink pees, but the lovely vet did show me where to look for serious symptoms of infection and cystitis, what to expect etc etc.

If nothing else they're now registered, have been weighed, nails cut, and given the "ok"
:)

Thank you all once again!
 
Bit late, but what bedding are they on?

I find once I have JUST changed the bedding for Jack(it's sawdust bedding, not everyones favourite but it's absorbant and does the job for now until I'm th eone paying for it) and the first wees on that are usually pink, I don't THINK it's blood as it's only the first wees on it.

I think it's just a reaction of the sawdust with the wee, so, if you're using sawdust it could well just be that.
 
Instead of sawdust, which isn't really suitable bedding for a gp, why not try Megazorb? It is a good product, well worth a try.
 
Bedding

I use all different types, including sawdust (same as you I'm well aware of other peoples opinions on this but my boys seem to prefer it and get the hump when they have something different).

Thanks for the tip, will keep an eye on it!
 
alcesterpigs said:
Instead of sawdust, which isn't really suitable bedding for a gp, why not try Megazorb? It is a good product, well worth a try.
Click to expand...

hi i agree with this there is alot of opinions surrounding sawdust,but there are proven cases of it killing guinea pigs and rats Megazorb or vet bed or even hay are great options and safe too:)
How are the piggies going?
 
I'm glad that there is nothing serious with your boys. Hopefully, the urine sample will check out as well.
 
Doing Well

Hi, the boys are both doing really well - both as happy as ever, and (typically) so far no more pink wees.... maybe he was just having an attention seeking moment (not that they go very long without any!) To be honest I've put it down to the raddichio leaves.

The vet was really happy at how healthy they are so if nothing else it was worth going through just for that news. If anything they seem to love me more so I'm a happy piggy too :))
 
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