Specialist Poorly Piggy, has anyone else had this experience with a massive infection?

[Jessika Wilson]

Hi guys,

So our piggy James has been not himself for a month, not eating as much, not being as active but wasnt losing weight, he has always been 2lb 11oz. We had him to a vet a month ago who gave him an injection to boost his digestion which seemed to work, he said that he couldn't find an issue with James and everything seemed normal. Unfortunately Wednesday we realised James was eating very little and Thursday nothing at all, so we travelled over an hour and half to see an exotic vet that we were recommended (how difficult is it to find a vet that knows what they are doing with piggies?!?!). Anyway, she said James was a very poorly piggy, dehydrated and massivley swollen left kidney also all lymph nodes were swollen and low heart rate and underweight, James had dropped 2oz overnight. James was very lethargic and vet said that this could be a huge infection, potentially bladder stones or cancer? And that he needed to stay there but wanted £600 for 24 hours. Breaks my heart to say that we didn't have that amount of money to let him stay, mum guilt! And on the way out the vet said that she thought it was unlikely that we would be able to get James back stable but we agreed to take the medication and critical care to try and if nothing worked we would fetch him back in 48 hours and we would borrow the money off my parents for his care. Friday I took the day off work and cared for him, syringe fed every 4 hours and lot of fluids and cuddles, felt like I had a newborn baby again doing the night feeds! James on Saturday had a massive turn around, started eating, lots and was drinking from his bottle and has been popcorning around with his brother, I noticed that over the weekend he has been making a tiny grunting noise when weeing and Saturday the wee was a little bloody but that has now stopped and James seems like the piggy we had a few months ago very happy and loving. James is now independently eating on his own, apart from his nuggets, not sure why he has gone off them but should I still be giving the critical care too? We are back at the vets tonight for a check up and James has gone back to his normal weight and seems to be drinking fine again which I'm so thankful for.
I am just wanting to know if anyone else has had a similar experience with their piggy as this is our first few years looking after Guinea's and I am unsure of what is going on, I am 100% thankful for the vets advice that has got James back to being stable but I have seen reviews that the particular vets are more bothered about the money than the care which is worrying me that they may be able to rip us off (in the nicest way possible).

Thanks

 

[Lady Kelly]

Oh crikey. It will be interesting to see what the vet says today in terms of whether his kidney is still swollen or not. I had a piggy at the beginning of the year with a stone stuck in his ureter. He was running over to his food but only eating tiny amounts, losing weight and was clearly in pain. Perhaps your piggy has been able to pass a stone himself without causing a blockage or maybe it was a bad infection which has started to improve with medications. It's good to hear that he is back to himself and has gained the weight he lost

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

Well done on your on getting him through this!
Serious runaway infections are sadly often too far developed for antibiotics to kick in (some can come up very extremely quickly and feel like you are lagging behind two steps all the way), especially in older or frailer piggies with a no longer strong or flexible immune system that are usually more prone to them in my own experience.
Massive infections like yours are pretty rare, so you can be very proud of having him seen promptly by a piggy savvy vet and having got him through the crisis in order to fight another day!

It rather sounds like there may be a stone, either in his ureter or his bladder, or he may have passed a small stone, which often presents with some small bleeding but feeling better soon after. The way his kidney has been swollen, it is very likely that they originated there.
However, I can only guess and not diagnose.

Please monitor his weight daily for the time being and adjust any top-up feed accordingly. With piggies that are eating fairly well on their own, you may want to offer eny extra feed from a spoon or a bowl.
Weight - Monitoring and Management

You may also want to review your diet to minimise the risk of more stones forming in the future. Calcium absorption is a complex process, so a lot can go wrong. There is also often a genetic disposition in play.
Keep in mind that a lot of calcium comes with the water and pellets and not necessarily with the veg. Most people overlook those angles. A low calcium diet may help you for the longer term; it is not a quick fix as your body still has to deal with what calcium is in system and what is going wrong.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets (includes dietary tips for guinea pigs with long term urinary tract problems).

If your boy has stones, then a glucosamine-based food supplement will help to replenish and protect the natural glucosamine coating of the walls in the bladder and the tubes in the urinary tract. Most members mix the contents of 1 capsule with 2-4 ml of water and syringe it ever 12 hours for that purpose.

All the best!