Red urine

[Casidykorba]

My Guinea pig has been losing weight slowly these past few weeks. The other night I noticed pink blood and was hoping it was something she ate. It continues to be red. There are no vets open today and I have I’ll try to get her in tomorrow but any advice on what I should be doing for her right now? Thank you

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please step in and syringe feed your piggy a recovery feed such as critical care or use mushed pellets. You will need to weigh your piggy every day so you can be sure you are getting enough syringe feed into her in each 24 hour period to stabilize her weight
This is essential if she is losing weight - it means your piggy is no longer eating enough hay.

Please do see a vet as soon as possible.

Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

 

[Casidykorba]

Update from this morning. She’s been eating more lately. Still spunky

 

[Casidykorba]

Please step in and syringe feed your piggy a recovery feed such as critical care or use mushed pellets. You will need to weigh your piggy every day so you can be sure you are getting enough syringe feed into her in each 24 hour period to stabilize her weight
This is essential if she is losing weight - it means your piggy is no longer eating enough hay.

Please do see a vet as soon as possible.

Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

She’s eating more than usually right now. I’ve been refilling her pellets and hay more often. Thanks for the advice. I desperately appreciate any advice

 

[weepweeps]

Good luck at the vets.

 

[Piggies&buns]

You cant judge hay intake by eye. Please make sure you switch from the lifelong weekly weight checks and weigh her daily while she is having health issues.

Please don’t over feed pellets. They should strictly be just one tablespoon per day only. Too many pellets are not healthy and can contribute to health issues.

Do get her checked by a vet.

 

[eileen]

I agree your piggie needs to go to the vet step in syringe feeding ,weight daily ,as you cannot guage how much your piggies eating visually.good luck I hope you get treatment from the vet.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome

I agree with all points raised!

The milky urine also indicates that your piggy is excreting lots of excess calcium. The odd calcium pee is not a problem but when they happen on a daily basis then you should review your diet as it can cause bladder stones or sludge in the long term.

Please take the time to read our syringe feeding guide link in this thread. It contains all the important information and the practical how-to tips that we cannot repeat in full in every thread, seeing that we all do this for free in our own free time. You will find the guide very helpful since it talks you through everything step-by-step and also contains helpful pictures and good welfare practice videos.
You may also want to have a read through this guide link here and look at your diet. Most calcium comes via the water and the pellets and not necessarily the veg although a balanced veg diet will also help for the long term. Starting with any diet changes now can buy you important time since it takes several weeks for them to work their way through the body but they are crucial for the long term and a longer healthy life expectancy, irrespective of whether it is a beginning infection or stones/sludge you are dealing with. Please brace yourself that symptoms will become more consistent over the next 5 days or so.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

We cannot tell you whether it is a bacterial urine infection (UTI), a bacterial or a sterile recurring bladder infection (sterile interstitial cystitis or IC, which cannot be healed by an antibiotic) or whether there could be a stone or sludge in the urinary tract since the symptoms are all very similar. Your vet may need to work their way through them.

We have a very helpful practical information collection for new owners and a more extensive one for all owners on a wide range of topics. You may want to bookmark the links, especially as you are in a different time zone to UK and may need some quick answers during our down time.
Getting Started - Essential Information for New Owners
Comprehensive Owners' Practical and Supportive Information Collection

All the best.

 

[Casidykorba]

Than

Hi and welcome

I agree with all points raised!

The milky urine also indicates that your piggy is excreting lots of excess calcium. The odd calcium pee is not a problem but when they happen on a daily basis then you should review your diet as it can cause bladder stones or sludge in the long term.

Please take the time to read our syringe feeding guide link in this thread. It contains all the important information and the practical how-to tips that we cannot repeat in full in every thread, seeing that we all do this for free in our own free time. You will find the guide very helpful since it talks you through everything step-by-step and also contains helpful pictures and good welfare practice videos.
You may also want to have a read through this guide link here and look at your diet. Most calcium comes via the water and the pellets and not necessarily the veg although a balanced veg diet will also help for the long term. Starting with any diet changes now can buy you important time since it takes several weeks for them to work their way through the body but they are crucial for the long term and a longer healthy life expectancy, irrespective of whether it is a beginning infection or stones/sludge you are dealing with. Please brace yourself that symptoms will become more consistent over the next 5 days or so.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

We cannot tell you whether it is a bacterial urine infection (UTI), a bacterial or a sterile recurring bladder infection (sterile interstitial cystitis or IC, which cannot be healed by an antibiotic) or whether there could be a stone or sludge in the urinary tract since the symptoms are all very similar. Your vet may need to work their way through them.

We have a very helpful practical information collection for new owners and a more extensive one for all owners on a wide range of topics. You may want to bookmark the links, especially as you are in a different time zone to UK and may need some quick answers during our down time.
Getting Started - Essential Information for New Owners
Comprehensive Owners' Practical and Supportive Information Collection

All the best.

thank you!

 

[Siikibam]

Have you weighed her today to see how much she is? I know it may still be very early over there.

Hope you can get her in with the vet tomorrow

 

[Casidykorba]

Update. They tested her urine and there’s definitely blood in it. There is no bacteria in it they think it might be something hormonal. They x-rayed and found she didn’t have any bladder stones. So we are trying a two week antibiotic with some other vitamins and such. hopefully the antibiotic will work and we won’t need to go back for further testing. There is still a little red, but there seems to be less of it and she is peeing less frequently so I think that’s a good sign. She is also putting on about 10 grams a day. Which I hope is also a good sign. She’s definitely still spunky my goodness.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi
There is a condition called sterile interstitial cystitis (i.e. a bladder infection that is not bacterial but that is characterised by regular flares - and therefore cannot be healed by antibiotics) that manifests with the same symptoms as a bacterial urine infection (UTI). It seems to particularly affect the natural glucosamine coating that prevents the highly corrosive urine from coming into contact with raw tissue. I has become more common in guinea pigs than UTI with the increasing shift towards indoors guinea pigs over the last 15 years. However, it is unfortunately not at all well known outside vet circles that do not deal with guinea pigs on a very regular basis.
It is characterised by a zero or very low bacterial count but by the absence of any other possible problems in the urinary and reproductive tract and is usually diagnosed by default. The severity can run from very mild to extremely severe. It mostly appears in guinea pigs with a very nervous disposition and can only be managed but not healed. With a little luck it will eventually disappear on its own in the mild to medium range, but you are rather looking at years than months with flares every few weeks/months.

Treatment follows that of cats with a very similar condition called FSC (feline sterile cystitis); it consists of glucosamine to replenish the affected natural coating (orally in mild to medium cases and - more recently - via cartrofen (orally or injected) for the more severe cases plus metacam (or meloxicam based generic brands. Glucosamine in lower dosages is classed as a food supplement and not as a medication. For convenience of application we recommend using cat bladder supplement capsules; the contents of 1 you mix with 2 ml of water and then give either 1 ml every 12 hours or 2 ml every 24 hours. It will take several weeks to build up in the urinary tract, so symptoms won't disappear overnight but it is effective for the long term.
Oxbow bladder supplement for guinea pigs contains less glucosamine than cat capsules but can be enough for mild cases. You can supplement with human glucosamine tablets but will have to compute the dosage yourself.
Because of the enormous variance in severity you have to work out for yourself just how little or how much you will need to get on top of it initially, then how little you can get away with for sustenance during flares (half a capsule of cat bladder supplement may be enough) and how much you have to up the glucosamine and metacam during acute flares to get on top of the symptoms quickly; upping the glucosamine is more effective than upping the analgesic in my own experience with a number of IC piggies over the years.

Here is some more information on sterile IC for your to discuss with your vet: Links - Interstitial Cystitis - Guinea Lynx Records

I hope that this may help you?