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Squeaking and straining again.

hayroque

hayroque

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jan 19, 2024
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Manchester, UK
I thought I heard Wilbur squealing quietly every now and again the last couple days, put it down to my anxiety cause his weight was the same. However, today I definitely watched him straining and squeaking. I literally don't know what to do, I'm going to call the vet tommorow when they're open but we spent all our vet fund on Oscar, I don't know how I can afford it all over again let alone cope with it. I wouldn't be able to afford a surgery at all, he was supposed to be getting a friend this week not this.
If they find a stone again, is it just kinder this time to let him go before it gets worse? Even with surgery they often come back, I cant afford surgery after surgery at all. It sounds absolutely awful but I don't want to see him decline as badly as Ozzy did. I know it could be other things but I'm pretty sure of a stone, considering I've been struggling to lower amount of calcium deposits even with dietary changes.
 
I am so sorry you are going through this. There is no right or wrong answer to what you decide for Wilbur. It's down to so many different factors not least what you can afford and mentally cope with. Try not to agonise too much until you know what you are dealing with. Once Wilbur has had a vet visit and you know what is wrong you can talk to your vet and make decisions. When you've dealt with a health problem in the past I know it's natural to think the worst, I've been there a few times.
 
piggieminder said:
I am so sorry you are going through this. There is no right or wrong answer to what you decide for Wilbur. It's down to so many different factors not least what you can afford and mentally cope with. Try not to agonise too much until you know what you are dealing with. Once Wilbur has had a vet visit and you know what is wrong you can talk to your vet and make decisions. When you've dealt with a health problem in the past I know it's natural to think the worst, I've been there a few times.
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Thankyou. Its not as frequent as Oscar was, its only been a few occasions I've heard it and the only two times I checked in the cage afterwards and he'd left like 5 poops behind him. But I know with their nature as prey animals that any squealing could be more severe than they're acting. He's acting ok, quieter than when he had Ozzy of course so no chatting when he walks, just wheeking for food and now this squeaking, I also noticed he sits and teeth chatters at nothing but I'm pretty sure he's always done that, just assumed it used to be at his brother.

He's still 1100g just about and been maintaining that since Oscar's death about 2 weeks ago. He has no pellets and his water's filtered, veggies are mostly butterhead lettuce, cucumber, peppers - and a cherry tomato every few days because he loves them, we cut out romaine because he was still depositing lots of powdery calcium though I'm yet to see if that changes, gets a couple pea flakes over the day too. Tried giving veggies wet with filtered water for a couple days cause I saw it lowers risk of bladder issues but he hates that, and he drinks pretty often anyway. I know the powdery texture of his deposits is normal and doesn't seem gritty so hopefully I'm not wrong judging that. Its hard to figure out what's considered grit.
Hopefully Ashleigh have an exotic vet in, last time we called on a Sunday they didn't have any though the nurse was still knowledgeable. Soonest appointments I could do would be Sunday or Monday afternoon after college.
 
Strange one, I found a sperm rod sticking out yesterday while cutting his nails and removed it, not heard the squeaking since. He's still going vet, got an appointment at 3.30. Currently in that state of dreading hearing the squeaks again.
 
hayroque said:
Strange one, I found a sperm rod sticking out yesterday while cutting his nails and removed it, not heard the squeaking since. He's still going vet, got an appointment at 3.30. Currently in that state of dreading hearing the squeaks again.
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I hope the sperm rod was the problem and there's nothing else going on 🙏🤞
 
Just seen the vet, they found nothing wrong. We've scheduled an xray for Thursday to be certain and possibly catch any small stones or sludge she could have missed. He's going to be sedated for the xray so I'm not confident about bonding him on Friday, I'll probably delay that a few days so that he can recover. If he has a stone; it'll be put off until he's in a better spot treatment wise.
 
It's a shame about the bonding but it sounds like it would be for the best. If he's not feeling well he won't feel like finding a new friend.
 
piggieminder said:
It's a shame about the bonding but it sounds like it would be for the best. If he's not feeling well he won't feel like finding a new friend.
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That's my thinking too, thankfully his mood is decent, he had zoomies last night which was great to see. He's not depressed but often wants my attention which isn't like him, he's a more shy kind of piggie who doesn't like being touched. He still doesn't like it but he wants me to talk to him or give treats far more if you get what I mean. Vet weighed him today and weight is stable, we've got some metacam to give him too until we know for sure. So he should hold up without a friend until we figure it out.

He's been making it hard to distinguish his squealing from his complaining, when he doesn't get my attention he'll start making an angry complaining noise that gets progressively louder, but I am pretty sure this squeaking is different to that, if nothing else the Xray will help me stop worrying.
 
No stones or even sludge! I've been beside myself worrying this is just such a relief.
He does have bloody urine so they suspect a UTI he could have picked up from Ozzy, he'll be getting antibiotics. Poor little guy, he LOVES his metacam so much he'll take it in the cage but I'm guessing the antibiotics will ruin his good association with syringes now. I'll be picking him up at 4.40 once he's recovered from his sedation, I'm so relieved I'd been preparing to lose another pig right after Ozzy.
 
I'm pleased it is a probable wee infection.you could try some prebiotic for the antibiotics.Septrin seems to effect the guts less than baytril.
You are doing all you can.
 
eileen said:
I'm pleased it is a probable wee infection.you could try some prebiotic for the antibiotics.Septrin seems to effect the guts less than baytril.
You are doing all you can.
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We'll definitely try those if hes struggling but he's had baytril in the past and did fine, they haven't prescribed baytril or septrin, i think the medication name began with M
 
Thought we were getting somewhere but hes squeaking again today and quite often, he finishes his course of antibiotics tommorow, do I just call the vet to try a different one or lengthen the course? He's been on marbocyl which I was honestly unsure about because I've not seen it used much for UTI
 
hayroque said:
Thought we were getting somewhere but hes squeaking again today and quite often, he finishes his course of antibiotics tommorow, do I just call the vet to try a different one or lengthen the course? He's been on marbocyl which I was honestly unsure about because I've not seen it used much for UTI
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I haven't heard of marbocyl. My vet would normally try baytril first. Is it definitely an infection or could it be IC?
 
Piggies2023 said:
I haven't heard of marbocyl. My vet would normally try baytril first. Is it definitely an infection or could it be IC?
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I'm not sure, they only suggested infection because they saw blood in his wee at the Xray but I don't think they tested it.
Can IC just start suddenly? I find it too coincidental that he'd develop it right after his cagemate died from a stone, we assumed he could have caught a UTI from Ozzy.
I has expected septrin or baytril and haven't heard of marbocyl but just trusted the vet about it because they're recommended here quite a lot as knowing their stuff, managed to find a post mentioning that it's usually used if baytril or septrin fail tackling the infection. She gave us one that's for injecting to give orally which i hope isn't affecting it. He's on 0.27 once daily at the moment with 0.73 of metacam twice daily
 
I’d give the vets a call and explain there are still symptoms and see if they want a longer dose or a change of ABs. Good luck I hope it can be treated quickly.
 
Bertie was prescribed Septrin then Marbocyl when he had a stubborn abscess in his boar bits that had to be treated internally. I don’t know about its use for UTI. I had to change ABs again though as the bacteria changed from aerobic to anaerobic over time. Hope vet visit provides reassurance 🤞
 
Piggies2023 said:
I haven't heard of marbocyl. My vet would normally try baytril first. Is it definitely an infection or could it be IC?
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My late poppy was prescribed marbocyl a few years ago in case of an infection.She was squeaking while toileting.The vet thought she probably didn't have an infection but asked if I wanted the antibiotics just in case.They came in tablet form and she took them just fine.
 
hayroque said:
I'm not sure, they only suggested infection because they saw blood in his wee at the Xray but I don't think they tested it.
Can IC just start suddenly? I find it too coincidental that he'd develop it right after his cagemate died from a stone, we assumed he could have caught a UTI from Ozzy.
I has expected septrin or baytril and haven't heard of marbocyl but just trusted the vet about it because they're recommended here quite a lot as knowing their stuff, managed to find a post mentioning that it's usually used if baytril or septrin fail tackling the infection. She gave us one that's for injecting to give orally which i hope isn't affecting it. He's on 0.27 once daily at the moment with 0.73 of metacam twice daily
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IC can start suddenly yes, specially if a mate has died. But antibiotics are often prescribed first as it could be an infection. The fact they are a recommended vet is great. Different vets have different preferences for antibiotics.
 
Just had the appointment, she's stopped the antibiotics because they've had no real effect positive or negative, but has kept metacam along with adding cisapride because she felt he was a little bloated and was squealing in pain when she pressed on the place she felt gas, she suspected his squeaking might be related mainly to his pooping because it is not every time he goes toilet, far as I've seen it's only been squeaking when hes left small piles of poop behind all at once. I can't find any blood in the cage despite putting paper bedding on top of his fleece where he usually goes.
He hasn't lost any weight in fact he's gained a bit which is good, she also said he should be OK going through with bonding because he isn't overall distressed or seeming unhappy despite the squeaking. Just going to go day by day with it
 
Update: not for certain of course but no squeaking this morning before his meds! Normally he's very unhappy until after his metacam first thing, going to see after his lunch because that's also a time he starts a lot of squeaking, but it's definitely better than yesterday, haven't heard any yet today
 
The squeaking is definitely less but still happening, usually in tiny bursts hours apart before turning into his usual talking as he starts running about and eating. I really don't know what to make of it, I'm at my wits end. I can't afford these weekly trips to the vet it's added up to over 500 so far, and ozzy was over 700 before. Would it be worthy buying cystease and seeing if it makes a difference over time? I also don't know how I'd afford metacam his whole life if it's IC, he's on a high dose and it's expensive while running out so quickly. It's all been a nightmare, haven't really grieved Ozzy since I'm busy trying to keep his brother healthy.
How does IC even start? I don't understand how he could just develop it so randomly. I've seen people use one capsule daily on like cucumber and stuff so would that be the dose for cystease? I don't think the vet would prescribe it, she didn't seem to know what I was talking about or dismissed it when I mentioned IC as a possibility. Do IC piggies squeak every time they go toilet or just sometimes? Because Wilbur's only squeaking like 3 episodes a day right now.
If it's a good idea to buy then I'll finish these gut meds and then get some, want to finish them first to see if they make any more difference.
 
I’m sorry to hear this.

IC is diagnosed through eliminating everything else first - ie infection, stones.
If antibiotics are not making any difference and infection is ruled out then IC is the likely issue.
It’s not bacterial hence why antibiotics won’t do anything (might suppress symptoms but not stop them).

IC is thought to be stress related. It affects the glucosamine layer in the bladder. It is brought under control by giving a glucosamine supplement to help coat the bladder. There will be a maintenance dose of glucosamine which works for your piggy. It can then be increased temporarily along with metacam during a flare.
Squeaking doesn’t need to be every time, and there could be gaps with nothing and then it seems to kick off again.

Diet can be related but its more that a change to the diet rather than diet itself which may seem to set off a flare.
 
hayroque said:
The squeaking is definitely less but still happening, usually in tiny bursts hours apart before turning into his usual talking as he starts running about and eating. I really don't know what to make of it, I'm at my wits end. I can't afford these weekly trips to the vet it's added up to over 500 so far, and ozzy was over 700 before. Would it be worthy buying cystease and seeing if it makes a difference over time? I also don't know how I'd afford metacam his whole life if it's IC, he's on a high dose and it's expensive while running out so quickly. It's all been a nightmare, haven't really grieved Ozzy since I'm busy trying to keep his brother healthy.
How does IC even start? I don't understand how he could just develop it so randomly. I've seen people use one capsule daily on like cucumber and stuff so would that be the dose for cystease? I don't think the vet would prescribe it, she didn't seem to know what I was talking about or dismissed it when I mentioned IC as a possibility. Do IC piggies squeak every time they go toilet or just sometimes? Because Wilbur's only squeaking like 3 episodes a day right now.
If it's a good idea to buy then I'll finish these gut meds and then get some, want to finish them first to see if they make any more difference.
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IC can just start, specially if they've lost a cage mate. Nancy just started one day. Her squeaking is variable, sometimes it's bad other times she's comfortable. .
Cystease wise- I have one pig on half a capsule on lettuce a day which helps but she has sludge but since she's on cystease she no longer needs metacam.

Other pig- she has 1 capsule a day but I mix it with 2ml water, and she has half in the morning and half at night in a syringe as she won't eat it off lettuce. Cystease and some metacam is normally what vets try first.

Metacam wise how much are you being given? I get enough to last about a month, it's cheaper the more you get at once often.
 
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