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Squeaking cannot wee

T

T&A

Junior Guinea Pig
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Please help.

My guinea pig is squeaking loudly when trying to wee and seems to be struggling. He is constantly going to eat hay and then go back to his house and squeaking in pain. What should I do?
 
I agree with @Piggies&buns this sounds like an emergency situation. If the urethra is blocked with a stone this is immediately life threatening.
Pop piggy in a clean bucket/pet carrier/ washing up bowl on clean white paper towels and watch to see if any urine is being passed at all/if blood is being passed- this info will help the vet to know if this is a complete blockage requiring emergency surgery- or if it is a partial blockage with a severe infection/inflammation, and/or bladder sludge that may be treated by flushing, this is still very serious and urgent, but treatable within more like 12-24 hours rather than within 2-3 hours for urgent removal of a stone causing complete blockage.
 
I am taking him to the vet later today. He seems to have jollied himself along however i am not sure if he has done a wee recently. I will be able to tell in his carrier on the way to the vet. Thanks
 
This has only started in the last hour and a half so hopefully I’ve caught it quick. I took him to the vet for bumblefoot about 2 weeks ago - Could they be related to eachother?
 
T&A said:
This has only started in the last hour and a half so hopefully I’ve caught it quick. I took him to the vet for bumblefoot about 2 weeks ago - Could they be related to eachother?
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Bumblefoot could well be partly caused by unhealthy urine that is more concentrated due to a blockage, or contains bacteria due to an infection, constantly dribbling onto the feet due to an inflamed/partially blocked urethra.
If you can get urgent vet care that is great, the vet should do an ultrasound scan or xray to look for calcium deposits or stones and inflammation, also dipstick tests on any urine that is produced for protein and blood. Best of luck x
 
Thank you! This is strange as he still seems active and is in and out of the litter tray, eating hay, jumping on top of hides
 
please go to the vet as soon as possible, ideally if they can get you in as an urgent case even earlier than your appointment. If he cannot pee, time really is of the essence. Good luck to you and piggy ❤️
 
He has neither gained nor lost weight since his last appt in April which is good and he is eating plenty of hay and he ate his salad like usual. I need to give him 0.4ml enrocare (antibiotics) x2 a day and 0.2ml meloxicam (as a anti inflammatory pain killer) x2 a day for a week to help with his inflammation on his paws and to help with a UTI if there is one
 
I’m also adding an extra layer of fleece for more padding on his paws as suggested by the vet. They are unsure what is properly wrong as the only visible difference is the redness and tiny scabbing on his paws. The antibiotics are apparently supposed to help both internal and external issues, hence hopefully solving all his problems!
 
T&A said:
He has neither gained nor lost weight since his last appt in April which is good and he is eating plenty of hay and he ate his salad like usual. I need to give him 0.4ml enrocare (antibiotics) x2 a day and 0.2ml meloxicam (as a anti inflammatory pain killer) x2 a day for a week to help with his inflammation on his paws and to help with a UTI if there is one
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It’s good his weight is stable but do ensure you weigh him at home yourself (assuming by the fact you mention his last appointment and weight at that point means you only have the vet weigh him) each week as part of routine care. You then switch to daily weight checks at home when a piggy is unwell. You cannot judge hay intake by eye - they can appear to be eating it but given it is 80% of their food intake, and is the first thing to be impacted when a piggy is unwell, even the slightest reduction can have a huge effect.

The antibiotic you have been prescribed is usually very well tolerated (albeit doesn’t taste nice) and doesn’t tend to be produce many side effects but it can occasionally deplete their appetite so those daily weight checks are important so you can catch any issue early and step in with syringe feeding and probiotics.
 
T&A said:
how long does enrocare take to make a difference?
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An antibiotic will need a few days to start to work but it depends on the situation you are dealing with as to how long it takes to cure any infection - a week is not enough for some infections.

Bumblefoot can take considerably longer and be difficult to heal. It also requires strict cleanliness and changing bedding several times a day.

If his pain during urinating hasnt improved towards the end of the course, then go back to the vet before his antibiotics run out and get them to check him again.
 
They suggested we book him in for a check up next week. I have 2 piggies and in an hour they haven’t finished their 1/4 cup pellets like they usually do. They get the selective nature grain free Timothy hay pellets . Is 1/4 good or should i reduce
 
T&A said:
They suggested we book him in for a check up next week. I have 2 piggies and in an hour they haven’t finished their 1/4 cup pellets like they usually do. They get the selective nature grain free Timothy hay pellets . Is 1/4 good or should i reduce
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That’s far too many pellets. They should only have one tablespoon per pig per day (it amounts to around 6-10 grams per day only).
Pellets are not the important part of their diet (they don’t technically have to have any pellets at all), it’s hay which is the essential part and your daily weight checks of the piggies are checking for hay intake.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
 
Ah ok. And in terms of salad i massively reduced their intake a week ago after realising their poops were softer - I noticed this only when switching to fleece a week ago) i feed them fennel, lettuce and pepper and sometimes cucumber. Never more than 50g per guinea pig
 
T&A said:
Ah ok. And in terms of salad i massively reduced their intake a week ago after realising their poops were softer - I noticed this only when switching to fleece a week ago) i feed them fennel, lettuce and pepper and sometimes cucumber. Never more than 50g per guinea pig
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You can’t weight veg due to the differing densities - 50g of veg doesn’t actually mean anything because 50g of lettuce, for example, will be a lot whereas 50g of cucumber will be hardly anything.
Veg does have to be done by volume and the recommended amount is one cup of veg per pig per day.

Safe daily veggies are coriander, lettuce, cucumber and bell pepper.

The guide I linked in my last reply shows a sample plate and gives further information on feeding.
 
I feed them roughly 1 leaf of lettuce, one slice of fennel, and a slice of pepper
 
T&A said:
I feed them roughly 1 leaf of lettuce, one slice of fennel, and a slice of pepper
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Please do read the guide.

The bulb fennel (as opposed to the herb) - Its not something I’d think of as being a daily veg, it’s fine to feed it but I’d think of it as more of an occasional thing.
 
Oh ok perfect. Does that mean things like celery are not a daily thing either?
 
Please read the guide that piggies and buns attached, if you scroll down number 5 will answer your questions. I understand it is a lot of writing but only takes a couple minutes to read.
I will re-attach it here - Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Yes celery can be fed daily. There are also many guidelines, online, telling you what can be fed and how often but I would recommend following the guide on here.
 
T&A said:
Oh ok perfect. Does that mean things like celery are not a daily thing either?
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I know some people do feed celery daily but it’s not something I’d do. The leaves are high in calcium.

The celery and green bean are shown on the sample plate but they are more variety rather than a daily thing.
 
I don’t feed the celery leaves, only the stalks. I will feed them fennel every other day and see if it makes a difference as well. It’s crazy how much easier it is to spot changes like these when they are on fleece instead of aubiose bedding. I was also wondering if it was safe to spray a 50/50 water and vinegar mix on their fleece to neutralise the smell in between washes?
 
T&A said:
I don’t feed the celery leaves, only the stalks. I will feed them fennel every other day and see if it makes a difference as well. It’s crazy how much easier it is to spot changes like these when they are on fleece instead of aubiose bedding. I was also wondering if it was safe to spray a 50/50 water and vinegar mix on their fleece to neutralise the smell in between washes?
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When you say see if it makes a difference - If he has a UTI then the type of veg you feed won’t make any difference. A UTI is caused by faecal bacteria getting into the bladder.
Its only for helping prevent other bladder issues such as stone formation that veg has more of an impact - with that said, keeping pellets limited and drinking water filtered makes a larger difference as most calcium comes into the diet via pellets and drinking water, not veg.

You can add white vinegar to the detergent drawer when you wash their fleeces.
I don’t think you’d want to spray it between washes when the fleece was still in use, if that is what you mean.

There shouldnt be any smell between washes though. If there is then it is worth looking at if there is something going wrong - ie fleece isn’t wicking properly or you’re not changing it enough.
 
I add white vinegar when washing and wash once a week, changing the puppy pads under their fleece x2 a week. I don’t know what the smell is, it was worse when their poos were soft but there is still a slightly unpleasant smell
 
Hi.

My fleece set up is a layer of fleece with puppy pads underneath.
I change the puppy pads x2 a week and the fleece x1 a week.
one of my guinea pigs seems to have a UTI (which he is on enrocare and anti inflammatory meds for) and mild bumblefoot which is the reason we made the switch to fleece. I wanted to know how i can clean the fleece in his cage to reduce bacteria without having to wash it so often.
I spot clean at least twice a day and they have a litter box under their hay which they don’t seem to like to poo in
 
There is nothing you can use - the fleece needs to be changed if it is soiled and smelling. Trying to make it go longer between washes isn’t feasible.
Fleece can be need to be changed anywhere from every 3-7 days but it depends on the set up, cage size etc (the smaller the cage, the more often it can need to be changed).

If he is suffering with bumblefoot then you need to be changing the fleece out probably a couple of times a day until he heals. You can’t risk there being any damp patches of bedding which will make the bumblefoot worse.
Using smaller fleece pee pads can help. Put them on top of fleece but in high traffic areas such as hides etc. They can be removed a couple of Times a day without having the change the whole fleece.

Is the fleece definitely wicking properly?

Piggies can’t be litter trained, so they will still pee and poop everywhere.

Also, there is the fact that boars will scent mark which will make a smell. If you change it all out in one go, then they will scent mark more, so it can be advisable to change half the cage at a time (ie have two smaller pieces of fleece to cover the whole cover) or rub the new fleece with the soiled fleece to transfer scents and hopefully make them feel more at home.
 
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