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Squeaking when going to bathroom

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Gingerspider

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all! A few months ago we noticed our 3 year old boar Martin started making odd noises. At first we thought it was chuntering/wheeking but then noticed it was sometimes when he was going to the bathroom (pee or poo) we took him to the vets who recommended a short course of painkillers which seemed to work. Since then he's had a few bouts of this. Each time for a week and then recovering. He's not been ill, had any signs of diarreah and has been eating and drinking fine.
This time, his noises turned into louder squeals so we took him to the vet who felt for stones, couldn't feel any and then sent him home with painkillers again. He finished his painkillers and has been squealing again so we went back to the vets today. They said he had lost a bit of weight but not much, otherwise seemed healthy and told us they thought it was bladder sludge (I have seen a big bit of chalky white stuff recently)
They asked us to get a pee sample whilst he's not on painkillers and wait for a specialist vet to return from holiday before scanning for stones and start a low dose painkiller again.
Tonight during floor time (happy running about and eating pepper!) He did what we thought was a wee so went to inspect to see if we could sample but it was brown and bitty. Couldn't work out whether it was wee with blood in it or a runny tum (though his other droppings seemed fine)
Really worried about him, although he's fine in himself and don't know whether to go back and push for a scan earlier. Worried that an inexperienced vet may do more harm than good?
Just fyi- we feed both our piggies a mix of Timothy hay, nuggets and mainly mixed leaf salad with other treats (carrot, pepper, cucumber) sparingly. I am conscious of keeping calcium low in their diet. Len is fine and has no issues, although lives in a separate cage next to Martin as they love a scrap. They are both indoor pigs. We try to add prebiotic/vit c to water but they won't drink that 🤣
I have noticed Martin has had each incident of this following a 'stressful' incident (groomers, vet visit or holiday for us)
Any advice greatly appreciated
 
You are doing the right thing seeing a specialist. When does the specialist come back?

If it's after stressful times it maybe sterile interstitial cystitis. But stones do need to be ruled out first. It sounds like your doing all the right things by getting him checked.
 
Thanks. We do love our piggies so! Would do anything to help them.
The vet today wasn't sure when the other vet was back. Keeping fingers crossed its soon. Spotted some more brownie liquid on his fleece liner tonight. He seems OK, is eating and acting normally. Squealing isn't every time he goes but its heartbreaking to hear it when it's bad.
 
Gingerspider said:
Thanks. We do love our piggies so! Would do anything to help them.
The vet today wasn't sure when the other vet was back. Keeping fingers crossed its soon. Spotted some more brownie liquid on his fleece liner tonight. He seems OK, is eating and acting normally. Squealing isn't every time he goes but its heartbreaking to hear it when it's bad.
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I would find out how long it is to help you make a decision. But often waiting for a specialist is better. I had to bring my piggie to a non specialist when my usual vet was off. It didn't go well! You could also check the list of recommended vets on here if yours isn't due back soon.
Can they put him on painkillers while you wait?

My Nancy has bladder problems and I know how awful it is to hear them in pain.
 
They've asked that we wait to get a pee sample before putting him back on but it's quite difficult as he's never been a niagra falls kind of pig and infuriatingly likes to pee most on fleece bedding or on soft surfaces during floor time. We have taken a swab of the brown substance tonight and will ask them tomorrow if that's useful and when the vet is back.
 
Gingerspider said:
They've asked that we wait to get a pee sample before putting him back on but it's quite difficult as he's never been a niagra falls kind of pig and infuriatingly likes to pee most on fleece bedding or on soft surfaces during floor time. We have taken a swab of the brown substance tonight and will ask them tomorrow if that's useful and when the vet is back.
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So how most people do it is you clean a box or their carrier, feed him veggies and then syringe up the urine from the plastic box. So don't put hay etc in there. And then put back into his home once he's weed. You need to sanitise the box first. It's not 100% as obviously piggies have bacteria on their paws but it's normally good enough. That's how we've done wee samples for my Nancy.
 
Thanks. I'll do that! So long as he plays ball and does a wee bigger than a timy spot! Does blood in pee look brown?
 
Gingerspider said:
Thanks. I'll do that! So long as he plays ball and does a wee bigger than a timy spot! Does blood in pee look brown?
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I give plenty of veg before to encourage wees.

It can do, though it's normally brown when dried with blood rather than straight out. When Nancy has blood it's red. She also has tan coloured wees which are completely normal and contain no blood. Orange coloured wees can be normal. Also, things like carrot, beetroot, red pepper can change the wee colour. As can just oxidisation.
 
I do find if a poo drops in the urine it can also look brown.
 
I had to take 2 of my piggies to see a gp savvy vet last week for something that sounds very familiar to the problem your piggy is having. The vet did a procedure to make their bladder work and saw the wee was gritty. They were both put on Loxicom and cystophan medication . It seems to be working well. This is only my recent experience and I'm not suggesting its the same but the info may be helpful to you. Hope you get answers soon so your piggy can feel better soon x
 
Martin has been on Loxicom which was definitely making it better. Both my pigs have been white peeers their whole life (same diet, low calcium, so dont know why?) but I did notice it looked very chalky when dry a few days ago.
His pee (I think pee) now looking browny when dried. I'll try and catch a fresh one tomorrow!
 
Gingerspider said:
Martin has been on Loxicom which was definitely making it better. Both my pigs have been white peeers their whole life (same diet, low calcium, so dont know why?) but I did notice it looked very chalky when dry a few days ago.
His pee (I think pee) now looking browny when dried. I'll try and catch a fresh one tomorrow!
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Creamy white pee is normally just we don't want it gritty.

How much pellets are you feeding? They recommend a tablespoon per piggie on here. Mine actually get much less than that now, only about a teaspoon each as it causes Nancy to be in more pain. Also, filtering water.



If the scans come back clean I would ask your vet about going on glucosamine. Nancy has
multiple meds but one is feliway cystease. It's one of the first things to try for bladder pain that isn't a stone. It helps line the bladder. It's a supplement so you can buy it yourself. Also, feel free to ask about what treatment Nancy has had if you find it's not a stone. Nancy has had a lot, x-rays, ultrasounds, a lot of meds and it seems that we are hopefully now finding a combo that works.
 
Gingerspider said:
Hi all! A few months ago we noticed our 3 year old boar Martin started making odd noises. At first we thought it was chuntering/wheeking but then noticed it was sometimes when he was going to the bathroom (pee or poo) we took him to the vets who recommended a short course of painkillers which seemed to work. Since then he's had a few bouts of this. Each time for a week and then recovering. He's not been ill, had any signs of diarreah and has been eating and drinking fine.
This time, his noises turned into louder squeals so we took him to the vet who felt for stones, couldn't feel any and then sent him home with painkillers again. He finished his painkillers and has been squealing again so we went back to the vets today. They said he had lost a bit of weight but not much, otherwise seemed healthy and told us they thought it was bladder sludge (I have seen a big bit of chalky white stuff recently)
They asked us to get a pee sample whilst he's not on painkillers and wait for a specialist vet to return from holiday before scanning for stones and start a low dose painkiller again.
Tonight during floor time (happy running about and eating pepper!) He did what we thought was a wee so went to inspect to see if we could sample but it was brown and bitty. Couldn't work out whether it was wee with blood in it or a runny tum (though his other droppings seemed fine)
Really worried about him, although he's fine in himself and don't know whether to go back and push for a scan earlier. Worried that an inexperienced vet may do more harm than good?
Just fyi- we feed both our piggies a mix of Timothy hay, nuggets and mainly mixed leaf salad with other treats (carrot, pepper, cucumber) sparingly. I am conscious of keeping calcium low in their diet. Len is fine and has no issues, although lives in a separate cage next to Martin as they love a scrap. They are both indoor pigs. We try to add prebiotic/vit c to water but they won't drink that 🤣
I have noticed Martin has had each incident of this following a 'stressful' incident (groomers, vet visit or holiday for us)
Any advice greatly appreciated
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Hope the specialist can help. I had a pig who passed a stone and had two surgically removed. Any noise whilst having a wee or poo is bad news, giving them pain relief is not enough, it needs x rays. I really hope you get to the bottom of it! Xrays should have been suggested already by vet
This sounds harsh but, I'd change vet.
 
Xrays have been suggested. Just waiting for the qualified vet to return. We have been with these vets for a long time and they've always been great. He seems fine this morning and not heard any more noises.
 
Gingerspider said:
Xrays have been suggested. Just waiting for the qualified vet to return. We have been with these vets for a long time and they've always been great. He seems fine this morning and not heard any more noises.
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Such a relief that he's feeling better this morning, hope it stays that way :) once the piggy vet returns I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of it and find a resolution :)
 
An update from last week: Martin was doing well for a few days. No squeaking! Then it started up badly again over the weekend. We went back to the vets to check the pee sample and they have said they can see protein and 'debris'. They said it could be a few things; infection, sludge or stone or a build up in his penis. They recommended a scan but the specialist isn't back until the 17th August so said they could get a general practitioner to do it or could refer elsewhere (could be over an hours drive away)
I worried because they said they would need to shave him for an ultrasound but seen many people on here suggest it would be an x-ray and not a scan? I know from my own human experience that with calcium, it contrasts very well on x-ray so no idea why they would ultrasound?
I dont want to wait too long (even though he is fine I himself, running around and eating well) but also don't want him to be unnecessarily shaved/distressed if the vets don't know what they're doing. Equally don't want to stress him driving such a long way away (and this would only be possible next weekend due to work, so again another wait)
We have noticed a pattern now that it tend to get worse when he's not had floor time for a couple of days (at a weekend when we cant) and then when he has floor time he's weeing a lot more. I'd read somewhere that the exercise jiggles them around and helps them pass the bits more easily, so we will try and get him out for an hour every day, have stopped nuggets for now and have increased little treats of cucumber and pepper. We are also putting him back on painkillers (loxicam) but higher than the lowest dose because that didn't seem to help and the last day or so, he's been better.
Any advice on which of the options to try really appreciated
 
Gingerspider said:
An update from last week: Martin was doing well for a few days. No squeaking! Then it started up badly again over the weekend. We went back to the vets to check the pee sample and they have said they can see protein and 'debris'. They said it could be a few things; infection, sludge or stone or a build up in his penis. They recommended a scan but the specialist isn't back until the 17th August so said they could get a general practitioner to do it or could refer elsewhere (could be over an hours drive away)
I worried because they said they would need to shave him for an ultrasound but seen many people on here suggest it would be an x-ray and not a scan? I know from my own human experience that with calcium, it contrasts very well on x-ray so no idea why they would ultrasound?
I dont want to wait too long (even though he is fine I himself, running around and eating well) but also don't want him to be unnecessarily shaved/distressed if the vets don't know what they're doing. Equally don't want to stress him driving such a long way away (and this would only be possible next weekend due to work, so again another wait)
We have noticed a pattern now that it tend to get worse when he's not had floor time for a couple of days (at a weekend when we cant) and then when he has floor time he's weeing a lot more. I'd read somewhere that the exercise jiggles them around and helps them pass the bits more easily, so we will try and get him out for an hour every day, have stopped nuggets for now and have increased little treats of cucumber and pepper. We are also putting him back on painkillers (loxicam) but higher than the lowest dose because that didn't seem to help and the last day or so, he's been better.
Any advice on which of the options to try really appreciated
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An hour's drive would be worth it for a good vet. Have you checked the recommended list on here to see if one of those vets are near you?

They do tend to do x-rays first to rule out stones. My Nancy had x-rays which showed no stones before then doing an ultrasound to check bladder lining. Your right that stones tend to show up well on x-rays if they are in the bladder.
 
I tried following the link but it didn't work. On Google, my vet is a recommended exotics. Its just a pain they're on holiday!
Would stones show up on an ultrasound? I've had plenty of them and they managed to miss a 20cm tumour so I'm not sure how they get a tiny little stone to show up 🤣
 
Gingerspider said:
I tried following the link but it didn't work. On Google, my vet is a recommended exotics. Its just a pain they're on holiday!
Would stones show up on an ultrasound? I've had plenty of them and they managed to miss a 20cm tumour so I'm not sure how they get a tiny little stone to show up 🤣
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Have you tried going to the left hand side on here, and then scrolling down on the green list to recommended vets?

Stones can show up on ultrasounds but my understanding is they are more likely to be missed than on an x-ray. Most vets seem to prefer x-rays. My vet doesn't ultrasound for stones.
 
My piggy’s stone was detected by an ultra sound.

Here’s the image.

IMG_2181.webp

Good luck. I hope your piggy is soon on the mend.
 
I might go back to them and ask why they aren't x-raying?
Followed the link down the side but they're all 2ish hours away. Our vets did say they could refer. I'll ask where they might be able to refer to.
Just thinking if they did find stones/sludge they aren't going to be able to do a right lot about it anyway and I wouldn't be going there for any ops. I'm trying to take comfort that other than sporadic squeaks he seems perfectly normal for now 🤞
 
My poppys stones have all shown up on an ultrasound. But due to having ongoing bladder problems for a long time she had many x rays and ultrasounds as I’ve always been told sometimes they can show up on one but not the other. I’m also very fortunate that I work in a 24 hour veterinary hospital so the vets are quite happy to just pop the ultrasound probe on to have a look if needed. Both times the stone was very obvious on the ultrasound and I have the images if it’s something you’d like to see! And so the vet didn’t do an x ray due to how obvious it was. Also the vets able to look at the bladder lining and see if there’s any sludge etc there too. However she has had many x rays (I honestly couldn’t count the poor things needed so many scans) but they’ve all been conscious so not always the most clear view of the bladder.
Yes exercise will jiggle the bladder. Sort of like a snow globe. Move everything around a bit so we always tried to get her to eat lots of watery veg or have a nice big drink and then have a run around to encourage a big wee if she was struggling with sludge build up. The vet even got me to try and massage her bladder but she was too sore at that time and so we were unable to do that:(
My girls stones were calcium carbonate if that helps at all. Both times we opted for a CT scan after the ultrasound to make sure they were no other extra issues. Especially as she had hernia too. It just allowed the vet to see alot more. This can be very costly though.
One thing I’ve learnt the hard way is that sometimes it is just genetic. I’ve spent the last two years doing everything I can to help poppys bladder, done so much research had her on filtered water special diet and meds but she still formed a stone and formed a second stone 9 months later. I have now accepted it was genetic and I couldn’t have tried to prevent it anymore. All we can do is our best. I hope you get to the bottom of your little ones problems, it’s just awful when they have bladder problems. ❤️
 
Update: Martin went off for his scan this morning. They couldn't find any evidence of stone or tumours or anything like that. They did say his penis was a bit caked in calcium and cleared that out for him although they noted it wasn't as bad as other cases they had seen. They have advised we remain on a low dose painkiller for a few days and if it doesn't improve try some antibiotics and then if that doesn't improve, refer to a specialist. He seems OK and hasn't done any huge squeals in a few days. He's happy pottering about on floor time currently seeking the hidden cucumber!
They did find a 'crusty' bit on his tummy when they shaved him that they didn't seem overly concerned about but again told us to come back if it got worse.
 
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