Squeaking while peeping and pooping.

[PigMom94]

Hello everyone!
I am the mother of 4very happy guinea pigs. One of my pigs, her name is bubbles, has been qweaking quite loud everytime she pees. I got her from the Animal shelter and they didnt know how old she was. We are approximating that she is about 5-6 years old. She qweaks when she pees. Then she has another loud qweak, arches her back and poops. I read a couple of threads before going to the doctor and it sounded like a kidney or bladder stone or a UTI. We took her to the vet today. The vet pressed her abdomen and when she went lower near the bladder, bubbles qweaked really loud. So she took her in for an xray to see if they were stones. But she said she did not find any stones. She gave me some medicine that she said was a painkiller/anti-inflammatory. Its called METACAM. She said i should give it to her once everyday for a couple of days, and if it still doesnt get any better i should go back to her for a urine smear test. I gave bubbles the medicine today, but she still qweaks as loud as before and looks quite uncomfortable. Apart from that, she eats and drinks normally, is acting just like she always does. I have seen no other difference in her behaviour.
I wanted to ask you, if anyone had any idea if it was smart to wait a couple of days and just see if she gets better? Has anyone been through something like this before?

 

[Wiebke]

Hello everyone!
I am the mother of 4very happy guinea pigs. One of my pigs, her name is bubbles, has been qweaking quite loud everytime she pees. I got her from the Animal shelter and they didnt know how old she was. We are approximating that she is about 5-6 years old. She qweaks when she pees. Then she has another loud qweak, arches her back and poops. I read a couple of threads before going to the doctor and it sounded like a kidney or bladder stone or a UTI. We took her to the vet today. The vet pressed her abdomen and when she went lower near the bladder, bubbles qweaked really loud. So she took her in for an xray to see if they were stones. But she said she did not find any stones. She gave me some medicine that she said was a painkiller/anti-inflammatory. Its called METACAM. She said i should give it to her once everyday for a couple of days, and if it still doesnt get any better i should go back to her for a urine smear test. I gave bubbles the medicine today, but she still qweaks as loud as before and looks quite uncomfortable. Apart from that, she eats and drinks normally, is acting just like she always does. I have seen no other difference in her behaviour.
I wanted to ask you, if anyone had any idea if it was smart to wait a couple of days and just see if she gets better? Has anyone been through something like this before?

Hi and welcome!

So your vet has given you just metacam? Please be aware that even with a combination of an antibiotic and an analgesic (metacam) it takes usually about 2-3 days at the best for acute symptoms to subside. But it is good that your vet has promptly checked for stones with a very sore bladder.
What metacam (cat or dog) and what dosage have you been prescribed? it would also help us if you please added which country you are in as we have members and enquiries from all over the world with very different climates and background, vet access and medical brand names etc...)

There are three different infectious issues that present with very similar symptoms:
- UTI: bacterial urine infection caused by faecal bacteria getting into the urinary tract. This is the classic UTI that is generally treated with an antibiotic.
- Bacterial cystitis: This is a bladder infection that reacts to antibiotics.
- Sterile interstitial cystitis (or sterile IC): This a non-bacterial recurring infection of the bladder walls that cannot be healed by an antibiotic. You can only address the acute symptoms. Treatment is generally with plenty of glucosamine (which is classed as a food supplement and not as a medication) to replenish the natural glucosamine coating of the walls of the urinary tract against the corrosive urine and metacam, which is there for the pain and the swelling in the bladder walls. Sterile IC cannot be healed, just managed until it goes away on their own; usually in a matter of years rather than months unfortunately.
I assume that your vet is strongly suspecting the last as they have not bothered with an antibiotic.

Please discuss with them the use of cystease capsules (a glucosamine based cat food supplement widely available online) when you see them next. You mix the contents of one capsule with 2 ml of water and syringe half of it every 12 hours or all of it every 24 hours; ideal is a small medicine bottle from your vets or a pharmacy. Shake well before use and wait until it has fully dissolves. Keep in the fridge when mixed with water.

Here are our dietary recommendations for piggies with urinary tract problems (under special needs diets): Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

I hope that helps you to have a better idea what is going on? Please be aware that most medications (human ones, too) take several days to build up to full efficiency. I would also like to see how much and what strength metacam your vet has prescribed as that will also influence how quickly a guinea pig will react.

 

[PigMom94]

Hi and welcome!

So your vet has given you just metacam? Please be aware that even with a combination of an antibiotic and an analgesic (metacam) it takes usually about 2-3 days at the best for acute symptoms to subside. But it is good that your vet has promptly checked for stones with a very sore bladder.
What metacam (cat or dog) and what dosage have you been prescribed? it would also help us if you please added which country you are in as we have members and enquiries from all over the world with very different climates and background, vet access and medical brand names etc...)

There are three different infectious issues that present with very similar symptoms:
- UTI: bacterial urine infection caused by faecal bacteria getting into the urinary tract. This is the classic UTI that is generally treated with an antibiotic.
- Bacterial cystitis: This is a bladder infection that reacts to antibiotics.
- Sterile interstitial cystitis (or sterile IC): This a non-bacterial recurring infection of the bladder walls that cannot be healed by an antibiotic. You can only address the acute symptoms. Treatment is generally with plenty of glucosamine (which is classed as a food supplement and not as a medication) to replenish the natural glucosamine coating of the walls of the urinary tract against the corrosive urine and metacam, which is there for the pain and the swelling in the bladder walls. Sterile IC cannot be healed, just managed until it goes away on their own; usually in a matter of years rather than months unfortunately.
I assume that your vet is strongly suspecting the last as they have not bothered with an antibiotic.

Please discuss with them the use of cystease capsules (a glucosamine based cat food supplement widely available online) when you see them next. You mix the contents of one capsule with 2 ml of water and syringe half of it every 12 hours or all of it every 24 hours; ideal is a small medicine bottle from your vets or a pharmacy. Shake well before use and wait until it has fully dissolves. Keep in the fridge when mixed with water.

Here are our dietary recommendations for piggies with urinary tract problems (under special needs diets): Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

I hope that helps you to have a better idea what is going on? Please be aware that most medications (human ones, too) take several days to build up to full efficiency. I would also like to see how much and what strength metacam your vet has prescribed as that will also influence how quickly a guinea pig will react.

Hi Wiebke,

Thank you so much for your message. The pigs and I live in Germany. The vet has recommended 1 part of the scale on the syringe. The scale is in kg. It is Metacam for cats.
Me and my boyfriend were reading a lot on the internet, also about the medicine. As it doesnt seem to relieve her pain, we thought about doubling the dose by giving here 1kg in the morning and one at night. We read that it is okay to do so. Do you recommend it? I think the 1kg scale is 0.1ml. Bubbles weighs around 980g.
Also, the vet said that she could not do a urine test as bubbles' bladder was empty. Hence, she suggested that if the pain continues after a couple of days, i should take bubbles back and leave her at the vet's for a couple of hours until they get some pee and test it. She seemed very relaxed about it. She said she saw no external syptoms and that according to her, it does not seem life threatening. But looking at bubbles still in pain, it really hurts me.
Thank you for listing the possible problems it could be, they all sound quite serious. Is there a possibility of there being anything else that fit these symptoms?
I am honestly not sure what the doctor thinks. But i could definitely talk to her about the capsules the next time I'm there.
My main question is, why would a vet prescribe just pain killers and not medication to heal the problem. Pain killers would only relieve her from a bit of the pain. But the infection or bacteria or whatever the underlying issue is would still not be solved right? Do you think the vet believes its a minor issue and would eventually resolve itself?
I am really nervous about this and i dont want to be too late to get bubbles the right treatment.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi Wiebke,

Thank you so much for your message. The pigs and I live in Germany. The vet has recommended 1 part of the scale on the syringe. The scale is in kg. It is Metacam for cats.
Me and my boyfriend were reading a lot on the internet, also about the medicine. As it doesnt seem to relieve her pain, we thought about doubling the dose by giving here 1kg in the morning and one at night. We read that it is okay to do so. Do you recommend it? I think the 1kg scale is 0.1ml. Bubbles weighs around 980g.
Also, the vet said that she could not do a urine test as bubbles' bladder was empty. Hence, she suggested that if the pain continues after a couple of days, i should take bubbles back and leave her at the vet's for a couple of hours until they get some pee and test it. She seemed very relaxed about it. She said she saw no external syptoms and that according to her, it does not seem life threatening. But looking at bubbles still in pain, it really hurts me.
Thank you for listing the possible problems it could be, they all sound quite serious. Is there a possibility of there being anything else that fit these symptoms?
I am honestly not sure what the doctor thinks. But i could definitely talk to her about the capsules the next time I'm there.
My main question is, why would a vet prescribe just pain killers and not medication to heal the problem. Pain killers would only relieve her from a bit of the pain. But the infection or bacteria or whatever the underlying issue is would still not be solved right? Do you think the vet believes its a minor issue and would eventually resolve itself?
I am really nervous about this and i dont want to be too late to get bubbles the right treatment.

That is a very low dose of metacam verging on the cosmetic; good that you are doubling it. Normally we see about 0.6-0.75 ml (about two thirds to three quarters on your syringe scale) twice daily in that situation from experienced guinea pig vets. I would therefore not expect much improvement. Unlike cats or dogs, guinea pigs have a much faster metabolism (hence the need to give metacam every 12 hours) and their kidneys also cope a lot better with metacam than other pet species, even longer term.
Your vet is obviously not all that experienced with guinea pigs and is therefore taking a rather cautious approach.

Urinary tract infections are not at all pleasant (especially not IC of which I have a few piggies here at the moment myself) but the good news is that they are not life threatening, life shortening and they do not cause any bladder stones.
I sincerely hope that your vet can work their way through the issue. Apart from cats, guinea pigs are the other species prone to urinary tract problems due to their highly alcaline urine, which is why treatment is often along similar lines to that of cats; especially in the case of sterile IC (in cats known as FSC, feline sterile cystitis).

Could you please add your country to location in your account details (accessed by clicking on your username on the top bar). This makes it appear with every post you make and allows us to tailor any advice and recommendations to a non-UK or non-US standard straight away with just a quick glance to the left as brand names (like those for cat bladder supplements or glucosamine) may differ. Thank you!

PS: In case you wonder about my name: I am a Swiss ex-pat with Northern German family roots (my parents basically never found the way home) who ended up getting married to a Welshman living in England...

 

[PigMom94]

That is a very low dose of metacam verging on the cosmetic; good that you are doubling it. Normally we see about 0.6-0.75 ml (about two thirds to three quarters on your syringe scale) twice daily in that situation from experienced guinea pig vets. I would therefore not expect much improvement. Unlike cats or dogs, guinea pigs have a much faster metabolism (hence the need to give metacam every 12 hours) and their kidneys also cope a lot better with metacam than other pet species, even longer term.
Your vet is obviously not all that experienced with guinea pigs and is therefore taking a rather cautious approach.

Urinary tract infections are not at all pleasant (especially not IC of which I have a few piggies here at the moment myself) but the good news is that they are not life threatening, life shortening and they do not cause any bladder stones.
I sincerely hope that your vet can work their way through the issue. Apart from cats, guinea pigs are the other species prone to urinary tract problems due to their highly alcaline urine, which is why treatment is often along similar lines to that of cats; especially in the case of sterile IC (in cats known as FSC, feline sterile cystitis).

Could you please add your country to location in your account details (accessed by clicking on your username on the top bar). This makes it appear with every post you make and allows us to tailor any advice and recommendations to a non-UK or non-US standard straight away with just a quick glance to the left as brand names (like those for cat bladder supplements or glucosamine) may differ. Thank you!

PS: In case you wonder about my name: I am a Swiss ex-pat with Northern German family roots (my parents basically never found the way home) who ended up getting married to a Welshman living in England...

Thank you so much for all the information and your help. I am giving her 0.2ml twice a day. Once in the morning with the veggies and once at night again with food. I also read that lots of greens like dandelion leaves, salad leaves and fresh grass helps with more water intake. She definitely doesnt seem any better which is sad, but yes I'm hoping that the vet figures out what is wrong the next time i take her.
I have added my location to the post
Thank you for your help again and i will keep you posted on how she is.

 

[PigMom94]

Update!
We took Bubbles back to the vet as she was still qweaking while peeing. The vet kept her over the afternoon to be able to extract some pee for a urine test. When we went back to get her, the vet said that bubbles had bladder sludge, some bacteria in the bladder (possible UTI) and an inflammed uterus. She gave us Baytril 0,5ml daily and told us to continue with Metacam basically until both are empty. She said that the medicines should work but we should also be super careful about what we feed them. From what i read up, i have decided to completely stop the pellets, except a little for my littlest one (3months old) Bunny. Maybe i would feed some to her as a treat as i read that pigs younger than 6months need extra calcium.
I also heard that the water here in Germany has a lot of calcium which could have also been a factor. So i will buy a filter as soon as i can and only give them filtered water.
I also wanted to ask if you had any more tips? I already read the post on the low calcium veggie diet on the forum and would definitely apply that

 

[Siikibam]

Pellets should be kept to only one tablespoon per pig per day. How much have you been feeding? And did they contain alfalfa? If so, alfalfa is high in calcium and is only recommended for babies and nursing mothers. Piggies under 6 months don’t necessarily need more calcium. And it’s up to four months that you can feed two tablespoons. So I would just cut to a tablespoon for each of them and stop feeding any alfalfa etc.

Filtered water should also help. Water and pellets are the main contributors to calcium in their diet. Nonetheless, do cut out anything that’s high in calcium from the feeding guide.

I hope she starts to feel better soon.

 

[PigMom94]

Pellets should be kept to only one tablespoon per pig per day. How much have you been feeding? And did they contain alfalfa? If so, alfalfa is high in calcium and is only recommended for babies and nursing mothers. Piggies under 6 months don’t necessarily need more calcium. And it’s up to four months that you can feed two tablespoons. So I would just cut to a tablespoon for each of them and stop feeding any alfalfa etc.

Filtered water should also help. Water and pellets are the main contributors to calcium in their diet. Nonetheless, do cut out anything that’s high in calcium from the feeding guide.

I hope she starts to feel better soon.

Thank you so much for your advice siikibam. I was feeling realy bad to cut out the pellets completely, so its good to know i can give them upto a table spoon.
Since i have 4 piggies, i have 4 bowls where i would put pellets just enough to almost cover the lower surface. But i would refill it everyday and i think that was the problem. The pellets i usually bought(Atleast from whats written on the pack) doesnt contain any alfalfa. I have attached a picture below. But the vet gave me a bag of special pellets which is low calorie. I would probably only feed them that now.

 

[Siikibam]

I see there’s some fruit in it. Is it a pellet or muesli mix?

 

[PigMom94]

Its a pellet mix. With added fruits.

 

[Siikibam]

Pellets should be plain and grass based with no fruits or seeds etc added. Fruits aren’t something that should be fed daily. Are you able to get another type? Perhaps on amazon or in pet shops? Here’s A link to a nugget comparison chart.

 

[PigMom94]

Thank you for the link. I am going to have a look at it.
Unfortunately, 3weeks later and she's starting to qweak again. The doctor said that i should finish the whole bottle of Baytril (3ml). But after about a week and a half i stopped giving it to her as she had stopped qweaking and i was worried about too much antibiotics. But i was told that it wasnt good to stop the antibiotics and that i should complete the whole course of medicines or else the bacteria would not die. So i started giving it again for the next 3-4days till the bottle was empty. But now 3days later after the bottle was over she seems to have trouble again.
I recently moved to a new city (Frankfurt) and i am planning on visiting a doctor specialized in small animals (kleintierarzt). I am just worried that they have to do all the tests like the xray and sonogram again to see if she has any stones. It was quite expensive the last time. I ended up paying 300€ for the whole treatment.
Ofcourse, i would not leave any stone unturned to get her treated, but I'm wonderful why it recurred so fast. Its overall expensive and i hate seeing her in so much pain.
I reduced the dry food to once in 3-4 days, i started giving them filtered water, started giving them a lot of fresh greens daily, bought premium fresh hay and also started adding more cucumber to their daily veggie intake. It still does not seem to help

 

[Siikibam]

I’m sorry to hear it’s started again. But you shouldn’t stop the antibiotics just because she stopped squeaking. They work the same way with us - you have to finish the course.
I would have her seen as soon as possible really. Sorry I can’t remember but did the vet give you any anti-inflammatory/painkiller?

 

[PigMom94]

I made a huge mistake there then Never again!
Yes, the doctor also gave her a painkiller: Metacam.
Do you think its better to take her to a doctor or to get the same medicines Metacam and Baytril again and start the dose? I know self medication is never a good idea, hence the question.

 

[Siikibam]

I would visit the vet again and see what they say.

 

[PigMom94]

Okay. Thank you! I am going to book an appointment right away. Hope i get something soon.