Swollen anus in female guinea pig

[oscarbunny]

Hi,

I am of course going to take my guinea pig to the vet to get checked out, however I am just wondering what may be wrong with her.

I have an almost 4 year old female guinea pig (or so I believe, rescue weren't 100% sure of her age when I got her).

I noticed yesterday that her anus was hard, I just assumed she had a poop in there as that was the shape of the lump. However, the lump is still there today so I monitored her to see if she was pooing and she is pooing normally but the hard poop shaped piece seems to still be there.

What could this possibly be? I have felt my other female guinea pig and she doesn't seem to have this lump.

 

[Wiebke]

Sorry, I can't help you, but hopefully some of the bigger medical guns on here will!

 

[oscarbunny]

I really hope so as I don't know what it could be

 

[alcesterpigs]

I suspect that she has a stone stuck at the end of her urethra.
If that is the case, it is a simple procedure to remove it, a general anaesthetic is not necessary,

 

[oscarbunny]

I've been to see a vet (not my usual one I might add) and upon examination he discovered that it wasn't her anus that was swollen but her urethra. It felt very hard, almost like bone, calcified. He couldn't say whether it was a lump which was part of the urethra or a lump which was pressing on the urethra. If it was the former, then he said the prognosis would be poor in that the urethra would eventually block completely and then her bladder would burst. She is also "projectile weeing" which is consistent with the pressure on her urethra.

I am going to see my usual vet too just to confirm a diagnosis and to see if anything can be done.

 

[alcesterpigs]

Don't take too much notice of the vet. It is 99.999% certain to be a stone at the end of the urethra, these are very easily removed, there is no need for a general anaesthetic.
I am surprised the vet said it could be a lump that was part of the urethra, especially after he had described it as a calcified lump!
I have removed several of these stones, the size varies, they can be upto 1.5cm in diameter.

 

[LennyPig]

just out of interest alcesterpigs, what is the proceedure for removing a stone?

just interested to know.... thanks

 

[sharonS]

I suspect that she has a stone stuck at the end of her urethra.
If that is the case, it is a simple procedure to remove it, a general anaesthetic is not necessary,

Sounds like that to me too, my sow was swollen in that area when she had the urethra stone.

 

[oscarbunny]

I am going to see another vet today for a second opinion. I too didn't think that what he was saying correlated with what she has. I too would be interested to know what the procedure was for removing the stone without anesthetic.

 

[sharonS]

I think they could perhaps use a local anesthetic, but it all depends on the what the vets advice was. My sow was put under general but that was down to the vets decision. Good luck, I hope that if it turns out to be a stone that it can be removed sucessfully. The symptoms do sound very similar to that of my sow. Swollen anus,also projectile weeing. My sow ended up with an infection due to the backup of urine, poor girl. Let us know how you go on.

 

[oscarbunny]

Hi everyone,

I took my piggy to see the vet that I trust this morning. He examined her and confirmed that it was indeed a bladder stone. He said that it was very hard and must have been causing her a great deal of discomfort. It was an awkward shape too. He said that he would have to make the smallest of incisions to remove it and that he would have to give her an anaesthetic. I asked about a local anaesthetic and he said that she could become distressed. Reluctantly I agreed to go ahead with the procedure. This vet has a good track record with guinea pig anesthesia, so I trusted him to operate on her. He used only isofluorine though and nothing was injected. He said it was a relatively simple procedure, lasting 10-15 minutes at the most.

Anyway, a couple of hours later I got a phone call saying that I could collect her and that he had removed a large stone from her urethra. He also said there were some very small stones in there and that they would make their way out quite easily now that the blockage has been removed. I have the actual bladder stone. I am going to take a pic and post it on here.

Anyway, she is very active at the moment and is insisting on rearranging the furniture in her home. She is running around and seems very happy. The only thing that I am concerned about is that she hasn't eaten since having the anesthetic. She might have had a nibble of a carrot.

I have baytril to give to her twice daily. I am assuming that she will need some form of probiotic with the baytril, like you would give to a rabbit. Would fibreplex be ok or is this a no-no in guinea pigs? If anyone could reccommend one I would be grateful.
Also... her diet, what should I feed her so that this doesn't occur again. The vet also reccommended Vitamin C supplement so that it would make her urine a little more acidic.

Anyway, I am so pleased that she is OK. Thanks so much for your advice.

 

[alcesterpigs]

Good result, even if it meant a GA!
I know some people give their pigs Bio Lapis as a probiotic.
I do not change the diet of a pig that has had a stone, the possibility of another stone developing is quite low.
You have to apply common sense sometimes!

 

[lovelygirl]

If she is not eating you will need to syringe feed her you do not want her guts not working try offering her fav veggies and freshly cut grass. Yes she will need probiotics not sure on fibreplex as have never had it, I use the one you buy in p@h. If you go into the food section there is a great sticky on calcium phosphorous ratios that laura put together, but she will still need some calcium maybe just avoid really high calcium foods.

Fingers cross for a full and swift recovery!