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Urine Infections & too much calcium in urine

  • Thread starter Thread starter emma123
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emma123

Hi all, my guinea pig Holly has been backwards and forwards to the vets recently as i thought she had a UTI.

About 2 weeks ago i noticed she had a really wet bum so took her to the vets a couple of days later. When he squeezed her bladder area all this white/milky urine spurted out which he diagnosed as an infection. He took a sample and put her on a course of 0.4mls a day of an antibiotic called Baytril.
I took her back a couple of days later so he could check her again and he said that the sample had shown a rare form of bacteria and also showed that she has too much calcium in her urine so told me to continue with Baytril.
Well 2 weeks later and she is still wet around her bum area and i spoke to the vet again today and he said that Baytril should have killed the bacteria but he doesn't know what to suggest to get rid of the calcium which he thinks is causing the wetness.

Has anyone come across this before and can anyone recommend any treatments/diet supplements to help with this?

Any advice please would be greatly appreciated.
 
Erm...I am baffled to be honest. A rare form of bacteria? I can`t see how a urine infection could cause constant wetness round the bum area :-\ Symptoms associated with urinary tract infection/cystitis or bladder stones are blood in urine and high pitched squeaking due to pain on passing urine. Too much calcium in their diet can cause renal stones.
Septrin is the best antibiotic for urinary infections in guineas although people have had sucess with baytril, especially if the infection is caught early.
Sorry, either I am not understanding what your vet is saying or your vet is talking poop!
Hopefully Maryh or Karenrgpr will be along soon and can advise better :)
 
How old is this piggy?

Is the piggy fully mobile.Sometimes older pigs can get arthritis in the hips and leg joints which makes it difficult for them to lift themselves properly when peeing,this can cause wetness of the rear end.If the piggy is really elderly,6 yrs or more,there is a possibility that a weakening of the bladder spincter has caused incontinence.

Have you noticed the pig drinking more,and is there any weight loss?Diabetis will make the piggy pee more than usual.

As Lavenderjade has said,a UTI is unlikely to cause wetness.,and the pig will left itself up and strain whilst peeing.UTIs


can be persistant and I have found that is Septrin does not clear it within 10-14 days,then switching to Baytril for a week will sometimes work.I find that
Baytril alone will not often clear up a UTI.

White milky urine is very common and although it could be too much calcium in the diet,it could just be that the piggy is not drinking enough.Give Holly some extra water by syringe.,do this every day untill the urine becomes clearer.
You cannot use any supplement untill you know what is causing this wetness.
 
maryh said:
How old is this piggy?

Is the piggy fully mobile.Sometimes older pigs can get arthritis in the hips and leg joints which makes it difficult for them to lift themselves properly when peeing,this can cause wetness of the rear end.If the piggy is really elderly,6 yrs or more,there is a possibility that a weakening of the bladder spincter has caused incontinence.

Have you noticed the pig drinking more,and is there any weight loss?Diabetis will make the piggy pee more than usual.

As Lavenderjade has said,a UTI is unlikely to cause wetness.,and the pig will left itself up and strain whilst peeing.UTIs


can be persistant and I have found that is Septrin does not clear it within 10-14 days,then switching to Baytril for a week will sometimes work.I find that
Baytril alone will not often clear up a UTI.

White milky urine is very common and although it could be too much calcium in the diet,it could just be that the piggy is not drinking enough.Give Holly some extra water by syringe.,do this every day untill the urine becomes clearer.
You cannot use any supplement untill you know what is causing this wetness.
Click to expand...

Holly is only 3 years old so i doubt she has an arthritis problem although this isn't something i had considered. May be worth looking into.

She is very active and is eating and drinking as normal and looks really well apart from her wet bum. The vet didn't say what the bacteria was, just said that he had never seen this form of bacteria in a guinea pig before and had spoken to another vet who had the same opinion. When i spoke to him again today he said that the high level of calcium in her urine may right itself with time and he said just to keep her clean and see how things transpire. The Baytril that he prescribed me he said should kill the bacteria but he thinks it's more the calcium that's causing the problem so i'm just slightly baffled! She isn't straining to wee, nor does she seem to be in any pain. I clean them out every day so they are very clean.

She has not lost any weight and lives with another piggy who is fine, no problems.

I was just reading another post about foods and i might slowly introduce a different food and see if that makes any difference.
Thanks for the advice so far though, it's nice to have some help and options to try.

Might even take her to a diff vets next week and see if i can get a second opinion.
 
Hello

I have just read your post and I am experiencing exactly the same problem with my piggy Tinkerbell. For a few months we have been going back and forth to the vets because of her constant wet bum. She has had two courses of Baytril but neither worked so they suggested spaying her in case she had a hormone imbalance. Clearly it was a nerve wracking and expensive operation but she recovered beautifully - but still has a wet bum! I am at the end of my teather so am off to another vets for a second opinion. Like your piggy, she is very happy other than this and seems completely normal.

Sorry I cannot help but it may help to hear that you are not alone! :)
 
Baytril is not the antibiotic of choice for UTIs. I was told that Baytril works best on aerobic bacteria - ones that need oxygen such as those that cause respiratory infections. It does not work well on anaerobes - those found in low-oxygen situations such as the bladder. Septrin is the antibiotic of choice for this as mentioned above - it can take up to a months' course to conquer. Hormonal imbalance is unlikely to cause a wet bum - it usually causes irritability, symmetrical hair loss, enlarged and crusty nipples. Suggest Septrin to the vet.

The calcium can start to be conquered by changing to a diet lower in calcium, see http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum...cavys-diet-read-me-nutrition-charts-info.html for veggies low in calcium.

In my experience wet bums are a characteristic symptoms of UTIs along with a smell of stale urine, squeaking when peeing and blood in the urine.
 
Tashie said:
Hello

I have just read your post and I am experiencing exactly the same problem with my piggy Tinkerbell. For a few months we have been going back and forth to the vets because of her constant wet bum. She has had two courses of Baytril but neither worked so they suggested spaying her in case she had a hormone imbalance. Clearly it was a nerve wracking and expensive operation but she recovered beautifully - but still has a wet bum! I am at the end of my teather so am off to another vets for a second opinion. Like your piggy, she is very happy other than this and seems completely normal.

Sorry I cannot help but it may help to hear that you are not alone! :)
Click to expand...
Really, i can't believe you are experiencing the same problems as me! That's unbelieavable! I am deffo going to get a second opinion as my vet has more or less given up. All he's said is just give it time and see how it goes which just isn't fair on Holly >:(
This morning i had to bathe her bum to clean her up and make her a bit more pleasant.
He won't prescribe me septrin as he said it's not the anti-biotic for guinea pigs which i don't believe as everyone on here has said it is and they've probably got more experience with piggies than he has so i trust the forum members advice more than his.
I'm just fed up with it all as i've been back 3 times now, and spoken to him on the phone.
Tomorrow i'm going to book another appointment with a different vet and ask for Septrin.
I'm driving myself insane! Holly is still quite happy and eating etc, she's looking really well....bizarre!
Nice to know that i'm not alone though, thanks for the good advice xx
 
DSL is correct,Septrin is much better than Baytril for UTI.These infections can be stubborn and often need 3 or 4 weeks of antibiotic.I have found that in some really stubborn cases,2 weeks on Baytril then 2 weeks on Septrin,or the other way round,can work well.It is worth giving tyhe Septrin a try anyway.
 
Cool, thanks for the help. I'm going to go back to my old vets and will suggest Septrin to them. I will let you know how we get on - it's terrible to think they may have put her through an operation all for the wrong type of antibiotic >:(

Good luck to you too Emma, I understand your frustration!

Natasha xx
 
My vet (an exotics vet) has advised me that there is now a great deal of bacterial resistance to Baytril (probably due to routine/overuse) so it is often ineffective nowadays.
 
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