Hi All,
Hoping for some advice.
2 weeks ago our little pig Bertie developed symptoms of a UTI (small blood spots in his urine) so we took him to the vet, where he was prescribed 0.75 ml of Enrobactin and 0.5ml of Metacam for the pain. Around 4 days later he was visibly in more pain when he passed his pee and stools, so we took him back for an x-ray as I suspected bladder stones. The x-ray came back clear of stones but it did show that he had a build up of gas and had "guinea pig bloat" and so a different vet suggested we stop Enrobactin and try Sulfatrim (0.3 twice a day).
A couple of days into the Sulfatrim we noticed Bertie had developed diarrhea, so back to the vets again where the original vet suggested fibreplex to help settle the stomach.
Over the course of the next couple of days Bertie became very lethargic to the point he would sometimes sleep with his eyes closed, he had lost his appetite and had stopped passing stools but he did have less blood in his wee. We were almost certain that he was dying, so we stopped the Sulfatrim (he had been on it for 8 days) and took him straight to the vets expecting him to be put to sleep. However upon examination the vet commented on how bright he still was and that the bloat had gone. He did diagnose GI Stasis and sent us home with some critical care, and he also injected him with something to get the gut moving again (can't remember what he was injected with).
Within 24 hours of the critical care, Bertie was much more lively and had started to eat a little and his stools are now more solid (although he still isn't interested in nuggets and we are still feeding him critical care). We decided to try him back on the original antibiotic Enrobactin in a last ditch attempt to fix him (the vet confirmed this was fine to do).
So that brings us to where we are today, Bertie is currently on 0.75ml of Enrobactin, 0.5ml of Metacam, Fibreplex an hour following his antibiotics and critical care throughout the day. Bertie is doing much better within himself, however he is passing blood when he pees and also passing blood when he poops (the blood is very red and isn't diluted but does seem to come from his penis when he poops) and I'm not entirely convinced it's a UTI as the antibiotics don't seem to be doing anything.
We're not sure what to do, we don't want Bertie to be in pain, but equally we don't want to have him put to sleep if there's chance of recovery. The vets have told us there's nothing more they can do, but I guess what I'm asking is, can UTI's be stubborn against antibiotics and does the blood when he is passing stools indicate a more serious illness?
Sorry for the essay and thanks for the help in advance!
Ryan
Hoping for some advice.
2 weeks ago our little pig Bertie developed symptoms of a UTI (small blood spots in his urine) so we took him to the vet, where he was prescribed 0.75 ml of Enrobactin and 0.5ml of Metacam for the pain. Around 4 days later he was visibly in more pain when he passed his pee and stools, so we took him back for an x-ray as I suspected bladder stones. The x-ray came back clear of stones but it did show that he had a build up of gas and had "guinea pig bloat" and so a different vet suggested we stop Enrobactin and try Sulfatrim (0.3 twice a day).
A couple of days into the Sulfatrim we noticed Bertie had developed diarrhea, so back to the vets again where the original vet suggested fibreplex to help settle the stomach.
Over the course of the next couple of days Bertie became very lethargic to the point he would sometimes sleep with his eyes closed, he had lost his appetite and had stopped passing stools but he did have less blood in his wee. We were almost certain that he was dying, so we stopped the Sulfatrim (he had been on it for 8 days) and took him straight to the vets expecting him to be put to sleep. However upon examination the vet commented on how bright he still was and that the bloat had gone. He did diagnose GI Stasis and sent us home with some critical care, and he also injected him with something to get the gut moving again (can't remember what he was injected with).
Within 24 hours of the critical care, Bertie was much more lively and had started to eat a little and his stools are now more solid (although he still isn't interested in nuggets and we are still feeding him critical care). We decided to try him back on the original antibiotic Enrobactin in a last ditch attempt to fix him (the vet confirmed this was fine to do).
So that brings us to where we are today, Bertie is currently on 0.75ml of Enrobactin, 0.5ml of Metacam, Fibreplex an hour following his antibiotics and critical care throughout the day. Bertie is doing much better within himself, however he is passing blood when he pees and also passing blood when he poops (the blood is very red and isn't diluted but does seem to come from his penis when he poops) and I'm not entirely convinced it's a UTI as the antibiotics don't seem to be doing anything.
We're not sure what to do, we don't want Bertie to be in pain, but equally we don't want to have him put to sleep if there's chance of recovery. The vets have told us there's nothing more they can do, but I guess what I'm asking is, can UTI's be stubborn against antibiotics and does the blood when he is passing stools indicate a more serious illness?
Sorry for the essay and thanks for the help in advance!
Ryan
