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UTI & Weight Loss

JaseChase

JaseChase

Junior Guinea Pig
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Patches (2yo male) has a UTI and I’m really struggling to keep his weight up. He’s on 0.5ml baytril twice a day and 0.4ml metacam once a day. I’m support feeding critical care with a probiotic and getting about 40-60ml into him each day. Any more than that he gets really resistant

These are his weights since starting baytril last week:

1317g
1309g
1312g
1296g
1305g
1315g
1293g
1285g
1248g (this morning)

He picked up this UTI post-op when he had a mammary tumour removed. His scar is healing nicely but he’d already lost some weight because of that - his weight pre-op was 1435g, post-op 1337g

I’m getting really caught up in the numbers on the scales when I know 50g fluctuations are normal. Am I right to be worried about this scale of weight loss? I am waiting to hear back from the vet about whether his medication needs adjusting and if they want to see him again

I’m hoping it’s just that the antibiotics need more time to work (the vet prescribed baytril for 1-2 weeks). Just nervous as he feels much bonier than normal now and his symptoms aren’t improving. He’s still squeaking while he pees, hunching over, his pee is very bloody and there’s been no improvement after eight days of antibiotics

He was on the chunky side before the op if that matters, and he is still very active in the cage. He comes running for veggies and pellets, he just isn’t eating enough hay
 
He still has weight behind him but he is on a definite downward trend. You say he feels bonier - so I assume you have checked his heft (ie around his ribs)?
He could do with taking closer the 60ml per day rather than the 40ml end.

Is he on dog or cat metacam?
There is some leeway in pain med dosage for his weight if he is struggling with pain - it’s a discussion to have with your vet.
 
After 8 days you would expect to see some improvement - some UTIs can be stubborn though and may need a different antibiotic.
It’s good you’ve put a call into the vet - hopefully they can come up with a plan
 
Piggies&buns said:
After 8 days you would expect to see some improvement - some UTIs can be stubborn though and may need a different antibiotic.
It’s good you’ve put a call into the vet - hopefully they can come up with a plan
Click to expand...
Piggies&buns said:
He still has weight behind him but he is on a definite downward trend. You say he feels bonier - so I assume you have checked his heft (ie around his ribs)?
He could do with taking closer the 60ml per day rather than the 40ml end.

Is he on dog or cat metacam?
There is some leeway in pain med dosage for his weight if he is struggling with pain - it’s a discussion to have with your vet.
Click to expand...

Thank you 😊 I have checked his heft and he’s significantly bonier than he was. Admittedly pre-op he was borderline overweight (I could barely feel any bones) but now I can feel his hips just as pronounced as in my older arthritic piggie, though his ribs aren’t too obvious

He’s on dog strength metacam. Originally he was on 0.2ml post-op which was then put up to 0.35ml, then the vet said I could increase to 0.4ml after the UTI was diagnosed if I thought he needed it. I put him up to 0.4ml about five days ago, still no change

Still waiting for the vet to get back to me. I did wonder if maybe he’d need a different antibiotic or a stronger dose but I’m not super experienced so wasn’t sure what the options might be. I’m also on edge because I lost my RB boy Noodle after a UTI last October and Patches has all the same symptoms now - though he is still very active and interested in things (other than hay!)

Thanks for the support and reassurance. I’m going to try getting more like 60ml into him today, I’ve been doing 4 feeds a day but I think I might need to add in a fifth
 
Thank you ☺️

Heard from the vet, they do want to see him again. I'll ring up in the morning and try get him in tomorrow. They think he might need to change medication for the infection, but his wound is looking great so that's one good thing!

I've got 30ml of critical care into him so far today, hoping to get a bit more than 10ml into him later

IMG_1268.webp
 
When you see the vet tomorrow ask if you can give 0.4ml of dog metacam TWICE a day. Piggies metabolise it much quicker than dogs. I hope he’s soon feeling better.
 
weepweeps said:
When you see the vet tomorrow ask if you can give 0.4ml of dog metacam TWICE a day. Piggies metabolise it much quicker than dogs. I hope he’s soon feeling better.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I will do this

Called the vet, they had no appointments today but they should do tomorrow so will try again in the morning. Patches' weight was back up at 1286g today - I'm just going to keep getting as much critical care into him as I can until we see what options there are with meds
 
Patches has been to the vet today and we’ve got a plan. The vet thinks it’s either a stubborn infection that needs different antibiotics, or it could be a bladder stone. We’re going to try a different meds regime for a week and if there’s still no improvement, do some imaging to check for a stone

He’s now on metacam and gabapentin twice a day for pain, sticking with baytril and adding in Zithromax (though that one has to be ordered in, so might not get here until Monday)

I’ve not had a bladder stone piggie before - would there be sludge or other signs to look out for? I’m hoping it’s just a stubborn infection or he might need another surgery to remove a stone, which worries me so soon after anaesthetic to remove his mammary tumour
 
We’re still struggling to figure out what’s going on with Patches

He’s been on baytril for two and a half weeks and Zithromax for one week, with no real improvement. Still squeaking and hunching while peeing, still in obvious discomfort when handled, bloody pees on occasion though that is slightly less frequent now

He went into the vet today for imaging, both an ultrasound and an x-ray. Both showed no signs of a bladder stone (thank goodness!) but there was a small shadow on the ultrasound that the vet thinks might have been a calcified bladder lining, so he’s sent it to a local exotics vet for a second opinion (though he thinks it’s unlikely)

We’re going to keep going with the antibiotics and painkillers for now. I’m just at a loss what to do if he continues to show symptoms

He is maintaining his weight with critical care but not eating enough on his own, and he’s extra thirsty as well. I’m quite worried about him if I’m honest
 
I have been wondering if sterile cystitis could be what’s going on - will definitely explore with my vet if he doesn’t improve. It’s hard to judge because there has been a very slight improvement in his symptoms, but I suspect it’s down to increased painkillers making him more comfortable rather than the antibiotics doing anything

I’ve seen the scan pictures now. Definitely no stone, which is a big relief, but there are some odd shadows on the ultrasound that my vet wants the exotic specialist to check. That could take a couple of weeks though. The x-rays look clear

He’s on 0.1ml gabapentin twice a day and 0.4ml metacam in the morning + 0.2ml metacam in the evening (dog strength). Still only getting 40-50ml of critical care into him most days, his weight is hovering just below 1.3kg but he hasn’t lost any more, which is something

I was going to review their diet if he had a stone - now that he doesn’t, is that still something that can help with urinary symptoms? Or would it not really do anything?
 
I’m so glad that Patches doesn’t have a bladder stone but I’m sorry you still have no clear answers 😞

A low calcium diet will certainly help a guinea pig with sterile cystitis. I’ve had two guinea pigs have it and I swapped to a low calcium diet and I found it helped with their symptoms x
 
Thank you - low calcium is what I was thinking. I already filter their water and limit pellets to 1 tbsp a day each but I was considering removing pellets entirely if he had a stone (Patches loves pellets and I’m sure he eats most of Tofu’s share as well). I also stopped giving spring greens, which they used to get daily, and stopped any high calcium treats like spinach/parsley which they never got more than once a month anyway

Patches is putting us through it today. Partner is currently rushing him back to the vet because something is wrong with his penis - it’s massively swollen, looks like something is stuck to it (nothing like any sperm rod I’ve removed before) and gently trying to remove it resulted in yelps of pain & just stretched his skin. It all looked misshapen and very odd

I can’t go because I had a seizure a few days ago so I’m stuck in the house for a bit (it’s not uncommon for me to get them, just bad timing!) I am anxiously sat by my phone until I hear back
 
Patches is safely on his way home! The vet got out whatever it was that got stuck in his penis - it was huge :yikes: they were calling it dead skin/plaque. I wonder if it’s a giant sperm rod? No idea honestly. Hard to get scale across but it was easily as big as my thumbnail

8034fc7f-bb81-4f69-83e8-ed4d51ae8cb2.webp

The vet thinks he might perk up and start improving now it’s out. If he’s no better in a few days they’re going to chase up the second opinion with the exotics guinea pig specialist

Sorry for the many posts. Hard not to panic sometimes - piggies know how to pick the worst timing!
 
I’m so relieved the vet got it out. I was checking him regularly and giving him wipe downs as he’s not been very mobile - kicking myself I didn’t find it before

I remove sperm rods from Tofu fairly often, as he’s arthritic and has impaction so needs a bit of help keeping clean. Never seen anything like this one though - it was like the size of a two pence coin

No wonder he’s been in pain, poor little man

He’s home recovering now, still squeaking while he pees. We’ll see how the next few days go


IMG_1580.webp
 
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