UTI?

[mls18]

Hi, My guinea pig has been peeing red pee, not spots of red in his pee, just red pee. I'm assuming it's a UTI and have scheduled an appointment but the vet said they don't do urinalysis for guinea pigs so it would just be based on symptoms. Is this an accurate way to rule out other causes, or would they just be guessing? Does anyone know?

 

[fluffysal]

Is he squeaking when he pees? Any signs of pain?

 

[Piggies2023]

Hi, My guinea pig has been peeing red pee, not spots of red in his pee, just red pee. I'm assuming it's a UTI and have scheduled an appointment but the vet said they don't do urinalysis for guinea pigs so it would just be based on symptoms. Is this an accurate way to rule out other causes, or would they just be guessing? Does anyone know?

My vet dips the urine to check. I've also had urine cultured once when we weren't sure what was going on But many vets do give out antibiotics to see if it gets better before doing a scan depending on symptoms. Is your vets one that is experienced with piggies?

 

[mls18]

Is he squeaking when he pees? Any signs of pain?

No I don't think so, I've seen him pee before and it seems he doesn't feel it

 

[mls18]

My vet dips the urine to check. I've also had urine cultured once when we weren't sure what was going on But many vets do give out antibiotics to see if it gets better before doing a scan depending on symptoms. Is your vets one that is experienced with piggies?

Ok thank you! They have exotic pets as patients but this particular vet isn't really considered an exotic vet, they're just a dog vet that takes exotics.

 

[Piggies2023]

Ok thank you! They have exotic pets as patients but this particular vet isn't really considered an exotic vet, they're just a dog vet that takes exotics.

If you can see a vet that is good with piggies it can help a lot. But it may just be a UTI that some antibiotics fix.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, My guinea pig has been peeing red pee, not spots of red in his pee, just red pee. I'm assuming it's a UTI and have scheduled an appointment but the vet said they don't do urinalysis for guinea pigs so it would just be based on symptoms. Is this an accurate way to rule out other causes, or would they just be guessing? Does anyone know?

Hi any infections of the urinary tract are characterised by red pees. In fact, it is usually a natural dye and not blood that colours them; they may or may not test for presence of blood.

There are two main infections to be considered who rather share the same symptoms:
- Classic UTI, which is a urine infection caused by the overgrowth of faecal bacteria in the urinary tract (the scent gland sits right in front of the genitalia so most piggies have some bacteria in there but they are usually kept under control by the immune system). For UTI you usually need an immune system lowering event or illness to trigger it.
Guinea Lynx :: UTI

- Sterile cystitis in guinea pigs. This is a non-bacterial infection with regular flare-ups that at the best only be temporarily suppressed but not healed by antibiotics. You will find more information under its old name interstitial cystitis (IC). It seems to affect especially the insulating natural glucosamine coating of the walls of the urinary tract which prevents highly corrosive urine from coming into very painful contact with raw tissue.
Sterile IC can only be managed with daily or twice daily oral glucosamine and metacam (which is an anti-inflammatory as much as a painkiller) in milder to medium cases. For medium to stronger cases, there is now cartrophen available thanks to fairly recent research. The extreme end is sadly not yet treatable but thankfully not all that common. Milder cases may eventually go away on their own but you are looking more at years rather than months. Affected are typically piggies with a high stress setting as their default setting.
The illness is still mostly unknown outside vet circles that deal with guinea pigs on a regular basis although it has been increasingly around for the last 15-20 years and is by far the most common urinary tract infection in indoors guinea pigs. It is likely linked to the ongoing commercial mass breeding.

Sterile IC can be diagnosed either by a much lower than expected count of bacteria in the urine (no bacteria at all is rather rare) or much more commonly by default when courses with antibiotics have been ineffective and any other potential issues (stones/sludge) have been excluded.
Links - Interstitial Cystitis - Guinea Lynx Records

It usually takes around 5 days for symptoms to solidify in either case.

You are welcome to ask any questions for further support once you have got a diagnosis. I hope that this helps you,

 

[mls18]

If you can see a vet that is good with piggies it can help a lot. But it may just be a UTI that some antibiotics fix.

There arent many vets like that here, but thank you for the response! hopefully this vet knows whats wrong

 

[mls18]

Hi any infections of the urinary tract are characterised by red pees. In fact, it is usually a natural dye and not blood that colours them; they may or may not test for presence of blood.

There are two main infections to be considered who rather share the same symptoms:
- Classic UTI, which is a urine infection caused by the overgrowth of faecal bacteria in the urinary tract (the scent gland sits right in front of the genitalia so most piggies have some bacteria in there but they are usually kept under control by the immune system). For UTI you usually need an immune system lowering event or illness to trigger it.
Guinea Lynx :: UTI

- Sterile cystitis in guinea pigs. This is a non-bacterial infection with regular flare-ups that at the best only be temporarily suppressed but not healed by antibiotics. You will find more information under its old name interstitial cystitis (IC). It seems to affect especially the insulating natural glucosamine coating of the walls of the urinary tract which prevents highly corrosive urine from coming into very painful contact with raw tissue.
Sterile IC can only be managed with daily or twice daily oral glucosamine and metacam (which is an anti-inflammatory as much as a painkiller) in milder to medium cases. For medium to stronger cases, there is now cartrophen available thanks to fairly recent research. The extreme end is sadly not yet treatable but thankfully not all that common. Milder cases may eventually go away on their own but you are looking more at years rather than months. Affected are typically piggies with a high stress setting as their default setting.
The illness is still mostly unknown outside vet circles that deal with guinea pigs on a regular basis although it has been increasingly around for the last 15-20 years and is by far the most common urinary tract infection in indoors guinea pigs. It is likely linked to the ongoing commercial mass breeding.

Sterile IC can be diagnosed either by a much lower than expected count of bacteria in the urine (no bacteria at all is rather rare) or much more commonly by default when courses with antibiotics have been ineffective and any other potential issues (stones/sludge) have been excluded.
Links - Interstitial Cystitis - Guinea Lynx Records

It usually takes around 5 days for symptoms to solidify in either case.

You are welcome to ask any questions for further support once you have got a diagnosis. I hope that this helps you,

Thank you so much for the reply! My guinea pig is extremely skittish so it could possibly be the second infection, I hadn't heard of it before, Ill be sure to ask my vet about it during the appointment.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much for the reply! My guinea pig is extremely skittish so it could possibly be the second infection, I hadn't heard of it before, Ill be sure to ask my vet about it during the appointment.

You can find more information in the links in my first post and also via forum searches.

Your vet should find more information via sterile cystitis in guinea pigs but treatment is very similar to feline sterile cystitis (FSC) which should help those not quite familiar with it in guinea pigs.