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Wet and Swollen bottom

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GuineaGang96

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi All,

I have just been to my vets as my Peggy (3.5 years) had a really wet bottom that was also swollen, and in all honesty smells pretty bad.

She is doing really well in herself, eating, running around freely and standing on her back legs when veg comes through.

The vet pretty much narrowed it down to either a UTI or kidney failure, and gave me two options of a round of Baytrill to target the potential infection, or we take blood test where we would have to have local anaesthetic. Wishing to avoid additional stress when she is currently doing really well, I agreed to give her antibiotics and come back if no signs of improvement.

The vet gave me enough for roughly 4 days of Baytrill, however since getting back and reading up on this, it would seem atleast 10 days are needed to see if things clear up (Assuming she doesn't get worse)

I just wanted to get other people's thoughts as this wasn't my usual vet, and I am a bit sceptical.
 
sport_billy said:
So sorry to hear this, is there any crying while weeing?
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Not that I have noticed no. I have noticed she is not pooing well though.

I will monitor her behaviour over next few days whilst giving her medication, if signs of improvement I will ask for another 5 days of antibiotic. If no improvement/deterioration I will take her back and get further tests.

She has improved a lot from yesterday evening when I first noticed, and is fully herself today and this evening.
 
Sorry to bump this post up again, I was just looking for some further advice and thought it would be useful to have the above context .

Peggy SEEMS to be doing really well. No signs of pain and running about freely. She is eating as much as her sisters and doesn't seems to be drinking any more than usual.

I was slightly concerned last night as she looked quite fuzzy and seemed a bit more hidden, but this lasted about 10 minutes and then she was back to normal so may have been overthinking.

My main concern is her backside area still looks swollen, and is still a bit damp (Although significantly dryer than when I first noticed an issue with her when she was soaked all down the back of her legs aswell)

I was just looking to get people's opinions on whether I should take her back to the vets for further tests if no signs of reduced swelling tomorrow morning, or should I wait a couple of days longer to see if the antibiotics take effect?

Money is tight, and the vets is expensive, so I would like to avoid any unnecessary trips if the antibiotics need more time, but I will of course do what is best for Peggy!
 
I'm sorry to hear this.

I would go back to the vet if the swelling is still there. Antibiotics start working within a few days but four days isn’t a very long course if there is an infection - they would just get to work and then suddenly the course ends which would allow any bacteria present to take off again.

Have you switched from the routine weekly weight checks and are instead weighing her daily (each morning) so you can monitor that she is indeed still eating enough hay (hay intake can’t be gauged by eye).

Is she pooping any better?
Is she urinating freely or is it dribbling out?

I hope she is ok
 
Piggies&buns said:
I'm sorry to hear this.

I would go back to the vet if the swelling is still there. Antibiotics start working within a few days but four days isn’t a very long course if there is an infection - they would just get to work and then suddenly the course ends which would allow any bacteria present to take off again.

Have you switched from the routine weekly weight checks and are instead weighing her daily (each morning) so you can monitor that she is indeed still eating enough hay (hay intake can’t be gauged by eye).

Is she pooping any better?
Is she urinating freely or is it dribbling out?

I hope she is ok
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I have been daily weighing and no drop in weight (No difference bigger than 30 grams each day and not dropping consecutive days). I will weight her tomorrow morning and asses her and if reduction in the swelling I will ask for an appointment). If there was a significant reduction in swelling tomorrow, I will ask for 5 more days of antibiotics to finish a 10 day course.

Pooping is much better, as is her weeing from what I have seen, though my pigs have an annoying habit of weeing in their hay tray so it is difficult to see at times.

Thank you for your message and wishes. It's reassuring to get a second opinion and make sure I am doing what is best by her. I knew deep down she probably needed to go, I am just worried about getting bad news. I rescued her when she was little after she had been badly attacked by another guinea pig and she does seem to be a little bit less robust than the others.
 
Skipped a stage and just booked Peggy in with my favourite vet at 9am tomorrow morning.

I gave her another weigh and she’s same as this morning, but I just can’t see a major change happening overnight so thought it best to get her in sooner rather than later.
 
I’m glad you’ve got her booked in.

Best to only weigh once a day (in the morning) - weighing twice a day just picks up unhelpful fluctuations and the days food so isn’t a true reflection

Let us know how you get on tomorrow. I hope she is ok
 
Semi-positive update (I think): Took Peggy to the vets and we agreed to get her in for an X-ray and ultrasound today as suspected it may be a kidney stone.

I have just had a call from the vets to explain it is a kidney stone, however the slightly positive news is this is 2x3 mm, and has moved to the urethra, so there is hope that, with some additional pain killers, she should be able to pass the stone by herself.

The worry of course is the stone blocks the urethra stopping her weeing, in which case I am aware I need to get her to the vets immediately as this is life threatening (And painful from what I have read online).

Any hints/tips for looking after a Guinea pig with bladder stones would be really appreciate, as I want to do everything I can to make sure she is as comfortable as possible, and reduce any chance of her getting blocked and needing surgery.

I am half tempted to isolate her for a few days and move her in to my home office whilst I work so I can make sure she is weeing, and hear any possible crying she may make when weeing.
 
I’m sorry to hear that.
I did wonder, when you said she was swollen, whether a stone was going to be a possibility.

I would not advise you to isolate her - she needs to stay with her friend at all times, so if you want her in your office for closer monitoring, then they both need to go together.
Separating them causes stress which won’t help her recovery, and it can, in some cases, permanently destroy the bond and mean they refuse to go back together again.

It would be a good idea to review her diet - check you are not overfeeding pellets (which are a major factor) or feeding too many high calcium/oxalate veggies.

I have added a guide below which will help further

I hope she is ok

Wiebke's Guide to Pees and Stones
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry to hear that.
I did wonder, when you said she was swollen, whether a stone was going to be a possibility.

I would not advise you to isolate her - she needs to stay with her friend at all times, so if you want her in your office for closer monitoring, then they both need to go together.
Separating them causes stress which won’t help her recovery, and it can, in some cases, permanently destroy the bond and mean they refuse to go back together again.

It would be a good idea to review her diet - check you are not overfeeding pellets or feeding too many high calcium/oxalate veggies.

I have added a guide below which will help further

I hope she is ok

Wiebke's Guide to Pees and Stones
Click to expand...
Thanks again for your response.

Upon further reading, I realise this prognosis was not as positive as I thought, but atleast I know what I need to monitor for.

Completely appreciate your point regarding not isolating her, I will just work in their room to keep a close eye and make sure she is weeing. Unfortunately all three of them won't fit in my home office as their hutch has taken up the majority of the bigger spare room.

Funnily enough I posted recently as I was concerned I was feeding to much veg, and this issue has occurred since cutting down on this (I know this is likely a coincidence as I am following the guide on hear for feeding Hay/Veg/Pellets now)

Thank you for the guide, I am going to bring her home now back to her sisters and will give it a good read after to make sure I give her the best chance.
 
It’s about finding a balance in the diet.

I personally feed my piggies more than one cup of veg per day and in summer they are on grass all day (they’re actually getting a bit of grazing time on the lawn now) but I don’t feed pellets.

Sending best wishes
 
Piggies&buns said:
It’s about finding a balance in the diet.

I personally feed my piggies more than one cup of veg per day and in summer they are on grass all day (they’re actually getting a bit of grazing time on the lawn now) but I don’t feed pellets.

Sending best wishes
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Reading that follow up thread, I think I am going to cut down on the pellets even more now it is the summer and they will be on grass daily. I am feeding a cup of veg a day per pig (Cucumber, Romaine or Mixed lettuce leaves, pepper) and they get a handful of grass a day now.

Mowed the lawn this weekend so they will be back out on the weekend when it has had a few days to grow.
 
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