Bladder Stone study

Post Reply
User avatar
babytulip07

Post   » Mon Oct 20, 2008 7:58 pm


I think that hiding in a shelter also correlates with cage size. In a small cage pigs might spend more time sitting in one spot since they have no room to move. All the more reason to promote C&C's.

I have to say I'm a little disappointed too.

User avatar
rshevin

Post   » Mon Oct 20, 2008 8:14 pm


Mmeadow, stones ARE linked to bladder infections but the direction of the cause/effect isn't known, just that the 2 are correlated. I'm not sure if I read it in relation to guinea pigs or humans but I believe bacteria can serve as a "nexus" or starting point to allow minerals to drop out of solution and begin forming a stone/crystal.

Erin8607
Knee Deep

Post   » Tue Oct 21, 2008 2:27 am


After finding Bayleigh with a honker of a stone and another of my pigs with a pretty bad UTI this weekend, I took out all houses. I'll give them some other stuff to do rather than sit and pee on themselves all day. I hate stones.

User avatar
TWP_2

Post   » Tue Oct 21, 2008 2:51 am


(accidentally posted under TWP_2 instead of TWP)

TwoWhitePiggies

Post   » Tue Oct 21, 2008 2:54 am


I hate stones, too.

I think the hard part of this study IS the variables. You could do a study of only stone pigs in Emporia, Kansas, and you would still have to contend with diet, water (bottled, tap, well), cage size, bedding, genetics, etc.

When I was expressing my frustrations to my local vet, who (until us) had never really dealt with stones in guinea pigs before, wondering what I was doing wrong, she said, "I don't think you're doing anything wrong. I am beginning to think that stones are extremely common. The difference is that you and Jim pay attention to your animals and recognize something is wrong."

Erin8607
Knee Deep

Post   » Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:59 am


I've had three pigs with stones now, that I've noticed at least. I have mostly females and I wonder how many may pass one or two here or there without me ever noticing. Faith had small stones, just plentiful in numbers and she was able to pass a good deal of them. However, she was never a canidate for surgery so they eventually got the best of her. She had pain and blood, with the multiple small stones. I can't believe Bayleigh and Ruby with these honkers and NEVER a single cry or spot of blood from them. They just lodge at the end of their urethra's and stay, then I'm left with just feeling a hard knot there. Something I'd never notice if I didn't do their little once-over's to check for unusual lumps. Grrrrr.

User avatar
Jennicat

Post   » Tue Oct 21, 2008 8:09 am


rshevin, in people certain bacteria cause kidney stones because something that they do drastically alters the acidity of the urine and makes a certain type of stone more able to develop... I wonder if it's similar for pigs.

Nhburritt

Post   » Fri Jan 23, 2009 1:57 pm


The study was completed and published in JAVMA, Vol 234, No. 2, January 15, 2009. Results were "contrary to findings of other studies, urinary calculi were most commonly composed of 100% calcium carbonate......treatments including diet and husbandry practices should be developed to help prevent development of calcium carbonate calculi in guinea pigs."

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Jan 23, 2009 4:07 pm


I'm sorry to say the results of this study do not sound very helpful. Using general guidelines for stone formation in other animals (diet-wise) for our guinea pigs, we still have some guinea pigs that form stones.

I wish this had been a more in depth study.

User avatar
TWP_2

Post   » Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:09 am


I want to work on trans-urethral ultrasonic stone breaking probes. They exist, but need to be made smaller to work with GP (especially male) urethras.

If we can't prevent them, then let's make them easily treatable.

TwoWhitePiggies

Post   » Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:29 pm


I suspect that until they did this study, they didn't really appreciate how many variables there could be: genetics, water sources, vegetables, pellets, vets, antibiotics, etc.

Perhaps several more focused studies will come out of this.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sun Jan 25, 2009 9:09 am


I just received a copy of the report from a friend of mine this morning, but don't know how to upload/link to it from here at home. It's in PDF format. (help?)

Post Reply