Need Advice on Guinea Pig UTI

Tubby Custards

Post   » Wed Nov 22, 2017 7:14 pm


Hi, My Female Guinea Pig, Hazel, fur was all puffed up on Thursday and I knew unkept fur could be a sign a Guinea Pig is getting sick but she showed no other signs she was getting ill. So I just made sure to keep a close eye on her and figured she was just trying to show dominance by puffing up her fur. Then the next day, Friday, started peeing blood. I immediately freaked out because I’ve never had a Guinea Pig get sick before and we quickly called our local vet who have a Guinea Pig specialist. Well since Thanksgiving is coming up, he is out for the whole week and they have no other specialists and they didn’t want to see her without a Guinea Pig specialist (Can you see why I like them so much, they care more about the piggies health than the money. They could have easily said come on in and charged us) So we asked their receptionist if there were any other vets around who specialize in Guinea Pigs and she said the only other vet around was “Exotic Vet Care”. So we called “Exotic Vet Care” and they kept saying how there were filled up and couldn’t see Hazel unless we pay a $250 EMERGENCY WALK IN FEE for the next day. Keep in mind the other vet, who have a Guinea Pig specialist, their emergency fee is only $100 and normal walk in fee is $65. So we pretty much begged them and asked if they could see her for any cheaper fee, even though they are clearly much higher, we normally wouldn’t have a problem with funds but we just went Thanksgiving shopping and we had a huge vet bill with our dog because he had a nasty blood clot in his ear. They asked us our budget to spend and we said we couldn’t really spend anymore than $200. So they said they would see her for their normal walk in fee of $100 the next day. Fast forward, The next day we took Hazel to the vet and remember how they said they were absolutely packed. Well In the almost 2 hours we were there, no other patients came in and we didn’t see any one else there. So off the bat, me and my mom had a bad feeling about them and my mom was mad because they tried to charge us $250 to come in when they clearly lied about being packed and were just trying to charge more. All they did for her was do a normal check up and give us medicine for her. We couldn’t get her to pee for a urine analysis and the said if we wanted an X Ray we’d have to come back the next day and pay $450. Meanwhile the other vet, who have a Guinea Pig specialist only would charge $200. The vet we were seeing was clearly not a specialist in piggies because she literally said that veggies for a Guinea Pig were meant as treats and not to be given everyday and tried to tell me I was feeding her all wrong and was saying that’s why she was a little overweight. Then I tried to tell her that she was literally double the size when I got her because I rescued her from Petco becuase she was one of the piggies that was brought back and left and was on an absolutely horrible diet of unlimited pellets 24/7 and given tons of store bought treats. She didn’t even have hay in the nasty cage she was left in. She didn’t really care and said that she was still a little overweight because she was being fed veggies. She also said that UTI’s were very rare in pigs and that I would be making a big mistake not getting an X Ray the next day becuase it was most likely a Baldder Stone. I told her I really didn’t think she had a stone because she wasn’t squeaking when she peed and after the hours of research I did the previous day that I was fairly certain it was just a UTI and I wanted to do a course of antibiotics and see if she got better before we did an X Ray. Plus I definitely wasn’t paying $450 there for X-Ray when I could go to an experienced specialist for one for $200. Well in the end she prescribed Enroflox (Baytril) 0.08 ML twice a day and 0.3 ML of an anti inflammatory (Meloxicam). I also bought some Crtical Care from her as well and the grand total for everything was $220. We called the other place and they said that fir everything that she did that, it would be only around $100 or less there. So the vet we went to clearly was a rip off and the didn’t even show me how to give Hazel her medicine or give her her first dose. So you can guess I was pretty irritated about the whole thing. Saturday, Hazel was doing good and still eating but drinking a bit less and the same thing for Sunday but she was losing a little weight. Then on Monday, she wasn’t really interested in her food at all or her water. She did eat some but not a lot. So I just gave her more lettuce (I put it in a bowl of water she she’d also get that excess water on the lettuce) becuase that’s her favorite and put her hay in her hut. She also hadn’t pooped a lot and they were little. But she did eat almost all her pellets though. (I give her about an 1/8 cup a day usually) The next morning (Tuesday) I woke up and she ate a good bit of her lettuce but didn’t eat anything else that I could tell. She also had pooped a little more. So I prepared her some Critical Care and got about 3 ML and 1 ML of water down after giving her her medicine and I gave her 0.5 ML of liquid vitamin C (by syringe because I didn’t want to risk putting it on her Food and that causing her not to eat it) that I had and give to the pigs once in a while (usually on their food) so I make sure they get enough in their diet. I gave her that because I read that can help get her appetite back. That’s all I got in her before she couldn’t stand to take anything else because she absolutely hates not getting her way so you can imagine how hard it is to give her her medicine. She also ate some lettuce after everything. Now today she finally peed (she didn’t pee the previous day) and pooped a bit but they still are tiny and ate some critical care I left on a spoon overnight and a bit more lettuce. (She won’t eat any other veggie right now so that’s why I’m only giving her lettuce btw) She does still run around a bit but is a little more lazy than usual. Over the past few days She has lost her excess fat and just looks like a normal pig now lol. I’m kinda glad she was a little Tubby becuase this way she had a little room to lose. But she does look like she gained a bit since yesterday. So I’m just giving her some critical care when I take her out to give her medicine along with some Vitamin C. So now to my questions. Wow I just realized how long of a backstory I wrote but I want to make sure I get everything out there. How long should it be before I see her stop peeing blood? Also I was reading about Baytril and I saw that it often causes a loss of appetite but I was reading about antibiotic intolerance and two of the signs of that are weight loss and loss of appetite so I’m wondering should I be worried about that? If so when should she be switched medicines? This leads into my last question, I saw while researching (pretty much all I’ve been doing these last few days lol) was that usually Bactrim is most commonly used when treating UTI’s not Baytril. Do you think I should have them change her to that or just keep her on the Baytril? I’m probably just being super over protective but I couldn’t handle It if something happened to her and just want her to have a speedy recovery.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Nov 22, 2017 8:04 pm


I am sorry. I couldn't read your post because everything is run together.

User avatar
Catie Cavy
Supporter 2011-2020

Post   » Wed Nov 22, 2017 8:28 pm


Does this help? Last paragraph has all her questions:

Hi, My Female Guinea Pig, Hazel, fur was all puffed up on Thursday and I knew unkept fur could be a sign a Guinea Pig is getting sick but she showed no other signs she was getting ill. So I just made sure to keep a close eye on her and figured she was just trying to show dominance by puffing up her fur.

Then the next day, Friday, started peeing blood. I immediately freaked out because I’ve never had a Guinea Pig get sick before and we quickly called our local vet who have a Guinea Pig specialist. Well since Thanksgiving is coming up, he is out for the whole week and they have no other specialists and they didn’t want to see her without a Guinea Pig specialist (Can you see why I like them so much, they care more about the piggies health than the money. They could have easily said come on in and charged us).

So we asked their receptionist if there were any other vets around who specialize in Guinea Pigs and she said the only other vet around was “Exotic Vet Care”. So we called “Exotic Vet Care” and they kept saying how there were filled up and couldn’t see Hazel unless we pay a $250 EMERGENCY WALK IN FEE for the next day. Keep in mind the other vet, who have a Guinea Pig specialist, their emergency fee is only $100 and normal walk in fee is $65. So we pretty much begged them and asked if they could see her for any cheaper fee, even though they are clearly much higher, we normally wouldn’t have a problem with funds but we just went Thanksgiving shopping and we had a huge vet bill with our dog because he had a nasty blood clot in his ear. They asked us our budget to spend and we said we couldn’t really spend anymore than $200. So they said they would see her for their normal walk in fee of $100 the next day.

Fast forward, The next day we took Hazel to the vet and remember how they said they were absolutely packed. Well In the almost 2 hours we were there, no other patients came in and we didn’t see any one else there. So off the bat, me and my mom had a bad feeling about them and my mom was mad because they tried to charge us $250 to come in when they clearly lied about being packed and were just trying to charge more. All they did for her was do a normal check up and give us medicine for her. We couldn’t get her to pee for a urine analysis and the said if we wanted an X Ray we’d have to come back the next day and pay $450. Meanwhile the other vet, who have a Guinea Pig specialist only would charge $200.

The vet we were seeing was clearly not a specialist in piggies because she literally said that veggies for a Guinea Pig were meant as treats and not to be given everyday and tried to tell me I was feeding her all wrong and was saying that’s why she was a little overweight. Then I tried to tell her that she was literally double the size when I got her because I rescued her from Petco because she was one of the piggies that was brought back and left and was on an absolutely horrible diet of unlimited pellets 24/7 and given tons of store bought treats. She didn’t even have hay in the nasty cage she was left in. She didn’t really care and said that she was still a little overweight because she was being fed veggies.

She also said that UTI’s were very rare in pigs and that I would be making a big mistake not getting an X Ray the next day because it was most likely a Bladder Stone. I told her I really didn’t think she had a stone because she wasn’t squeaking when she peed and after the hours of research I did the previous day that I was fairly certain it was just a UTI and I wanted to do a course of antibiotics and see if she got better before we did an X Ray. Plus I definitely wasn’t paying $450 there for X-Ray when I could go to an experienced specialist for one for $200.

Well in the end she prescribed Enroflox (Baytril) 0.08 ML twice a day and 0.3 ML of an anti inflammatory (Meloxicam). I also bought some Critical Care from her as well and the grand total for everything was $220. We called the other place and they said that for everything that she did that, it would be only around $100 or less there. So the vet we went to clearly was a rip off and the didn’t even show me how to give Hazel her medicine or give her her first dose. So you can guess I was pretty irritated about the whole thing.

Saturday, Hazel was doing good and still eating but drinking a bit less and the same thing for Sunday but she was losing a little weight. Then on Monday, she wasn’t really interested in her food at all or her water. She did eat some but not a lot. So I just gave her more lettuce (I put it in a bowl of water she she’d also get that excess water on the lettuce) because that’s her favorite and put her hay in her hut. She also hadn’t pooped a lot and they were little. But she did eat almost all her pellets though. (I give her about an 1/8 cup a day usually)

The next morning (Tuesday) I woke up and she ate a good bit of her lettuce but didn’t eat anything else that I could tell. She also had pooped a little more. So I prepared her some Critical Care and got about 3 ML and 1 ML of water down after giving her her medicine and I gave her 0.5 ML of liquid vitamin C (by syringe because I didn’t want to risk putting it on her Food and that causing her not to eat it) that I had and give to the pigs once in a while (usually on their food) so I make sure they get enough in their diet. I gave her that because I read that can help get her appetite back. That’s all I got in her before she couldn’t stand to take anything else because she absolutely hates not getting her way so you can imagine how hard it is to give her her medicine. She also ate some lettuce after everything.

Now today she finally peed (she didn’t pee the previous day) and pooped a bit but they still are tiny and ate some critical care I left on a spoon overnight and a bit more lettuce. (She won’t eat any other veggie right now so that’s why I’m only giving her lettuce btw) She does still run around a bit but is a little more lazy than usual. Over the past few days She has lost her excess fat and just looks like a normal pig now lol. I’m kinda glad she was a little Tubby because this way she had a little room to lose. But she does look like she gained a bit since yesterday. So I’m just giving her some critical care when I take her out to give her medicine along with some Vitamin C. So now to my questions.

Wow I just realized how long of a back story I wrote but I want to make sure I get everything out there. How long should it be before I see her stop peeing blood? Also I was reading about Baytril and I saw that it often causes a loss of appetite but I was reading about antibiotic intolerance and two of the signs of that are weight loss and loss of appetite so I’m wondering should I be worried about that? If so when should she be switched medicines? This leads into my last question, I saw while researching (pretty much all I’ve been doing these last few days lol) was that usually Bactrim is most commonly used when treating UTI’s not Baytril. Do you think I should have them change her to that or just keep her on the Baytril? I’m probably just being super over protective but I couldn’t handle It if something happened to her and just want her to have a speedy recovery.

CavyGirl04

Post   » Wed Nov 22, 2017 10:37 pm


I'm not a guinea pig expert, but I can tell you a few things:
-If she stops eating, you MUST hand-feed Critical Care. If eating nothing else, she needs 100+cc of Critical care for every kilogram she weighs.
- As for antibiotics, Baytril CAN cause a decreased appetite. Again, hand feed if she stops eating; it is ESSENTIAL!
- Also: Baytril is not the drug of choice for UTI's; Bactrim is better, if you can get it.
-If you haven't, you should also get X-rays to rule out a stone.
-In short, you should see another (cavy-savvy) vet if possible.

By the way, I am just a nobody who lurks around on this medical forum, not an expert on this.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Nov 22, 2017 10:40 pm


Yes, baytril can cause a loss of appetite. Read uti.html and notice that bactrim generally works better for UTIs.
The vet was correct that stones are more likely and require an xray to diagnose. stones.html Hopefully your regular vet will be able to help your guinea pig at a more reasonable cost. Do weigh daily and hand feed aggressively if she is not eating enough.
handfeeding.html

p.s. thanks, Catie Cavy. And yes, CavyGirl04, that's all correct.

Tubby Custards

Post   » Thu Nov 23, 2017 2:23 am


Thanks so much for the quick replies. I’m hopefully seeing my usual vet when he comes back in town for a check up and most likely getting her an X-Ray to rule out stones.
She is still eating some hay and lettuce but I am force feeding her critical care about 3-4 times a day now.

How long should it be before she stops being blood?

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Nov 23, 2017 7:14 am


We can't say. It depends on what is wrong. I'm glad you are going to get an xray. It helps so much to tell you what is wrong.

Tubby Custards

Post   » Thu Nov 23, 2017 11:14 am


Ok, Thanks. The last thing I need to know and I’ll stop bothering you is, she’s eating just about 3 pieces of lettuce a day and nibbling on some hay and pellets so about how much critical care should she be eating? She weighs 854 grams.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu Nov 23, 2017 2:35 pm


Eighty grams or more.

Tubby Custards

Post   » Fri Nov 24, 2017 5:32 pm


Ok. Thanks so much! My vet said she switch her to Bactrim if I wanted. If I do will that help with her loss of appetite?

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri Nov 24, 2017 6:18 pm


Probably, but it may take a couple of days for it to improve. And her appetite may not be back to normal until she's been completely off the antibiotics for several days.

Tubby Custards

Post   » Wed Dec 13, 2017 12:36 am


Update:
I was supposed to take Hazel in for a X Ray to my vet but he was out for another 4 days after the week he was already gone for a family emergency. Well I got in touch with him and since Hazel had stopped peeing blood he said I could wait and let her finish her last 2 weeks of medicine since she had already started running around and being active again. Well she’s finally off her medication and I’ve been trying to get her to pee on something so I can check the pee color because she’s on pink fleece. So I went out and got her some puppy pads and laid them over her fleece. Then I went to syringe feed her a couple ML of water because she looked like she had drank a little less water today. When I went to pick her up she peed and her pee is orange. Does this mean she isn’t over her UTI or that it’s stones. It’s
12 AM so I cant call the vet right now so I’m freaking out. Today she ate some Yellow Bell Pepper, An apple slice (This is her first time having some this month) and some baby carrot. I ran out of lettuce so she didnt get that today because I didn’t make it to the store before it closed because I was super busy today. Does this mean I should go ahead and get her an X Ray and if so I’ll get her one ASAP. Also when she wakes up her fur is a little puffy, especially around her face. It mostly slicks back down when she gets up and runs around though.

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