Stella, Sayuri, and Sprinkle Medical Thread

SayuriAndCo

Post   » Mon May 07, 2018 4:04 pm


Hello,
I am starting a medical thread for my Guinea pigs as we had our first major incident this morning.

Sayuri is a young (less than a year) black and white Abyssinian. We got her from a local petco for free as she had been surrendered by her previous owners. (Petcos are bad but this seemed like a moral gray area as she wasn't for sale. In retrospect I probably should have just gone elsewhere)

Stella and Sprinkle are 4 years old. We adopted them from the local Humane society as a bonded pair. They had an initial vet visit and were issued a clean bill of heath before we did the introductions with Sayuri.

I had recently noticed small, pale red spots on our fleece. I watched them all carefully but noticed no changes in behavior, no shifts in weight, no changes in appetite. I stopped feeding carrot to see if it discolored their pee. I didn't seem to be noticing as many red spots.

Every morning we do floor time. I spread out a large blanket and put up a baby gate and let them eat their veggies off the floor and run around while I eat my breakfast before work. Everyone ate their breakfast well, as usual. I put them back in their home one by one. When I finished I noticed my shirt had blood on it. I panicked and picked them each up to see what happened.

It was Stella. My husband took her to the vet right away while I went to work. We had an X-ray done, no stones. They tried to get a urine sample, but she was too stressed to pee ( we did take her with her sister, Sprinkle, so the car ride and the waiting room were less stressful).

They prescribed antibiotics and pain meds for the next five days and we are seeing how it goes.

The meds are Meloxicam (1.5 mg) and Enrofloacin ( 20mg)

They also found one flea on her. So tonight everyone is getting a bath, being given a dose of revolution, and being kept apart for an hour so they don't lick it off each other.

For now, we are hoping for the best, but if anyone has any additional advice or concerns, I would love to hear it. I read this forum all the time and the information has been invaluable.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon May 07, 2018 9:49 pm


On rare occasion, a female can have a few drops of blood that may be related to her reproductive cycle. An infection of the uterus is also a possibility. If there are fleas, that could even be the cause of blood.

I hope this clears up for you!

SayuriAndCo

Post   » Tue May 08, 2018 7:21 pm


It was a lot of blood. It was all over the fleece in the play area, all over my shirt, and when I went to see which pig was bleeding it was very obviously her.

She has been responding well to the antibiotics. She was a little sleepy yesterday (probably from the stress of being at the vet for so long). She is acting very normal today. Maybe its just my imagination but she seemed more energetic now that she is on the antibiotics and pain medicine.

I did notice yesterday that it is a lot of work for her to poop or pee. She stops moving, stands still, and shakes a little bit while trying to pass whatever it is. She does not squeak, however. Afterwards she carries on like nothing happened. (this was observed after the pain meds had been administered)

The Xray didn't show stones so I'm hoping the antibiotic is enough to clear the situation.
She has lost a tiny amount of weight, but continues to eat her normal amount.

I guess we will have to see how she fares when the antibiotic runs out in four days...

SayuriAndCo

Post   » Thu May 10, 2018 12:25 am


Stella is still eating and drinking okay from what I can see. We are more than halfway through her medication.
I am worried because her poo is soft. She likes to sit in her favorite place (right now, a fleece tunnel) most of the day and it was all piled up when I got home. I had to replace it even though it had only been in their cage for about 10 hours at that point.

I also had to give her some form of butt bath because it had sorta dried on her and I'm worried about it aggravating the situation.

In good news, from what I could see, there was no blood today.

I am worried that the antibiotics are not going to be the end of this problem for her. We already ruled out stones, so I'm really not sure what the next step is if she isn't all clear in a few days

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Catie Cavy
Supporter 2011-2020

Post   » Thu May 10, 2018 6:48 am


The soft poo could be from the antibiotic. A probiotic or poop soup might help.

calico88

Post   » Thu May 10, 2018 7:23 am


I agree that the soft stool is probably the antibiotic. I assume your other pigs are healthy and not on meds, in which case the poop soup will be something you can do for Stella right away.

For probiotics, a vet prescribed Bene-bac for my pig before. Fortunately it doesn't require a prescription and it's inexpensive. Petco or Petsmart may sell it (keep it in mind dogs and cats can have it too, so look all over the store or ask), though it may be in tiny tubes or powder form. Your vet likely has it, too. I personally like the gel form in a syringe, like this one: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... l-15-grams. I bought more off of ebay. I syringe into a 1 cc syringe with the tip cut off.

Regardless of which one you choose, make sure to read this: https://www.guinealynx.info/probiotics.html. A probiotic needs to be administered at least an hour after the antibiotic, otherwise it will not be effective.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu May 10, 2018 1:35 pm


calico88, just so you know, that Bene-Bac syringe is a dosing syringe. Screw the ring down the knurled plunger until you get to one mark from the barrel of the syringe. That's one dose. Then leave the ring there until you need it again, and back it off one dose.

calico88

Post   » Thu May 10, 2018 1:48 pm


Oh yes, thanks, I am aware. I syringe into the 1 cc syringe because the dose Hibbert was prescribed was less than 1 cc and to keep the Bene bac syringe clean. It was just my preference. Also, Hibbert does better with the smaller syringe anyway.

SayuriAndCo

Post   » Mon May 14, 2018 3:32 pm


Small update:
First off, thank you for the amazing advice. I started giving her Bene Bac and it has worked wonders.
Stella has mostly been sitting in one place most days. Her favorite place is with her head in the hay feed bag, we have 2 so the others usually let her monopolize one.
I have had to clean those areas more often and thoroughly than usual because she has been to sleepy to move away to do her business and I don't like her sitting in her mess.

She had lost a little weight so I started offering her some critical care by hand a couple times a day and she gladly eats some of it each time. She has already gotten back to her usual weight, but I am going to keep offering her a little today and tomorrow.

The antibiotics and pain medicine extend until a week from today, so I guess we will see how she does on her own after, so far, there's been no blood since the second day of medication.

She still gets very excited for treats and enjoys floor time with her sisters (shes always been the most laid back pig) so I feel optimistic

My husband and I are leaving town tomorrow until Sunday. The girls are staying at a local rescue (Rabbitears in El Cerrito if anyone is curious). We havent left them there before but we have visited there several times to get hay and other things. The staff is very knowledgeable and kind and they said they should have no problem giving her her medication. I fully trust them but its hard to leave our little Stella when we have been so attentive to her health

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon May 14, 2018 10:21 pm


Thanks for the update. I hope she continues to improve.

SayuriAndCo

Post   » Wed May 23, 2018 11:49 am


Okay so I’m getting really worried. She’s been off the antibiotics for a few days. Her weight is low even though she appears to be eating normally. We’ve been giving her critical care to try to get her weight up a little.

This morning she started bleeding again.

I will put her back on the pain meds go keep her comfortable, but I don’t know what else to do.
Her X-ray didn’t show any stones. And clearly the antibiotic didn’t clear her infection.

I feel like she bleeds when she is trying to poop, not pee. I have been reading up on the medical section of this site but if anybody has any opinions I would really appreciate it.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed May 23, 2018 1:21 pm


I do not know if a guinea pig with interstitial cystitis would bleed, but this condition is covered by several links here:
https://www.guinealynx.info/records/view ... p?f=3&t=21

I wonder if this is reproductive. Not rereading, but is she spayed?

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