Candy - weightloss

Post Reply
User avatar
Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:18 pm


What a wonderful research job!

Darn, though - it my strips only test up to a ph of 9, I will have no way of knowing if the figure's gone too high, since Candy already tested at 9 at the vet's office.

User avatar
rshevin

Post   » Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:24 pm


Those pH strips are pretty interesting. An error of +- 0.5 pH units is significant depending on what you're measuring. The ones I have (the Whatman ones) are primarily to determine "acid or base" with elementary school hands on science kids. It would be pretty interesting to do a broad sampling of urine pH for various pigs.

Mum, you can get strips very, very similar to those at any human pharmacy if you're ever in a pinch. You should probably be careful not to touch the test area with your fingers. They typically need to be stored in the dark. Otherwise, the plain glucose ones at least last a long time. That almost gives you a complete urianalysis in a bottle though! You'll know right away if someone has a UTI.

User avatar
Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:43 pm


you can get strips very, very similar to those at any human pharmacy if you're ever in a pinch.
My two local pharmacies don't have them (I already checked), and as I was already ordering from Calvet it was easier just to put those in with the rest of the stuff!

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:23 pm


Interestingly one of the links says people can use the vetstrips too to test their own urine :-) How novel.

User avatar
Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:27 pm


I'm looking at all the things the strips will test, and I have absolutely no idea what abnormal levels of some of the components would mean:

Leukocytes ?
Nitrite ?
Urobilinogen ?
Protein
pH
Blood
Specific Gravity
Ketone(Acetoacetic Acid)
Bilirubin ? (I know this is do with kidney function)
Glucose

Perhaps someone can enlighten me? (I'm hoping we have a list of norms for all these things too!)

HollyT
Get on your bike.

Post   » Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:38 pm


Leukocytes are white blood cells and Nitrites (plus WBC) would be present in an infection probably. Protein has to do with kidney function too. There should be some normals I assume.

User avatar
Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:42 pm


Ah, the list of norms is here:

https://www.guinealynx.info/norms.html

I don't know what the specific gravity norm would be though.

Joannt
Wheekness for Pigs

Post   » Mon Jan 29, 2007 10:30 pm


Greetings.

That link that I posted to:

http://www.anytestkits.com/urine-tests.htm

talks a little bit about what the various tests are looking for and what they mean. Of course, the absolute numbers (and consequently, the range of "normal") will vary with the species being tested.

One thing that I did notice when I looked at it was that one of the tests on the strip can be affected by the presence of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Now for humans, that is a big deal because we just pee out vitamin C we don't use...But I don't know if piggies spill excess ascorbic acid in their urine like we human critters do...

Just a small correction...Billirubin is an indicator of liver function.

User avatar
Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Mon Jan 29, 2007 10:49 pm


Billirubin is an indicator of liver function.
Ah thank you.

And thanks for the links - I'll have to check them out.

My vet is under the impression that guinea pigs also pee out excess vitamin C.

User avatar
Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Sat Feb 10, 2007 2:52 pm


Candy is just maintaining her weight with twice daily handfeedings which come to about 60cc a day.

She looks much better - her coat is glossy, and her eyes have cleared up.

She eats pretty well - not quite enough pellets, but enough that she shouldn't be having trouble maintaining her weight alone.

I'm finding what I think is sludge in her cage, and I have no way of knowing if she still has the stones without getting another xray.

I'm thinking that she may have other issues: she's very perky - not that she's particularly active in her cage, but she's extremely lively when I have her out, although she adores having her butt rubbed and lets me know. She's so thin that I can feel each individual rib. Her eyes are very prominent - so much so that one can almost always see the white around her eyes. Her coat is in great shape. Her appetite is good.

I know that thyroid tests can be inaccurate in both people and other animals - does anybody know how accurate they are in guinea pigs? Is there any chance that the weight issue could be attributed solely to stones?

pinta

Post   » Sat Feb 10, 2007 8:50 pm


Still trying to get norms for the T-4 count in pigs. All I can suggest is get a T-4 count done and compare it with the counts listed on the sticky in this forum.

She could be hyperthyroid but we don't know much about the effects of tapazole on pigs. So far it's worked very well for my suspected hyperthyroid pigs. Heart is up to what my vet considers is a massive dose of tapazole(5mg daily) and she is just barely maintaining her weight despite eating well on her own and being augmented with subcues and handfeeding.

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Sat Feb 10, 2007 9:15 pm


My vets have also told me that guinea pigs excrete excess vitamin C in their urine.

Post Reply