Urine Specific Gravity

User avatar
melcvt00

Post   » Wed Nov 12, 2003 8:37 pm


Both healthy, 4 1/2 month old females:

Shaina: SG of 1.007 (I checked a sediment - no infection)

Pumpernickel: SG of 1.025

kleenmama
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Wed Nov 12, 2003 11:56 pm


Very low on Shaina! Now that is interesting, is it not? I'm wondering if all these pigs that are supposedly in kidney failure are normal, just that they were extrapolating?? Hm.....

Although, your other pig was up there. Ollie's was 1.004.

so what is all this telling us?

User avatar
melcvt00

Post   » Thu Nov 13, 2003 8:37 am


That it truly varies from pig to pig? Shaina is a water drinker - eats a bite or two of pellets, has to get a drink. Eats some hay, has to get a drink.

With as much water as pigs drink, I think the only true way to know if the kidneys are actually functioning is to check a SG, then give absolutely no water for 2 hours, check another one. If the kidneys are functioning, the SG should go up. If not, the SG will stay the same.

Otherwise, if Shaina was an older pig, with a SG that low, the first thought would be kidney disease. When I get a chance, I will do the water restriction thing on her, just to see how high it goes. Not that I'm worried about kidney disease, I just want to see what the possibilities are with water restriction.

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swannie
For the love of pigs!

Post   » Sat Nov 29, 2003 11:59 am


Florence's SG was 1.020.

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stickyfroggi

Post   » Thu Jun 24, 2004 1:42 am


Digging this back up. Mable's was 1.005 on 6-18-04. Has anyone found any publish norms yet?

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gracielee
Me, too!

Post   » Thu Jun 24, 2004 9:19 am


So, wouldn't a younger pigs' be higher, i.e. they are concentrating more? Or a pig in heart failure?

We have new babies (they were a suprise, I thought Mama pig was just still s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d from the previous litters) I could try to take them in to see what babies are comparitively. My vet's game to do it.

It's a rescue pig, just in case anyone was wondering.

User avatar
melcvt00

Post   » Thu Jun 24, 2004 9:31 am


So, wouldn't a younger pigs' be higher, i.e. they are concentrating more?

If you look back, one of my girls had a low specific gravity at a young age. She was also my water drinker. Now that she isn't as much, I should recheck the both of them again, after withholding water for an hour.

Maxine

Post   » Thu Jun 24, 2004 10:13 am


Mel, how does the vet or the tech actually do the test for specific gravity? What does it involve? If I have to take my sow Muffin back to the vet again, I'd be interested in getting this done out of interest.

User avatar
melcvt00

Post   » Thu Jun 24, 2004 10:40 am


It's just a matter of getting some urine (it can be sucked off the table), and putting a drop on something called a refractometer. I don't think specific gravity changes over time, so if you bring some from home that you've gotten during the hour before you go to the vet, that should be fine.

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snowflakey
E's Moriarity

Post   » Tue May 10, 2005 8:33 pm


Okay, mel or others.

My pig had urinalysis today (among other test) and had 1.007. Blood enzymes don't indicate kidney troubles, but he isn't well and we can't find the cause outright. His info is here.

He probably hadn't had water for some time, since he'd been anesthesized for x-rays and a tooth exam, but I have been fairly aggressively syringing water for the last 1.5 weeks due to his anorexia. He seems well-hydrated and doesn't seem to pee excessively, but what do I know?

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