Male with bladder stone--need a good vet

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capybara
Supporter in '13

Post   » Sun May 29, 2005 9:04 am


It's been a while since I've been able to sign on. My husband and I have had a lot of life changes, and recently moved to the Madison, WI area. Of course, right when we moved, we discovered our 5 yr. old boar, Peppi, has a bladder stone!

Yesterday he was crying while he was peeing and there was blood in his urine. He had been sleeping more than usual during the day. Of course this happened on Memorial Day weekend, but we could tell he was feeling crappy, so we took him to the emergency vet and got him some x-rays, two views. He has a stone that the vet thinks is right at the base of the bladder, about to enter the urethra. It was visible on both side views, but not the "front" view, probably hidden by the pelvis.

Basically, our problem is, they were not confident about operating to remove the stone. They seemed uneasy about anesthetizing him. So, we're looking for someone else to operate as soon as we can. We would like the UW vet school to do it, but they have weird hours, and won't be open till Tuesday, but I'm sure most other vets won't be either.

Does anyone know of any vets in the Middleton or Madison WI area that are experienced with surgery on pigs, or have done many successful stone removals? We'll be calling around today to see if we can find someone good. We did see Dr. Erickson at All-Pets for a general check up earlier this month for all of our pigs, but this problem was not apparent then. However, he said he ususally refers surgical stuff to the vet school.

Peppi is still urinating at the moment, but if he's no longer able to later, I'm worried we might have to take a gamble with the emergency vets....

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun May 29, 2005 9:19 am


Did they at least prescribe bactrim for you? Good luck finding a great vet and getting the surgery done quickly.

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HappyBuds

Post   » Sun May 29, 2005 9:20 am


Talk to LadyVeg, she has a good vet near Madison. I'm in Milwaukee, so I won't be much help unless you want to drive all the way out here. Probably best to get established with someone closer to home, though. Good luck with your little guy.

capybara
Supporter in '13

Post   » Sun May 29, 2005 9:49 am


Thanks to both for your replies.

I forgot to mention, the vet prescribed Baytril. I tried to convince him to give us Bactrim because that's what I'm used to, but I think he was more familiar with Baytril and wanted to try it first.

We also asked for Metacam. He said he had never used it on GPs before, but we told him we had, so thankfully he gave it to us. Overall he seemed more knowledgeable than I expected, but I really wish all emergency vets would have an experienced exotics vet on staff.

The Baytril is 20mg/ml and they said to give 0.4 ml every 24 hrs. Peppi weighs about 1100 g. Does this sound right? Or do you all think we should switch to Bactrim? We do have a bottle; it's about 2 months old.

HappyBuds, I wouldn't mind driving out to Milwaukee if you would like to recommend your vet. I know stones can be dangerous, and if we can't find someone around here, I'd be happy to have other resources.

Thanks again, I appreciate it.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun May 29, 2005 11:48 am


If it were me, I would switch to bactrim because I don't have much confidence in baytril and uri's. But this doesn't mean it won't help (and may vets turn to baytril). Your dose is 8mg or 7.3mg/kg. www.guinealynx.info/medications.html#baytril

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HappyBuds

Post   » Sun May 29, 2005 1:48 pm


I use Dr. Diane Bennetts at the Small Animal Hospital.

2340 N Newhall St., Milwaukee

(414)276-0701

She's a really nice lady who is very knowledgeable, I like her a lot. There are other members on here that use her as well. If I remember correctly, she recently operated on one of Snowflakey's pigs. (not 100% sure about that though)

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Serena
It started with Louie...

Post   » Sun May 29, 2005 2:35 pm


Yes, e-mail Ladyveg. She has a great vet right in Madison.

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snowflakey
E's Moriarity

Post   » Sun May 29, 2005 2:53 pm


She's operated on two of my pigs! She's great. But a vet in Madison would be more helpful. They have the vet school there, too. Ladyveg all the way - she can point you in the right direction.

capybara
Supporter in '13

Post   » Mon May 30, 2005 5:54 pm


Hi everyone,

I just contacted ladyveg reg. vets. For the time being we are looking into the UW vet school and Animal Hospital of Verona. Our old vet in PA recommended Dr. Paul-Murphy at UW, so when they open tomorrow we'll be giving them another call right away.

The good news is, Peppi isn't screaming or straining when he pees anymore, so I think the stone may have moved elsewhere in the bladder, not so close to the urethra. And hopefully the pain meds are helping.

The bad news is, even though we decided to switch to Bactrim because we're more comfortable with it, after 2 doses of Bactrim (plus the Baytril injection they originally gave him at the ER late on Sat. night) Peppi isn't eating as much as usual. He still wants all his veggies, but is eating much less pellets and hay. I think he might be intolerant to the antibiotic. I just remembered that when we first adopted him, he had a runny nose and our vet put him on Bactrim just in case he had a URI, and after a couple days he wasn't eating.

We just bought some critical care to supplement what he is eating.
He has only lost about 25 grams, but do you all think it's best to discontinue the medication so he can eat and be at his strongest before his surgery?

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snowflakey
E's Moriarity

Post   » Mon May 30, 2005 5:59 pm


How do his poops look? My pigs always get a little "off their feed" when they have antibiotics, but nothing really bad, and I give them probiotics to help them feel better. Depending on what you see, you'd need to decide what to do. If his poops look okay, and he's eating some (particularly eating favorite foods), I would probably continue with the antibiotic, but I would give him a probiotic 1 hour after each dose of the AB: either a poop or two from a healthy pig, or some acidophilus (I just mix the contents of a capsule with water and syringe it in). I would also hand-feed (read: force feed if Peppi is really off his food).

capybara
Supporter in '13

Post   » Mon May 30, 2005 6:14 pm


He isn't pooping as much as usual, but they look uniform, maybe just a little smaller.

We did buy acidophilus capsules from Walgreens (they're called Florajen) and have been sprinkling the powder on his veggies, but he really seems to hate how it tastes. We used to get acidophilus from our vet in PA, and I guess it was formulated for animals because all our pigs loved the taste of it when they were on antibiotics. We can try syringing it, though, that's a good idea.

We did syringe him Critical Care today, but only about 5 ccs so far, since he's still eating some stuff on his own. It's hard for me to tell if he just feels crummy from the stone or the Bactrim, but it seems like it's from the Bactrim. Maybe I should make him some "poop soup"...

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thundermuse

Post   » Mon May 30, 2005 6:20 pm


I take my pigs to Middleton Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Marcus Gordon is their exotics specialist. He graduated from the UW in 2002, and I've been impressed with him. I know he's experienced in operating on pigs, but I don't know if he has specific experience with stones. Luckily I've only had to see him for regular wellness checkups so far. You would have to call and see what his experience with this problem is. He's usually there on Tuesdays.

Middleton Veterinary Hospital
2705 W. Beltline Hwy.
Middleton, WI 53562
608-836-8561
www.middletonvet.petplace.com

The emergency vet they use for after hours care is:
Veterinary Emergency Service
1612 N. Highpoint Rd.
Middleton, WI 53562
608-831-1101

I've taken my dog to Veterinary Emergency Service and was happy with them, but I don't know if they are experienced with guinea pigs.

The UW Veterinary Teaching Hospital is also excellent. I've taken my dog there for his eye and back problems, and I had a friend who got excellent care there for his sugar glider. They will take in emergencies right away with a referral from your regular vet.

Hope this helps, and good luck. I live in Middleton, by the way. Welcome to the area!

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