Reoccurring bladder infections

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Kallie

Post   » Wed Dec 21, 2005 7:10 pm


I’m hoping to get more info on how to stop my 3-year-old male (Chestnut) from having so many bladder infections recently. He had a bladder stone removed the end of October after we noticed blood in his urine. Xrays and urine samples were done to confirm it. He was put on the AB Enrofloxacin and Metacam for the pain. He had an intolerance to the Enrofloxacin so was switched to the AB Chlor Palm. This cleared up all problems, and had seemed fine then we started all over again with the bleeding and moaning. After another urine test (and xray to confirm there were no other stones), we found out he had another bladder infection and after a culture was done, he was put back on Chlor Palm again for another 10 days without any improvement so he was then put on the AB Nitrofurantoin. This stopped all problems and everything seemed fine. He has also been put on a daily dose of vitamin C.

However, we had him to the vets over this passed weekend for his normal nail trimming and follow-up and I mentioned Chestnut had been moaning on and off when urinating, so another urine test was done. Monday the bleeding started again. The results have come back and it’s confirmed he has another bladder infection. He’s been put back on Nitrofurantoin and Metacam to clear it up.

Other then the on and off bleeding he is very active and vocal, eats and voids as normal and his weight hasn't dropped. His diet consists of romaine lettuce, baby carrots, parsley, red peppers and dandelions twice daily. He also gets the following random treats: green beans, cucumber, celery, corn flakes, cheerios, rice crispies, orange slices, apples, bananas. He gets and eats a lot of timothy hay daily and drinks a lot of water. He also loves wood chew toys and paper rolls without any glue markings. His bedding is pine chips and is fully cleaned out every 3 days.

Any idea what could be causing these infections to reoccur suddenly like this and what I can do to prevent them? I have read many posts regarding this issue and nothing seems to help him. I’ve even tried altering his diet. I’m willing to try anything at this point. I’ve had Chestnut since he was 6 weeks old and I hate to see him suffering. I have 2 other piggies that are so far doing very well.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Dec 21, 2005 7:41 pm


I have heard of giving two days of baytril a week to prevent a uti from taking hold (unsure if this would work or if I would do this). Dilute unsweetened cranberry juice is supposed to cut down on the incidence of uti's. Increase fluids.

Another thing I heartily recommend is reviewing what kind of bedding you are using. Look at evirotiles (alternate bedding) in the cavy care guide. www.guinealynx.info/bedding.html I'm having some success with a high quality berber material that allows the pee to drain away quickly. Trim butt hairs. What you want is the butt area to stay as clean and dry as possible to prevent bacteria from building up.

pinta

Post   » Wed Dec 21, 2005 10:25 pm


Blueberries and cranberries have been shown to help prevent bladder infections.

Our pigs have continual access to unsweetened cranberry juice in their cage. Some pigs prefer the actual berries. Most pigs like blueberries.

NancyO

Post   » Wed Dec 21, 2005 10:37 pm


Our guinea pig Oreo had a bladder stone in June of 2004. Since then he has had a couple of bladder infections as well though more spread out. I do give him cranberries and blueberries every day. This last bladder infection Oreo had x-rays to rule out stones and then the vet put Oreo on Bactrim for 30 days twice daily (that was loads of fun). So far so good. I always scoop all the wet spots and poops out of his cage daily (usually twice a day). Good luck with your piggy.

Nancy

User avatar
Kallie

Post   » Thu Dec 22, 2005 3:21 am


Thanks so much for the suggestions. I will pick up blueberries and cranberry juice after work tonight and give it a try. He has a diluted bowl of apple juice in his cage for about the last month to encourage him to drink more, so we’ll switch to the cranberry juice. Should I remove the bowl and just add the juice to his water bottle? Or should he still have both? I would assume the cranberry juice needs to be diluted as well?

I would normally like the idea of the floor mats, but Chestnut loves to burrow under anything and I’m afraid he’ll catch a nail in the little holes the mats have. I will order some for my 1 pig (Stevie) that doesn’t burrow though - he is blind and deaf, so doesn’t seem to burrow since he likes everything to always remain the same, especially under his feet. My baby pig (Stinker) burrows as well. Would using towels changed daily help instead? We used them right after Chestnuts surgery and he didn’t seem to mind the change. He doesn’t mind being hand fed either, so that isn’t an issue.

pinta

Post   » Thu Dec 22, 2005 3:32 am


What floor mats? Envirotiles won't catch their nails. The gaps are large enough and the material they're made from is flexible. My pigs are on them.

Use unsweetened cranberry juice and dilute.

Some fleece wicks moisture away and works placed on top of envirotiles. You don't want any moisture in contact with his penis. By the way, is his penis fully retracted? Sometimes gunk gets around the shaft preventing full retraction and exposing him to contaminates.

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Kallie

Post   » Thu Dec 22, 2005 7:56 am


When I looked at the Envirotiles on their website, it reminded me of a wire cage bottom, something I was told to always avoid. I will order them for Stevie and check them out for Chestnut and Stinker. If I am comfortable with leaving them in their cages I will order 2 more sets. I will switch to towels changed daily until the Envirotiles come in and hopefully that will help him. I’m very protective of my piggies, sorry.

His penis is fully retracted, I double checked this morning after his breakfast. I did notice a small piece of wood chip attached so I carefully removed it with a Q-tip. That was also something our vet checked for each visit too.

pinta

Post   » Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:50 am


The envirotiles are thick and don't havespaces large enough to catch a foot. They are also only 1/4 " above the surface so no foot could get jammed thru anything. The 1/4" is enough to make sure no pee pools. Our pigs feet are fine and they show no distress walking on it. There are no sharp edges. It's an ideal surface for grip, going up and down ramps.

They are not even close to wire.

We lay ours over wood pellets.

User avatar
Kallie

Post   » Fri Dec 30, 2005 2:54 pm


I had Chestnut back to the Vet’s last night because the bleeding had started again after 8 days on Nitrofurantoin. She has extended it to 1 month now because this is the 2nd different type of bladder infection he has had in the last month or so. We are both at a loss as to why this is happening because as the Vet says, his diet is perfect for him, he’s on towels changed twice daily (the Envirotiles I ordered haven’t come in yet), gets lots of exercise, x-rays show no new stones have formed, and other then the bleeding, he is in very good health. He actually gained 2 ounces in the 3 weeks since his last visit.

We also tried the diluted cranberry juice which he refused to drink so we switched back to diluted apple juice, he refused to eat the fresh cranberries and blueberries even though my other pigs loved them. He would just throw them out of his bowl and ignore them, even trying to hand feed his the berries didn’t work.

Anything else I can try, or suggestions on what else could be causing the bleeding to continue?

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Dec 30, 2005 3:45 pm


Maybe subcue fluids a couple times during the week. The apple juice is too sugary. Or syringe lots of fluids if he'll take them.

Nitrofurantoin:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drug ... 82291.html

How about using bactrim?

User avatar
Kallie

Post   » Fri Dec 30, 2005 3:54 pm


It seems that the only AB he doesn't react badly to is the Nitrofuroantoin. We have tried him on all the "common" AB's and he gets worse on them (Baytril, Bactrim etc) and the urine cultures always come back with AB resistant infections so our options are very limited on the meds we can give him.

The apple juice is unsweetened and diluted, is that still too sugary for him? It's what his Vet suggested we give him to get him to drink more. I'm a diabetic and can drink small amounts of it without any problems. We only add enough juice for flavour to encourage him to drink it. It's maybe a 1:4 ratio.

User avatar
melcvt00

Post   » Fri Dec 30, 2005 4:09 pm


Nitrofurantoin? Freaky antiobitic! I really hope that he's drinking enough. That one can trash kidneys. You really might want to consider SQ fluids (which you might anyway to help flush out the bacteria).

Question...are you rechecking a culture 5-7 days after finishing the antibiotic to make sure the infection is really gone? If it's not, that could be part of why he's ending up with resistant infections.

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