Fasting for 12 hours before surgery?
Y'all!!! Finn had his surgery scheduled for today, so my husband and I dropped him at the vet this morning. I won't go into all the emotions that doing that brought on. Anyways, they said they had to cystotomy is to do including his and the very latest we would hear anything from them would be 5 p.m. as they don't do the surgery straight away. I got to work at 10 a.m. and by 11 my husband, who had the day off, called me and said that they had sedated him and done an x-ray. They found that he had PASSED THE STONE!!! Our original vet, who is records we had transferred to the surgeon, had told us that the stone was 5 mm large. The surgeon's office today told us that that was inaccurate and she doesn't know how they came up on that measurement. Like I told you all earlier, my husband and I had a very strong feeling that he passed it since there is no more pain when he goes to the bathroom, but I'm doing research and talking to so many doctors we thought it was unreasonable to think that he could have passed it, but we are so grateful to have our piggy back to us tonight unscathed! Thank you to everyone for all of your help, insight, patience, and support. It truly means more than you know. I'm so happy to have this thread now to look back on if this issue comes up again, sincerely hoping it never comes up again!
- Sef
- I dissent.
Excellent! Absolutely excellent. I'd be curious to know what the actual size of the stone was, that he passed. It would be useful as a reference.
Stones do tend to recur, unfortunately, so this would be a good time to re-evaluate his diet in order to work towards prevention. What pellets have you been feeding and in what daily amount? KMS Hayloft is a very good brand with lower calcium than any other commercial pellet on the US market.
I posted a sample "diet" of lower calcium veggies that I have fed my guys in the hopes of preventing stones (sadly, I've dealt with 6 or 7 stone pigs over the years). There are many other factors besides what they eat, however, but mitigating the risk by lowering overall calcium in the diet can be a good start. Have you ever had your water supply tested for hardness?
Fingers crossed that he stays stone-free!
Stones do tend to recur, unfortunately, so this would be a good time to re-evaluate his diet in order to work towards prevention. What pellets have you been feeding and in what daily amount? KMS Hayloft is a very good brand with lower calcium than any other commercial pellet on the US market.
I posted a sample "diet" of lower calcium veggies that I have fed my guys in the hopes of preventing stones (sadly, I've dealt with 6 or 7 stone pigs over the years). There are many other factors besides what they eat, however, but mitigating the risk by lowering overall calcium in the diet can be a good start. Have you ever had your water supply tested for hardness?
Fingers crossed that he stays stone-free!
Thanks so much for the chart! I switched to KMS pellets last week when I saw someone suggested then and I do ⅛ of a cup a day, he loves them. My husband picked him up and says they didn't say how large it was. Maybe I can get in touch with them and ask. Sef, did you put your pigs on meds to prevent stones? They suggested it but I'm wary about having him on them for years and would rather control diet.
- Sef
- I dissent.
If you can find out the stone size, I think it would be useful. While it obviously does happen on occasion, a male guinea pig passing a stone (particularly a larger one) is not all that common.
I have not used a urine acidifer with any of ours. There is no clear evidence to support that the highly alkaline urine of a guinea pig can be made acidic enough to prevent calcium carbonate stones. Even if the urine can be made reliably, consistently acidic, you potentially run into the opposite issue of forming struvite or calcium oxalate stones which tend to form in a more acidic environment.
What other medication/supplement were they suggesting?
I have not used a urine acidifer with any of ours. There is no clear evidence to support that the highly alkaline urine of a guinea pig can be made acidic enough to prevent calcium carbonate stones. Even if the urine can be made reliably, consistently acidic, you potentially run into the opposite issue of forming struvite or calcium oxalate stones which tend to form in a more acidic environment.
What other medication/supplement were they suggesting?
- Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
I wrote KMSHayloft with a couple requests over a week ago and got no reply at all.
I wondered if the pellet ingredient list on the bag is still 100% accurate. I'd like to do a comparison of a handful of the better pellets (our list is really old).
Oh, and I am SO HAPPY to hear he passed the stone! That is wonderful!
On the stones page, there is a reference to shillintong, which is supposed to relax things so stones can pass easier. Keep in mind that shillintong is NOT curative or in any way an alternative to a needed surgery.
I wondered if the pellet ingredient list on the bag is still 100% accurate. I'd like to do a comparison of a handful of the better pellets (our list is really old).
Oh, and I am SO HAPPY to hear he passed the stone! That is wonderful!
On the stones page, there is a reference to shillintong, which is supposed to relax things so stones can pass easier. Keep in mind that shillintong is NOT curative or in any way an alternative to a needed surgery.
- Catie Cavy
- Supporter 2011-2020
Yay! So glad Finn didn't need surgery.
I think water and exercise are both helpful with preventing stones. If he doesn't seem to drink a lot of water, you can wet down his lettuce. You can also syringe feed him extra water and give him fruits and veggies high in water content. Consider giving him floor time if you don't already.
I think water and exercise are both helpful with preventing stones. If he doesn't seem to drink a lot of water, you can wet down his lettuce. You can also syringe feed him extra water and give him fruits and veggies high in water content. Consider giving him floor time if you don't already.
He does love running around our bedroom and how funny you mentioned the syringe feeding water bc I just say down in the couch after giving him 3 syringe fulls if water. He does drink on his own but happens to love syringes! Lucky me as he was a dream the one time he had to be in antibiotics. Ya I'm not going to put him on any meds, just do fewer pellets and lessen the peppers I give him daily I guess?