Piper Med Thread

ClemmyOddieIndy

Post   » Mon Jan 18, 2021 12:53 pm


I did a quick search, and I don't have a Piper thread, so I thought I'd start one.

I adopted Piper in fall 2017. She was surrendered to the shelter with her three daughters. She was probably around 3-6ish months old. She was about 3/4 her current size. She's been pretty healthy overall, but on 1/17/2021 I noticed blood in her urine. It was only in a few spots, and she had other spots that were normal looking. She had been moved from a 2x4 C&C to a Midwest cage on 1/16/2021. Her cage mate Bambi died a few months ago, and since Piper will be my last pig I decided to downsize. She spent most of 1/16/2021 in her pigloo. I checked on her before bed and she seemed fine. She was up during the night running around (her cage is in my bedroom). The next day she woke me up as she always does around 7:30 with her pouting until she gets her Vit C Oxbow supplement. I didn't notice anything (but I was tired and didn't look close). It was maybe 4 or 5 hours later I noticed the blood in the urine. I watched her closely yesterday (1/17) and I did not see any behavior changes or signs of illness (all urine was normal). I'm going to set her up an appointment to go to the vet this week.

I haven't noticed any calcium deposits, but I do use Carefresh, so it can be harder to notice. I haven't noticed squeaking while urinating. No weight changes. The only thing is I do think her water intake seems lower than when Bambi was alive, but she is still drinking and it hasn't been so low I've been concerned. Also I can never tell if she's drinking or playing with the water. I think she might've been playing more than drinking in the past.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Jan 18, 2021 12:57 pm


Ah, ignore my comment on your other topic.

If you've read a bunch here, you may have noticed that there have been reports that on rare occasion there can be spotting that is possibly associated with a menstrual cycle.

It sounds like you weigh her regularly? This will help tell you if there might be another medical cause.

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Tue Jan 19, 2021 12:10 am


Do you have any fleece you can put down temporarily to see if there are blood smears or if it truly is in the urine? And also if there are any calcium deposits other than the usual faint white areas?

I think a vet check is a good idea, and hopefully they have some diagnostic equipment they can use to check for stones or bacteria in the urine. If they don't come up with anything, as Lynx mentioned, sometimes it is hormonal. Keep a record of when you noticed this and how long it lasted. If you start to see it repeat every 15 days or so, that's a possibility.

ClemmyOddieIndy

Post   » Tue Jan 19, 2021 3:32 pm


I don't have any fleece. I've tried it in the past, but I find it too hard to clean. I haven't noticed any calcium deposits. But with Carefresh it can be hard to tell. Our regular vet can do an x-ray, but I don't know if they have anything beyond that.

ClemmyOddieIndy

Post   » Fri Jan 22, 2021 4:06 pm


They expressed her urine and said at first it was normal but then they saw blood, and some small stones. They also said she has quite a bit of bacteria in her urine. X-ray was clear though. We’re going on an antibiotic and keeping an eye. I’m just waiting for them to bring her out to my car now so I thought I’d update.

ClemmyOddieIndy

Post   » Fri Jan 22, 2021 7:02 pm


I was just going to give her the antibiotics. She's on SMZ/TMP .7 ml(s), does that sound right? When I looked at the antibiotics info page it said 30mg, but when I looked at ml to mg it said .7 ml would be 700mg.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Jan 22, 2021 10:09 pm


The dose depends on her weight and the concentration of the SMZ/TMP.
https://www.guinealynx.info/antibiotics.html#bactrim
https://www.guinealynx.info/calculate_dose.html

Sounds like a good choice of antibiotic. I hope it helps!

ClemmyOddieIndy

Post   » Tue Jan 26, 2021 11:11 am


I haven't seen the blood in her urine since the day I posted. The vet told me she expected that I would see blood in her urine on Friday because they forced the urine out and it would probably inflame her bladder, and not to worry about it. But there was nothing. Then this morning there was blood again. Overall, she seems to be the same. No signs of pain, and she's eating and drinking. She's been on the antibiotic for over 72 hours, so I'd think it would be working if it was a UTI.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Jan 26, 2021 10:20 pm


I take it the vet ruled out pyometra? (an infection of the uterus)

ClemmyOddieIndy

Post   » Wed Jan 27, 2021 2:18 pm


I'm not sure. She said their machine for running the urine sample can't calibrate for guinea pigs so they did for a cat, which she said was closest. It didn't show a UTI, but the vet said there was a lot of bacteria in the urine so she assumed a UTI. They also did an x-ray to check for more stones after the few came out when they forced her to urinate. She said they were small, and the x-ray didn't pick up any large stones so she wasn't really worried about that. How would they test for pyometra? Would the antibiotic treatment be different than the SMZ/TMP?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Jan 27, 2021 7:42 pm


I am guessing an infection of the uterus (if there was one) would likely require a stronger antibiotic. That antibiotic would be fine for a UTI if that is what it was. I believe the xray would have given some indication there was a uterine infection, if present.

ClemmyOddieIndy

Post   » Thu Jan 28, 2021 11:01 am


And, there is more blood this morning. It's not a lot, but still I'm concerned. Tomorrow is a week since she visited the vet, and a week since we started the antibiotic. I might set her up to go back next week. I'm taking my grandparents to get their Covid-19 vaccines tomorrow, so I'd rather not schedule her tomorrow. I want to be around in case they need help, or feel sick after getting the vaccine.

She still seems fine, no change in her weight or behavior.

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