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 megsim |
cleaning up after an URI. help please! |
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Posts: 5 04/07/09 07:09 PM |
okay, so my GP was diagnosed with an early case of URI so she is currently getting treatment and has to stay with the vet. I am a new GP owner and I wanted to
know if there is anything I need to do specifically to insure that her cage is clean. I don't want to get her back and have her catch it all over again. If
you know anything that I can use to clean the cage with or a specific way I need to clean it to prevent a relapse. Please let me know. Thanks
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PooksiedAnimals |
#1 | |||
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Posts: 4114 04/07/09 08:34 PM Moderator |
Glad you took her in and she's getting treated. What antibiotic is she on and what's the dose? She's at the vet? Unless she was in a bad way, they
shouldn't have needed to keep her overnight. That sounds odd.
Its unlikely she caught it from something in her cage. Since she was a recent purchase, it was probably poor husbandry from before you got her that caused it (cold temps, damp, cramped quarters, etc). I have not specially cleaned my cage out with anything whenever I've had a pig with a URI. The normal change of bedding and a wipe-down with vinegar does the trick. Best way to prevent a relapse is keep her warm, dry, feed her good food, and she should be fine. |
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megsim |
#2 | |||
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Posts: 5 04/10/09 11:35 AM |
thank you so much! we took her to the store where we got her and told them that we thought she had an URI and they paid the bill. They should be giving her
back soon. They wanted to make sure she would be fine so they kept her overnight. The store didn't really want to be responsible for causing my pig to be
sick twice.
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PooksiedAnimals |
#3 | |||
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Posts: 4114 04/10/09 12:24 PM Moderator |
Generally speaking, you do not want to bring a sick pig back to the pet store, but to have your own vet treat the pig, and then forward the bill to the pet
store to pay. Pet store vets are often not cavy-savvy; some pet stores are more interested in saving money than saving the pig.
She's not back with you yet? I hope she will be returned to you shortly, happy and healthy. Guinea pigs that I've had that have URIs usually respond to the antibiotics within the first 24-48 hours. If caught early, they're usually symptom-free within that time, and then its just a matter of finishing up the course of antibiotics to make sure its gone (usually 7-10 days). |
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Krys1987 |
#4 | |||
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Posts: 16 10/10/09 05:15 PM |
My female guinea pig has had UTI for 3 days now and has been on antibiotics for 3 days but is still bleeding every once in awhile (just a tiny bit) about 2-3
times a day and yesterday she didn't bleed at all. I noticed that after she eats Timothy hay she bleeds again. Could the bleeding be caused by her eating
hay and should I stop giving her hay for the time being? The antibiotics run for 14 days so it's gonna be another week and a half before she's done
them. Should I be concerned about a small amount of blood after 3 days or should I keep giving her antibiotics and see how she is after a few more days/week?
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PooksiedAnimals |
#5 | |||
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Posts: 4114 10/10/09 10:01 PM Moderator |
Eating hay would not cause the bleeding. Do not stop giving her hay. If she's been on the antibiotics for three days, and you still see blood, you may want
to call the vet to discuss this. Were any xrays taken to rule out the possibility of bladder stones? I would be concerned that there may be some other issue
other than a simple bladder infection. I have never had one of my pigs show symptoms after the first 34-48 hours after being on antibiotics for a UTI. I guess
its possible if she had a really bad infection? But I would still confer with the vet.
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Krys1987 |
#6 | |||
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Posts: 16 10/11/09 12:41 AM |
I called the vet after 48 hrs like he asked me too and he said it was normal for her to still be bleeding.. She bled a bit today but only after eating hay.. I
took all the hay out of her cage and she hasn't bled since. I also read somewhere that hay isn't good for them when they have a UTI and it can cause
more bleeding. I am gonna keep giving her meds and keep her away from hay for a few days. Next week (Tues) when the vet opens again if she's still bleeding
I will call the vet back and bring her back in. I am pretty worried but it could also be a very serious case of UTI and she may just need more antibitoics then
just 2 weeks worth. I am hoping she recovers in the next few days as vets are expensive and it's killing my bank account lol... i'm crossing my
fingers.. if not she'll definately get the care she needs.. i'm keeping a close eye on her until Tues and we'll see what happens after then.
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PooksiedAnimals |
#7 | |||
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Posts: 4114 10/11/09 08:33 AM Moderator |
I don't know where you read that hay isn't good for them. Can you site the reference? That sounds like total baloney to me. Hay is essential for gut
and teeth health. Guinea pigs should never be without hay.
The only way I could possibly see hay causing a problem is if it was alfalfa hay. The high calcium content could cause calcium crystals to build up in their bladder, which are sharp, and could cause the bleeding. But that wouldn't cause a UTI directly -- that would just cause the bleeding. Antibiotics won't cure that, but bactrim makes the bladder walls slippery, and could slow down the damage from the crystals. Out of curiosity, what meds is she on for the UTI, and what dose? And, what kind of diet is she getting? Is it high in calcium? I would be worried that its a bladder stone. Did the vet take xrays? It could also be cystitis, which would cause long-term bleeding like this (I had one pig with that -- it was a life-time problem I had to manage). |
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Krys1987 |
#8 | |||
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Posts: 16 10/11/09 10:42 AM |
I forget where I read that and don't remember the site.. sorry. But I know I read somewhere that hay isn't good for guinea pigs when they have a UTI
because it promotes the bleeding. I took all the hay out of her cage as of yesterday evening and so far there has been no bleeding. It's not alfalfa hay
it's timothy hay that they get all of the time. My male has some in his cage right now but he is perfectly fine. I just fine after Kayin eats the hay she
starts bleeding but when she doesn't eat the hay she is fine!
I know that hay doesn't cause UTI's but it is definately not helping her situation when she eats the hay and it makes her bleed. She is taking Enrofloxacin and its 0.06ml twice daily. As soon as we gave her the meds on Wed/Thurs this past week her behaviour went back to normal but it's just the bleeding noticed only after she eats the timothy hay. For her food she is eating FortiDiet pro health (which is almost gone) and I am trying to locate Oxbox timothy pellets... I found the alfalfa pellets Oxbox but obviously they are over a year so that's not what I want. So she is eating FortiDiet for now and a full supply of water... she also gets either apples, oranges, romaine lettece, celery, cucumber, carrots and some thawed cranberries (which she doesn't seem to like so I might have to get the unsweetened cranberry juice) 2 a day. Yesterday she had half an apple (small apple) and 4 small pieces of romaine lettece and she loved it. The vet did not take X-rays because he wanted us to go along the cheapest route for now. He said he thought it was a UTI for sure and gave us the antibiotics and said if she doesn't clear up in a few days bring her back in and we'll do other stuff to determine what it is. We called him 2 days ago which was 2 days after she was in the vets and he said it was still normal for her to be bleeding a tiny lil bit and not to worry but if the bleeding continues until tues after Thanksgiving weekend then to bring her back in. The vets are closed today and tomorrow! What I find very strange is that her behaviour is back to normal and she seems perfectly fine (eating and drinking etc) and she doesn't bleed if she DOESN"T get hay!! She only bleeds when she eats the hay... so I am totally thrown off.. I know she should have hay but I have stopped giving it to her until I see whether or not she is still gonna bleed. I wanna determine what is making her bleed still but honestly she hasn't bled since I stopped giving her that hay!! So, I don't know. I am very confused about what to do?? |
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PooksiedAnimals |
#9 | |||
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Posts: 4114 10/11/09 08:58 PM Moderator |
Do you have a concentration of the Enrofloxacin? That seems like a low dose. I wonder why the vet didn't prescribe bactrim -- bactrim pools in the urine,
so is often a good choice to treat a UTI.
I would lay off the romaine, and switch to another lettuce for the short term. I've had bladder issues with romaine, especially if its the majority of greens they get. She's getting an awful lot of sugar - that could cause an imbalance in the bladder, and give bacteria more to grow on. I would cut way back on the fruit, and up the leafy greens. If she is bleeding after eating hay, I would really question if the blood is coming from the bladder, or coming from her intestines. I still have a hard time believing the hay has *anything* to do with the bleeding, unless the extra roughage is causing problems with her intestines. (I don't have time to do it tonight, but I will be splitting this topic off, and moving it to the Medical forum, since this has nothing to do with the original post, and I would like your girl to have her own medical thread (just a heads up - so you don't think it all disappeared on you). ) |
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