Somethings wrong with my Coco

[fortifiedwithtea]

Coco the guinea pig that is

Poor girly is squeaking when she has a wee She is being more of a Diva than usual, sitting facing the wall of the hutch. Millie Pig is bullying her too. I think she has lost weight but her eyes are bright and her fur is in good condition.

Also she has always drunk a lot and eaten a lot of Burgess Pellets. Today she was very greedy for cucumber and asked for more.

Last night I had her sat on me for a parsley treat (the other girls hadn't let her have any in the hutch) and she did a squeak, drew up her body and squirted out a big white wee. She always looks more relaxed after she's had a good pee on me

My guess is either too much calcium in her diet but the only thing that is high that they have is spinach and they don't have it every week and the other two are fine.

Or I could change to Wagg Crunch for guinea pigs, its lower in calcium but its a muesli

Or treat her for cystitis and give her cranberry juice. Anyone had any experience of this? Do I give it neat or diluted, if so, how weak?

Last resort, trip to vet for Baytril if its an UTI.

What opinions do my fellow SFA slaves owners have?

TIA

Not sure Fortified - my guess would be UTI or cystitis. Poor Coco . I would be off to the vet but I'm sure 70 will have some more practical advice.

Poor Coco

Try the cranberry juice as a first line of defence ( you just syringe it straight) or you can do a barley water (boiled pearl barley, it goes thick. you strain off the barley and syringe it in) - also good human home treatments for cystitis.

We give our hogs filtered water because it is so hard here (Essex) , not that the little buggers ever drink it .

Cranberry has a 'natural antibiotic' in it which stops the bacteria adhering to the bladder wall, but you need to keep her flushing through her system, so lots to drink.

I know some hays are higher than others in calcium (like alfafla)
It;s difficult with mutiple pigs to monitor what they eat/drink.

She might have a bladder stone/kidney stone, when we were at the vets there was a piggie there with (IIRC) kidney stones. They said she was on a very restricted diet, lots of veg that made her worse (I;ll try and remember, I'll ask DD too if she can). She'd need to have an X-Ray or scan to diagnose , otherwise they're going by symptoms.

The dark greens are high in calcium (including my piggies much loved parsley) but carrots, cauliflower,sweetcorn,celery,cucumber,romaine,banana is low.

Has MilliePig been keeping Coco away from the food or water do you think? Maybe give them a couple of bottles or smaller food piles so she gets a chance to have her fill.
Try the Wagg Guinea Pig Crunch - she'll probably eat the picky bits but at least she'll be eating something (it's recommemnded as a low calcium)

If you do take her to the vet, maybe try and get a pee sample from her (good luck with that) you'd have to cuddle her on a plastic bag till she goes then scoop it up into a sterilised jar or bottle

70 I need to ask a few more questions about cranberry juice how much juice do you suggest at a time and how often. When you say syringe do you mean the tiny 5ml ones?

Pearl barley reminds me of DM's stews when I was a little girl, it wasn't my favourite dinner

Since my OP I've compared Coco's 'bits' with Millie's because Millie has white fur so its easier to see. Coco has always had a bit of a bulge, I assumed because she'd had lots of babies. Poor girly now looks definitely swollen at the front.

I tend to give Coco a separate pile of veg because she won't get stuck in with the equally boisterous other two. Or I hand feed her, hence why I call her Diva Piggie. She won't let anyone steal a tomato off her though

After what Fatimus went through with her 'woman's problems' I not having anything invasion happen to Coco. A change of diet and AB's is as far as I'll go.

fortified do you have any of the Calpol syringes (or do you have anyone who has small DC that might have them. Though my DC are 12 and nearly 15 and STILL use Baby Calpol - the 2+ month one )

With cranberry, it's as much as they'll take, your piggie might scoff it down if they like the taste.
Pearl barley isn't high on my list either but I was adviced to try it when I had a bladder infection (the pain in your back type where you can feel ill and kidney pain type)
I gave GP2 diluted Ribena in a syringe and Vit C tablet dissolved in water - he tolerated it because he was ill and I was determined to get fluid down his little throat.

I know what you mean about vets, sometimes you just want to grab your unwell guinea-pig and say "Enough. Leave them alone " and nurture them.

They are fragile little souls and when they are unwell you just want to cuddle them

How is Coco doing?

(Dr 70 is making late night housecalls here)

No better 70 Coco still making a noise every time she has a wee. Its quite a distinctive squawk .

Giving her system a good flush out hasn't improved things. Remember I said she likes to wee on me? Well it could be its nicer for her 'sore bits' to pee on something soft She soaked my lovely brushed cotton pj top the other night. She had such a look of 'arrr that's better', me not so much warm and smelly

I noticed Coco had a small lump at the front of her 'bits' when she came to us. I put that down to her having lots of babies. Said lump is now bigger

Otherwise Coco is eating and keeping out of Millie's way who has decided to appoint herself Alpha Pig who is being bossy.

My guess is Coco will pass the mother of all kidney/bladder stones or has 'women' problems. I doubt AB's will be the answer. So unless there is a dramatic change I'm leaving well alone being mindful of what happened to Fatimus.

Thanks for the nightcall Dr 70

This morning I settled down with a bowl of cucumber and a mug of tea. The intension was to give each pig a cuddle. Shai was first and she insisted today she would only sit under my chin. Regrettably sat there I missed the 'I need a pee' signs and my pj top got a soaking

I swapped her for Coco, who I think liked my new smell She settled on my lap and ate the cucumber with gusto, rather too much, she ate Millie's share too. But she had such a happy look on her face I couldn't say no. Then she had a lovely big leg stretch, had a small pink wee on my leg and snuggled down. Having a wee, is a sign Coco is really relaxed.

All this cuddling had to stop when the roofer arrived. I wasn't too well this morning so was beyond caring. I went to the door with a guinea pig, wearing my pyjamas and two fresh pee stains. Anyway got the hole in the roof mended.

Bit gross but having two wees to compare its pretty obvious Coco had a bit of blood in her urine. I think more evidence of problem with kidney/bladder function. Its not looking good long term but she is still enjoying her little life.

Aww (aside from the Roofer thinking you were some Evolution of The Mad Cat Lady- guinea-pigs are so much more refined that cats and don't pee everywhere.........well they don't poo in the NDN garden)

It may be as you said that Coco has got a stone. Sounds like she's drinking plenty/getting fluid from the cucumber.

Our tricoloured sow always saves a tablespoon full of wee to bless the towel in the carry box (we take them from Pighouse to house and back).
I think she's marking her spot over the other two (a boar isn't always the Alpha Pig even though GP3 thinks he is )
Either that or she likes to have soft towel under her rump. I;m always looking out for signs of strain or wheeking (mine are both MumPigs too)

Does the lump feel soft,squashy, fibrous or solid?

I do have a sneaky feeling Coco enjoys something soft to pee on. You just have to see the look on her face Soft cuddle fleece is heavenly, my pyjamas a close second.

TBH I haven't fancied prodding her lump, its in a rather intimate place

Hi Fortified and all - Ive only just seen this as don't frequent the thread as much as I would like, and just wondered how Coco was doing and if it turned out to be an infection? Any news on the lump/

Poor little lass, she sounds like such a sweetie. Hope all Ok XX

Hi guineapiglet I'm just treating Coco like the little Princess diva she is. Thankfully the squealing for a pee has settled but I know the underlining problem is still there.

Coco was laying on a fleece on my lap like a Roman yesterday with a back leg sticking out while DD1 hand fed her a huge bunch of grass and dandi leaves lovingly cut with scissors from the garden.

Someone on another forum lost her piggy last week to bladder problems and the similarity hit home She chose surgery for her piggy and it didn't end well, just as I did for Fatimus.

Keep reading the board guineapiglet, we love to hear from you x