Blood in guinea pig's urine?

[Penguinandminipenguin]

We're quite new to owning GP's, we've only had our two since November so we don't have much experience (only ever owned cats or dogs before).

They live indoors in a cage, and in the afternoons when we're home from work we put them in a pen in the living room. There is a massive towel they go on, with a white waterproof mattress protector underneath. (Hope all that makes sense!)

So they've both been out in the pen today and dh has just gone to tidy them up and put them in the cage for the night. The large towel is dark blue so we didn't see anything on there inititally, but when he pulled it up, the waterproof mattress protector thing has random bits of what looks like diluted blood/bloody wee.

Any ideas what this could be? My cat had this before in her litter, so I knew it was a kidney infection, took her to the vets and got anti biotics. Can GP's get infections like that? How do I find out which one of them it is so I know which one to take to the vets?

I'm panicking now that there is something wrong with one or both of them :( It's just a bit scary to see blood like that when you're not expecting it.

On another note, if treatable, is it likely to be expensive? I'm on SSP this month until my maternity leave pay kicks in at the end of this month so this is the hardest month we've ever had financially too.

I'd really appreciate any advice - thank you

I'm a relative newbie to piggies too, having had our 2 since September last year. But we noticed one of them had blood stained wee about a month ago. She wasn't making any scream like noises that I read would suggest kidney stones or infection so we watched and waited, then altered her diet. We drastically reduced how often we fed them Kale and carrots and since then they have both been so much better, no more instances of bleeding at all. We think it may have been 'sludge'? Her appearance never changed, she was alert, shiny eyes etc but if she had showed any signs of illness we would have taken her straight to the Vets.
As for cost, can't help you with tht one at all sorry

Thank you for the reply :) They both seem happy in themselves, nothing is coming off if I wipe them with a tissue. I've put a white towel down so I can see if anything comes out on to it, but so far all seems ok. Both are eating and drinking fine too, chasing each other around. I'll keep an eye on them and see what happens. Thank you

when their wee dries, it can have a reddish look to it but it is not blood. if they are not squeaking when weeing and seem healthy i would think it is ok

this website is good for gpig health stuff

www.guinealynx.info/normal.html

How are the piggies? Anything more in the way of staining?
It could be a small injury internally (maybe sharp piece from hay or a swallowed tooth- check and see if any are missing)

Foods can stain (my GP1 peed peach after red/yellow peppers)

Be wary of calcium rich foods ( parsley, dark greens) make sure they have plenty of water.

One of Fernies sows had blood in wee , I'll find the post and bump it)
Pigs can "hunch" themselves up to pee when they have bladder or kidney problems (unlike their usual stance where they stretch their rumps out )

They can get kidney infections, but check first as it could just be tomato juice or similar!

70 - not my sows, I've never had sows and my boars are offended at the thought of allowing sows into their domain.

Was it fortified' sows?

Yes your pigs are chaps (I am a wazzock today)

It was fortified sows, I was trying to remember if it was Millie or Coco.

Bert says let some sows in, he heartily recommends the married life

Thanks for the advice everyone!

We're pretty certain now that the girls are ok. We think we know what the problem was...it's going to sound so strange though!!

Dh dried the towel they had been using on the radiator. Today he went to put the white one they've been using on the radiator, and it was def clear of all red/blood type marks when he washed it. As he put it on the radiator, some of the wallpaper came away from the wall and marked the white towel with what looked like blood! It sounds mad, our walls aren't even red - they're magnolia, but the mark it's left on the white towel is really similar to the marks that were on the waterproof sheet the other day. (I'm aware of how weird this sounds!!)

Just in case though, we are still keeping an eye on them. We've checked their cage, inspect the towels after they've been on them and look at their girly bits. They seem happy and content in themselves, so will just see how we go over the next few days again.

Thanks everyone!

Unlike you are have a memory lapse 70, Coco will forgive you

Just for information as it seems thankfully blood was a false alarm:-

Coco had bacterial cystitis. It was easily treated with a course of Baytril (an animal anti-biotic) and Metacam (pain relief). Money wise I think I got away with about £50-60 that time.

to Coco (it looks like clover ) by way of apology, (Coco-bladder, Millie -paws, Naughty-got into a rumpus with the tumble drier)

Guineas will quite easily take ten years off you - little swine.
Glad to see the mystery is solved , but YY it is difficult to tell which one is the patient when there is more than one piggie unless you are cuddling them or se them pee.

Years ago, my guinea (when I was 14 or so) and her reprobate piglet daughter kept getting really gummy mucky eyes. I kept checking and wiping (and worrying) until I noticed .....white powder.
They were breaking into the cupboard and eating the flour bags. The mucky eyes was guinea tears 'n'flour.