Sierra

[nancyo]

I have no idea what it could be, but am happy to hear it's not a nasty stone. Guinea used to bleed off and on and did not have stones. We never did figure out what it was - he was a boy too.

Sending good thoughts for no more bleeding at all. ;D

Nancy

[brendab]

Thanks Nancy. Something inside me says not to spay her. I don't know why...so we wait and see.

[cali2]

Any chance of a bad case of cystitis? Also, I had a female who was bleeding frank blood and loosing weight (may not be the case with Sierra). Unfortunately, she was not a candidate for surgery; the necropsy showed had an ovarian cyst and a bladder tumor.

[brendab]

Cali2, did she have intermittent bleeding?

[cali2]

With her, there was diluted blood/pink urine at intake with stiff hair around the genital area and sludge and urine scald. (None disclosed to me; she was "healthy" which she obviously was not.)

The frank blood showed up after she started to show signs of aggression toward her mother (she also had crusty nipples). I'd have to look further to find the actual intake date but I'm thinking I had her a very short time (like 3-5 months). The necropsy showed a rare form of cancer for a guiena pig. Again, I'd need to find the lab report.

[Sef]

I'm really glad there isn't a stone (YAY!), but sorry that the bleeding is still a mystery.

You could try reducing the calcium in her diet, to see if that makes any difference. How much pellets does she get a day?

[brendab]

I watch the veggies carefully. No romaine or parsley or kale at all. I do let her eat from the pellet bowl as much as she wants because it helps keep her weight on. She does get KM pellets. Should I monitor those?

Today there are a lot of white spots on the fleece so we shall see if she has blood again. They are powdery, no grit.

[cali2]

When Tootsie was full of sludge (the vet had to express it) the result was a very fine powder. I'll look up the info later tonight.

[nancyo]

That is exactly what happened with Guinea (the powdery spots). For some odd reason I found out Guinea would bleed if I gave him carrots. It made absolutely no sense, but when I stopped them he didn't bleed anymore. Very weird.

Nancy

What about crystals in the urine? Has she ever been checked for that? It still seemed to happen when he ate carrots, but we did find crystals with Guinea when he bled.

[cali2]

She was another pig who arrived incorrectly represented to me. This was the info from her health chart (I also had a weight chart and medicine chart):

8-2-08: smells: pyometra?; long nails; fatty/pea-eye both eyes; small lump on L rump: cyst?; scratching at ears: mites?

8-6-08: vet appt: SF; x-rayed; 1 cc (?) of sludge expressed; SQ fluids given [my own vet was not in town]

8-9-09: vet appt. Dr. S (906g @ vet); severe bladder infection; dermal cyst on back, missing tooth w/possible low-grade root infection; stop Bactrim – start Baytril; fluids 30-40cc per day

8-23-08: vet: SF – Metronidazole & 80 cc’s Pedialyte daily; sludge expressed

At one point I did express some sludge (they wanted me to do it daily). However, one needs to be very careful so that the bladder does not burst. The SF vet wanted me to come daily (from work and across the GGB) to have them express her bladder daily even though it her bladder kept refilling. That was not realistic time or cost-wise not to mention that I would be fired. I felt after three weeks of treatment with two different vets and no positive outcome in sight that she needed to be humanely relieved of her pain and suffering. I only had her three weeks. Photos may be seen here.

[Sef]

With as much calcium as she's getting from the extra pellets, it could well be that her bladder is becoming irritated (and then bleeds).

In general, guinea pig pellets are very heavy on calcium -- much more than a pig really needs on a daily basis. Since Sierra is also getting veggies that also contain a good amount of calcium, I'm thinking the bleeding could be caused by an "overload."

Can you try cutting back the pellets for a while, and see if that makes any difference? Instead, I'd bump up the wet veggies to help keep the bladder flushed. Just a thought.

Fingers crossed that the powder doesn't = bleeding today.

[brendab]

Thank you guys!

She did not have sludge on exam Monday. I guess she passes it well. The spots are never larger than a pencil reaser, just we get more of them some times.

I will try cutting back on pellets...she's gonna be pissed!

[cali2]

Do you give or have you given sq fluids on an ongoing basis to keep her flushed out?

[brendab]

No I don't. I am trying to go to a class at the rescue next month to learn how to do it.

How often does she need that?

[Sef]

How's Sierra doing, brendab?