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Urine UTI?

jjn3beans

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So much has been happening here lately, that Walter, our 2yo boar, has been getting pellets, hay, salad, and water every day, but hasn't gotten held by me. Long story short, 2 people in family have died and our 13yo dog died as well.

Regardless, I was sitting upstairs today finally paying attention to Walter, when I noticed that he is squeaking while urinating. We just lost a 4yo boar last year from a stone, so we know the signs. The passed away pig was hunched in a corner, urinating blood, small thin poos, and squeaking.

Walter (our current pig) I thought was squeaking for only a day or 2, but DD10 told me she noticed it at least 3 weeks ago! He's been drinking more water than normal as well. He is not hunched, he's active, eating heartily, and popcorning and running around. Does this sound like a stone to you or are we unable to tell without an x-ray? He has an appointment that I had to wrangle out of the exotic animal vet (as she's in surgery tomorrow, not appointments). I've even made sure to have a low calcium diet after Luke died a year or 2 ago. He gets only green lettuce (not Romaine), only low-calcium foods (I refused to feed him even small amounts if there was a risk of too-high calcium), Oxbow alfalfa free pellets, and Oxbow orchard grass hay. Sigh. I'm so upset, and the girls are devastated, as a guinea pig and a dog in a year is a lot for them.

Does it sound like this can clear up without surgery? Thanks so much for your time.
 

bpatters

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Depends. He may have small stones that might flush out, and he's squeaking because his ladder is irritated or he has a infection. But you'll need an x-ray to tell.

I'd also take him off the oxbow pellets, at least temporarily, and maybe permanently. Their calcium source is limestone, and some pigs just have trouble with it.
 

jjn3beans

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Depends. He may have small stones that might flush out, and he's squeaking because his ladder is irritated or he has a infection. But you'll need an x-ray to tell.

I'd also take him off the oxbow pellets, at least temporarily, and maybe permanently. Their calcium source is limestone, and some pigs just have trouble with it.

What would be a good pellet to get? Also, we've been giving him tap water, which I do know is hard water. Would bottled water be better?
 

bpatters

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There's no need for bottled water -- I'd just buy a good filter. You want one that filters out minerals, so google around and see what you can come up with.

KMS has excellent pellets, (broken link removed). They're consistently lower in calcium than Oxbow, and use a different kind of calcium instead of limestone. If you figure out the cost per pound, they're the same as, or cheaper than, anything you can buy from a pet store, including Oxbow.
 
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