Conditions Sam is Squeaking while Pooping

Hello all, I have an update on Sam . He is still squeaking while pooping. Everytime I check right after the noise, he has multiple poops in his butt. I read on other threads about pelletless diets and we took them off pellets for two days and that stopped the squeaking but some of their poops were smaller. They would also dry quicker. They also didn't have any white spots on their fleece.

We have started giving them a much smaller amount of pellets than before and he has started squeaking again and having multiple poops stuck in his butt but not as often. We are on Hayloft KMS pellets. We give them unlimited hay and green/red leaf lettuce and green pepper every day. I read somewhere to switch to a pellet without soy. What do you think? Sam's cage mate, Frodo, has no issues with the pellets and they both love their pellets. We also want to make sure they get the proper nutrients but we don't want Sam to be in pain or develop bladder stones.

It sounds to me like he already has a bladder stone. I'd get him to a good exotic vet for an x-ray, ASAP.

A small stone can fall into the urethra and block the passage of urine completely. That's a full-blown, expensive, maybe fatal medical emergency. You need to check it out and let the vet recommend appropriate treatment.

bpatters said:

It sounds to me like he already has a bladder stone. I'd get him to a good exotic vet for an x-ray, ASAP.

A small stone can fall into the urethra and block the passage of urine completely. That's a full-blown, expensive, maybe fatal medical emergency. You need to check it out and let the vet recommend appropriate treatment.

Click to expand...

Okay, we are having trouble finding a cavy savvy vet. We drove over an hour and the vet was trying to deworm the guinea pig and prescribe a shampoo with pesticides when he had no symptoms.

Where are you? City/state, not your actual address. We might be able to help you find one.

bpatters said:

Where are you? City/state, not your actual address. We might be able to help you find one.

Click to expand...

Riverview, Florida 33659

Someone earlier on this thread recommended Citrus Park and they weren't good. https://citrusparkanimalhospital.com/

We go to Boyette Animal hospital locally for nail trim and we had Sam in for a check up before but they said he was fine if he is still is active and eating and drinking normally. They don't have a guinea pig specialist.
https://boyetteanimalhospital.com/

Dr. Ferrera at Boyette Animal Hospital has some experience with exotics. So does Dr. Katy Heppner at Brandon Lakes Animal Hospital.

Dr. Rubenstein at Four Paws Veterinary Hospital is an exotic vet.

I don't know anything about these vets. i just found them by googling. But I'd start with Rubenstein, and if he doesn't work out, then one of the other two.

So an update, we went back to Boyette Animal Hospital and saw Dr. Geoff instead of Ferrera (Both are exotic pet doctors). Sam got x-rays and no bladder stones or visible sludge (will upload images later). He also analyzed his urine and they said his urine was normal. They prescribed Metacam once a day for two weeks for the pain. He said to come back in two weeks if symptoms don't improve and we may need to get an ultra sound. Any thoughts? He is still squeaking while pooping and having multiple poops come out at once.

bpatters said:

Dr. Ferrera at Boyette Animal Hospital has some experience with exotics. So does Dr. Katy Heppner at Brandon Lakes Animal Hospital.

Dr. Rubenstein at Four Paws Veterinary Hospital is an exotic vet.

I don't know anything about these vets. i just found them by googling. But I'd start with Rubenstein, and if he doesn't work out, then one of the other two.

Click to expand...

Without reading back, is his poop soft and sticky? If so, exactly how many veggies are you giving him?

bpatters said:

Without reading back, is his poop soft and sticky? If so, exactly how many veggies are you giving him?

Click to expand...

They are sometimes soft and sticky but still pellet shaped. We usually give a hand full of red/green lettuce in the morning and a slice of green pepper in the evening. It should be equal to a cup each but we probably should measure it. The other guinea pig isn't having any issues. They are around 1100 grams so not that big. Vet says they are a good weight but Sam has lost a little weight.

It's possible that he's just recovering from passing a stone or sludge or a UTI. Both can leave them sore and irritated. It seemed like my sow took forever to get over stones.

Another possibility is that the stone didn't show on x-rays. Some stones can only be seen on an ultra sound.

Hopefully the Metacam will give him some relief and you'll see an improvement shortly. Keep a very close eye on him. In my opinion, two weeks is a long time to leave him squeaking. I'd give it a few days at most before I'd follow up if you don't see any improvement, especially since the Metacam should ease the pain.

Here are the x-ray pictures:

Here are also some pictures of bedding and poop. What do you all think?

frotoandsam said:

Here are the x-ray pictures:

View attachment 82927View attachment 82928

Click to expand...

Sam is not sqeeking but he is still straining. He seems less active. Im used to hearing them do laps late at night when im sleeping. The doctor said that when he was poking his belly he would squeek indicating pain. Do you think he has a GI problem? Should i start him on a probiotic ? v

His urine PH was 8.5.

The urine pH is normal.

I'm not a radiologist, but the x-rays look normal to me.

The poop looks a little dry. Have you tried syringing him water flavored with a little juice, or some Pedialyte?

Ok, thank you. His poop is slimy when it comes out and smells kind of bad so will giving him more fluids make it worse? We've decreased the vegetables and pellets and offer more hay. He doesn't seem to be eating much hay though. We've made an appointment to go back to the vet on Monday morning.

bpatters said:

The urine pH is normal.

I'm not a radiologist, but the x-rays look normal to me.

The poop looks a little dry. Have you tried syringing him water flavored with a little juice, or some Pedialyte?

Click to expand...

Have any of the vets tested his feces? A few years ago Penny had a GI gram negative bacteria overgrowth and her poop smelled awful. Antibiotics (Baytril) and benebac sorted it out. You may want to take a look at this, I know it's under diarrhea but it may be worth it to get his feces tested since stones have been ruled out and you mention his poop smells bad. https://www.guinealynx.info/diarrhea.html

Okay, so we took Sam back into the vet today because he had lost 30 grams in two days. They didn't do a culture but they did a fecal float and a gram stain and didn't find any abnormalities. The vet prescribed critical care and metoclopramide. He is also referring us to Blue Pearl with further specialist for potential ultra sound and other tests...He is only 1.5 years old so hoping it isn't anything very serious.

Rywen said:

Have any of the vets tested his feces? A few years ago Penny had a GI gram negative bacteria overgrowth and her poop smelled awful. Antibiotics (Baytril) and benebac sorted it out. You may want to take a look at this, I know it's under diarrhea but it may be worth it to get his feces tested since stones have been ruled out and you mention his poop smells bad. https://www.guinealynx.info/diarrhea.html

Click to expand...

He lost another 13 grams in 1 day. I'm really worried .

frotoandsam said:

He lost another 13 grams in 1 day. I'm really worried .

Click to expand...

Poor baby, are you feeding him critical care? I hope he starts to get better!

Rywen said:

Poor baby, are you feeding him critical care? I hope he starts to get better!

Click to expand...

Thank you. He is currently at the vet getting all these tests done. I hope he makes it through and we find out what is wrong.