Urine BJ has faint blood in her urine

[Malynda Teeter]

I cuddle my pigs on a white sheet (T shirt material) to check urine a couple time a month. I choose to do this because as I have read on this forum UTI's are somewhat common.
BJ is 9 months old. she weighs 2 lb. and 8 oz. This AM when she peed there were faint blood streaks left behind. No other symptoms such as wheezing, residue in urine and no crusty nose or weight loss, .
This is the best picture I could get. It helps to see the streaks better if I lean back from the picture instead of into it.

 

[bpatters]

If that's dried urine, it's normal. Pigs have porphyrins in their urine that darken as it dries.

 

[Malynda Teeter]

If that's dried urine, it's normal. Pigs have porphyrins in their urine that darken as it dries.

The urine was damp. I check all my pigs urine at least once a month. I let her go again and called the vet because it still had streaks in it.

Our trip to the vet was a good one. She prescribed Enrofloxacin 2x a day for 7 days and metacam for pain. She said we should see improvement in 48 hours and if not to let her know.

On an odd note, she also said she had a lot of sugar in her urine as well. She smells like brown sugar, but her cage mates don't. When I was holding her this am I give kisses behind her ear and noticed it. Vet said no carrots for now. Her diet is good otherwise.

So do I collect healthy poo and mix with water and feed it to her or go get refrigerated probiotics?

 

[bpatters]

Poop generally works best if you've got willing donors.

Just as an FYI, Bactrim generally works better on urine infections than Baytril. If you don't see improvement pretty soon, you may want to switch.

Also, Baytril can absolutely kill a pig's appetite. But they MUST eat regularly, or they can develop severe, possibly fatal digestive problems. So always feed her when you give the antibiotics, and give a probiotic about an hour or so after the antibiotics.

 

[miniver]

Also, Baytril can absolutely kill a pig's appetite.

Yes, my girl would only nibble on veggies the first time she took Baytril. She started to have diarrhea and gave her a bit of critical care right away. I also cut way back on the veggies and her poop firmed up right away. Keep a close eye on BJ to see how she reacts.

Hope she's better soon.

 

[Malynda Teeter]

Is critical care something I can make? Just in case she would need it? She had a piece of green pepper after she took her meds and going to walmart to get her probiotics. I will cut her back on her veggies if she has diarrhea.

 

[miniver]

It's basically ground hay with some other good stuff. You mix it with water to get some fibre moving through their system. You can also mash up some pellets and make a paste os slurry to feed her. I'm sure that would work if you need it.

 

[bpatters]

No, you can't make it. It's a food for herbivores when they're sick. Petsmart usually carries it, or you can get it from the vet, or you can order it from Amazon.

What you can do until you get some is pulverize some pellets. Put them in a blender or food processor and grind them to a really fine powder, then mix them about 1:3 with water. See https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html for some information on how to do it. There's a video on there about hand-feeding a pig, but that's a VERY cooperative pig. If your pig doesn't cooperate that well, post back here and we'll give you some more instructions.

 

[Malynda Teeter]

No, you can't make it. It's a food for herbivores when they're sick. Petsmart usually carries it, or you can get it from the vet, or you can order it from Amazon.

I have several available poo donors. I did go get the probiotics I will give those tonight. I will call the vet to see if they carry Critical Care or if I need to order it from Amazon.
BJ is such a brave girl. She never really purrs or rumbles and she purred when the vet gave her back to me after the urine test. She pushed into the area under my chin and shoulder. She did rumble about loud noises.
bpatters and other forum members support throughout the day made this easier and lessened my anxiety.
I am so grateful from the bottom of my heart. I had a busy day outside Bj's urine issues and I checked back in after asking questions. The answers were prompt as I was in and out during the day.
I hate to have to separate from her girl herd, but they have tons of hay at all times and I have noticed they are much happier than with a hay rack. They burrow and play and lounge in it so I can't tell whose business is who's.
Again thank you for all the support. The vet is cavy savvy, which made me very happy. I have 7 piggies-4 female and 2 male.

 

[peachyteen]

if your vet doesn't have Critical Care, you could also check pet stores near you. (you might want to check the stores first, as I've heard it being more expensive when purchasing from a vet)

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk