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General Guinea Pig Doesn't Like New Pellets and Possible Bladder Stones?

cavylover_180

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Hello. I have 2 female guinea pigs, Lulu and Sofie. They're about 3 years old. I've had them for about 2 years.

They live in a 2 x 5 C and C cage currently.

Now Sofie is the issue. We've been feeding them some unhealthy pet store food with way too much calcium, so we switched to the KMS hayloft pellets. We got them on Friday. At first, Lulu wasn't really eating them and Sofie was, but by that evening Lulu was eating them and Sofie wasn't! We measure out the KMS pellets, 1/8 cup in the morning and in the evening. What should I do? I didn't introduce the pellets slowly, but of course, they would choose the unhealthy pellets over the new pellets. We give them unlimited access to Small Pet Select 2nd cutting timothy hay. And we change the water every day. Today Sofie i is eating the leafy/stemmy parts of the hay when I hand feed them to her, which is new. She loves the fuzzies of the hay.

To move on to the bladder stones issue, for a long time, Sofie has been squeaking while she's pooping/urinating. She's a generally shy piggie, and she isn't very active. Her poops seem normal, but she constantly stops in her tracks and stands there in the cage. Maybe she's pooping/urinating sometimes when that happens. She hunches her but over a lot, too. We took her to the vet, but they don't really specialize in guinea pigs. They reccomended this place that specializes in small animals. It's half an hour away from my house. The people at our vet said the only way to see if there's a bladder stone is by X-ray.

Sorry for the long post, and thank you!
 

bpatters

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Your vet is right -- x-ray is the only way to check for bladder stones, and Sofie has the classic symptoms. But I wouldn't wait around to take her to an exotic vet. A stone can completely block the urethra, and that is a full-blown, painful, expensive medical emergency. And if treated soon enough, a small stone can sometimes be flushed out. Once it gets larger than the urethra, though, surgery is required.

Mince a bit of one of their favorite veggies and mix it with the pellets for a few days.
 

yarnsrj

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Take that 30 min drive for your piggy. Especially if things don't appear normal with her. Or at least call them and see what they may be able to recommend.

One of our piggies caught a cold, probably from the kids and was squeaky and wouldn't eat so I wound taking her to the vet, who lucky for me specialized in small animals as well.

I had to give my piggy 1 shot for 5 days. She was" right as rain" within a few days.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

**I tried to edit other post but was unable to.

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cavylover_180

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Thanks guys for the help. We have a small carrier that we use to take them to the local vet, which takes us about 5 minutes to get there. We stuff it with hay, but we can't get a water bottle inside it. I don't think this will be good for the guinea pigs during their long trip, it would be about an hour and a half without water. I was thinking of using my old pet store cage for the travel. What do you guys think? And if we bring that we could also get some pellets in their as well.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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As long as your pet store cage isn't too unweildy, I'm sure it would be fine for a trip to the vets.

Just make sure you can secure it as well as possible in your vehicle.
 

bpatters

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Just put some veggies in a baggie and add a couple of tablespoons of water. Put some in the cage at the start of each drive, and while you're at the vet. They'll be fine.
 

cavylover_180

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Thanks, guys, again! Where do I put the water? Also, if the stone blocks the urethra, can the guinea pig no longer poop and/or urinate?
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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If the stone blocks the urethra, yes, the pig can no longer urinate. Surgery would be required to remove it ASAP.
 

bpatters

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Put the water in the baggie with the veggies. Then give the pig the wet veggies.
 

pigmommy89

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My vet is an hour and a half away and my pigs have always been fine. Most are too nervous to eat and drink in the car anyway. I do take hay (in the carrier) and a few veggies, and if the pig is on Critical Care I take some of the powder and a bottle of water to mix it with. My mom says it's like packing a diaper bag, but it works for me.
 

spy9doc

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Sofie is exhibiting all the signs of a bladder stone. If she stops urinating, then that is a full-blown medical emergency! :eek:hmy:

My dearly departed Maya was in a similar situation with there being initial signs of a UTI which was cleared with a course of antibiotics. We than discovered that she had both a bladder stone that appeared to be on its way out of the body AND bladder sludge. Over several days, I syringed copious amounts of unflavored Pedialyte (generic) to help flush out the bladder. We had an ultrasound and there was no evidence of any bladder sludge.......success! However, the bladder stone apparently lodged in the wall of her urethra where it stayed until her death.

As you probably know, females of any species have both a shorter and wider urethra than males. It would likely be almost impossible for a male to pass a stone, but as in Maya's case, a female urethra may accommodate the presence of a stone without dire consequences. It may just make her more prone to a UTI in the future.

And, yes, she will be o.k. without a water bottle. On a long trip, I will sometime offer water during a rest stop or high-content water veggies. Be sure to pack a favorite cozy so that the carrier smells like home.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Thank you for that, [MENTION=19714]spy9doc[/MENTION]. I've only ever had boars and sometimes tend to think only in terms of boars. Kind of reminds me that I need to think in terms of both sexes.
 

cavylover_180

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Ok, guys. We're going to try to go to the vet soon, but I have a few other questions/small issues.

1. We ran out of hay and it's not coming until tomorrow. I just used up the last of it. What should I do? I gave them their veggies.
2. If a pepper has black seeds, should you not give the piggies the pepper?
3. Is this a good amount of veggies? (I couldn't give them pepper because it had black seeds)
IMG_1814.jpgIMG_1815.jpg
5. I give my piggies 1/8 cup pellets in the morning and evening. What if, during a feeding time, they didn't finish all of their pellets? Add it in any way?

Thanks.
 

bpatters

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Just put the pellets in the cage and leave them there -- they can eat them for a snack.

If you think there's anything wrong with the pepper, don't give it to them.

Pigs need about a cup of veggies per day, per pig.

If you're feeding them on that plate, and it has a plastic coating, don't. You can get plain paper plates with no plastic, or you can use a hard plastic plate that can be washed and reused.
 

cavylover_180

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Ok, thanks. I guess I'll wait for the hay to come.
 

bpatters

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Do try not to run out of hay. It's by far the most important thing in a pig's diet.
 

spy9doc

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Ok, thanks. I guess I'll wait for the hay to come.

What's wrong with going to the store and buying a small amount of hay?? :rolleyes: If you live in a rural area a good distance from a pet store, then buy or beg some hay from a local farmer or a horse stable. They will probably give you enough to tide you over for a few days.
 

cavylover_180

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I don't live in a rural area.
 

cavylover_180

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Also, the plate does have a plastic coating, but I dump the veggies on the plate into a plastic bowl in their cage. Is that OK?
 

bpatters

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As long as they're not eating plastic, it's all good.
 
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