Genitals Uncomfortable When Using Bathroom?

[CavvyLiv]

Hello everyone!

I just joined this site today, so please bare with me if I’ve done a poor job at this!

Anyway, let’s get to the ask. My female guinea pig Charlotte is 2 years old (roughly) and lives with another female pig, Frankenstein. I’ve noticed Charlotte display some discomfort when seemingly using the bathroom. However, she hasn’t been too verbal about it. More like mild irritation; she also is licking dow there which i fear doesn’t help. When I went in for a closer look, it seemed as though the skin around her private parts were irritated, looking slightly
more red than her sister. Also the skin above her private parts looked almost dry, like a patch of dry skin. I tried to feel for any kind of stones, bu I had a hard time feeling anything clearly abnormal. She is still eating and drinking fairly normally, however I only worry that if i wait for more clear signs of illness, the potential issue could become really bad. I was thinking maybe she just needs a bath? Because she doesn’t seem incredibly painful. But this is also the first time i’ve seen this so i’m not sure. Any help and advice is appreciated! Thank you

 

[spy9doc]

Based on my experience, it sounds as though she may have a UTI (urinary tract infection).


https://www.guinealynx.com/uti.html

 

[CavvyLiv]

Based on my experience, it sounds as though she may have a UTI (urinary tract infection).


https://www.guinealynx.com/uti.html

okay, thank you for your help

 

[bpatters]

You can't feel stones in a sow unless they're in the very short urethra. If they're up in the bladder, no way.

 

[CavvyLiv]

Oh, see I didn’t know that! Good to know. I think i’m definitely gonna take her to get checked out, it’s just tough because of this pandemic; the vet that sees guinea pigs near me also only sees small animals on certain days. I hope they can fit her in

 

[LaVitaEBella]

Keep us posted once your guinea is back from the vet.

 

[CavvyLiv]

Just wanted to update; called in today to make the appointment for her, set for tomorrow at 10:00am. Changed bedding in cage, which i’ll now do twice a week rather than once a week (i keep the two of them in a 4.5x 2 c&c cage) The strange thing is, she has shown very few of the symptoms she did yesterday. Rather, much less of these symptoms. Biggest thing i’ve noticed today is she is often licking her private parts. I haven’t heard more than two painful squeaks today, if that, but that was at around 6:00 am and i haven’t heard any more. She’s still drinking and eating normally. Is there any reason some of her symptoms may decrease like they seems to be? Or is it more likely i’m just not catching them as well as yesterday?

 

[CavvyLiv]

So took her to the vet today; verdict was that she was a too big to see her small, at the time empty bladder well enough to confirm stones in an x-ray. Because of this, vet decided to have me collect a urine sample rather than use a needle to extract one (which i didn’t mind doing). I just waited for her to drink, then a few minutes later scooped her out and placed her onto a hard surface (specifically the lid of one of those under the bed totes). Once she peed, i used the syringe they gave me to suck it up. The urine sample game back with blood and crystals in it. The vet then gave me an anti inflammatory and an antibiotic to give to her. She said i should start doing floor time, and try to get more water in her. So i added another water bottle to their cage (making it two water bottle total now). I will start implementing floor time daily, and as often as i can once this quarantine is over. tips to make pigs comfortable with floor time are welcomed haha.

As for concerns, the only thing i have is that the vet seemed like she sort of felt like charlotte probably had a stone. She said if it was small enough, there was a chance that with the meds charlotte would pass it herself, However, what if the stone isn’t? Will charlotte just be stuck with this stone? I sort of got mixed feelings because while she was saying we caught the signs early, she also seemed unsure wether or not there was a stone. Not sure how to feel in that case.

 

[spy9doc]

I had a sow named Maya who began to exhibit symptoms of a UTI. Took her to the Vet who prescribed antibiotics which seemingly cleared the infection. But, she never really seemed comfortable so back to the Vet she went for an xray on Friday with an ultrasound planned for Tuesday. The xray showed what appeared to be sludge in her bladder. Over the weekend I syringed copious amounts of water in an effort to flush out her bladder. At the time of the ultrasound on the following Tuesday, the bladder was completely clear but now we could see a stone in her urethra which we assumed that she was in the process of passing.

A sow has a much shorter and wider urethra than a boar and sometimes can actually pass a stone. Not so for Maya. The stone lodged in the wall of her urethra where it stayed until she died of unrelated complications. Other than the occasional UTI, it never seemed to cause her distress.

Just putting an extra water bottle in the cage will have little effect. You need to be syringing lots of water or water mixed with unflavored Pedialyte to help her pass the stone. And yes, I agree that encouraging her to move around at floortime will help her as well. An ultrasound will reveal the true state of things. Most vets don't have the capability of ultrasound technology, but instead rely on a "traveling ultrasonographer" to diagnose their animals.

All the best with Charlotte!

 

[CavvyLiv]

Another update!
So tomorrow will mark the half way point on Charlottes antibiotic, and will be the last day of her anti-inflammatory. Things seem well; I’ve heard no more painful squeaks from her, which is good. Both piggies are still getting used to floor time, so i’ve been letting them chow on some lettuce and then walk around for thirty minutes a day. That’s been the past three days now, including today. As they get more used to it, i think i’ll let them come out more; i was thinking still only thirty minutes at a time, but maybe twice a day or more.
In-between the doses of her meds, i’ve been syringe feeding her water too, as a user above suggested. Im
mot entirely sure how much water i should be giving, i just try to get as much in as i can without foorcing her. But of course, it’s really forcing her to drink no matter what! I have a hard time telling when to stop, so i think i’m probably not giving enough.
My biggest hope is that after tomorrow’s does of meloxicam, the squeaks and irritation will stay gone.
A big thank you to everyone who gave advice above; and i hope my experience can help someone in the future!