I had an existing thread in late July but when I tried to update it, I got an error saying the thread was too old. Here is the link: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/123257-Blood-in-cage-excessive-drinking-possible-stones
I brought my pig to the emergency vet again. She's usually very vocal and energic; she runs up to her bars and stands up when I come to my piggies' room and squeaks for her pellets. On that morning she was hiding, and when I picked her up and placed her back inside, she darted back to her hiding spot. She was easily scared by normal sounds like a car starting up outside.
She's been hospitalized for several days. They saw blood in her urine and found bacteria in her urine as well. Yesterday they thought she was in a good enough state to go home with antibiotics. But then they needed to have her on heating pads because she wasn't feeling well last night, and today the vet said she's much less energetic, even before they gave her the first dose of antibiotics. In one of the pictures they've sent me, she looks more puffy than usual.
I feel tremendously guilty. I noticed her urinating frequently again, but because her urine was clear and she wasn't in pain, straining, or incontinent, I thought she was just a frequent urinator. Then in the past few weeks, her urine has been smelling sweet and drying darker than usual, but still clear when I had her on a white towel. I thought that was strange, but she was acting so normal and energetic. My family members told me I was finding reasons to work myself up. The day I brought her to the emergency vet, a family member said she was probably just full and moody, but I knew she wasn't her regular self.
All I can think about is how long must she have felt unwell and I didn't realize. For all I know the infection from months ago could have never cleared up. I keep thinking how awful she must feel now if she can no longer be her energetic self.
She's my only pig to have gotten sick in the past years, except for her daughter who had a birth defect. I vacuum the droppings and hay on the fleece every night, and I have pads that I also change out at least once a day for high traffic areas. (Seriously, with all my pigs I have two loads of laundry each week to wash those pads, not counting the rest of the fleece.) She does play with her water bottle like someone earlier in the thread suggested, so I keep her hay elevated right by it so she can pull out her hay and not have to sit in a wet spot while she drinks. If it's a different infection, what could be causing it? What can I do differently to avoid this happening again?
I brought my pig to the emergency vet again. She's usually very vocal and energic; she runs up to her bars and stands up when I come to my piggies' room and squeaks for her pellets. On that morning she was hiding, and when I picked her up and placed her back inside, she darted back to her hiding spot. She was easily scared by normal sounds like a car starting up outside.
She's been hospitalized for several days. They saw blood in her urine and found bacteria in her urine as well. Yesterday they thought she was in a good enough state to go home with antibiotics. But then they needed to have her on heating pads because she wasn't feeling well last night, and today the vet said she's much less energetic, even before they gave her the first dose of antibiotics. In one of the pictures they've sent me, she looks more puffy than usual.
I feel tremendously guilty. I noticed her urinating frequently again, but because her urine was clear and she wasn't in pain, straining, or incontinent, I thought she was just a frequent urinator. Then in the past few weeks, her urine has been smelling sweet and drying darker than usual, but still clear when I had her on a white towel. I thought that was strange, but she was acting so normal and energetic. My family members told me I was finding reasons to work myself up. The day I brought her to the emergency vet, a family member said she was probably just full and moody, but I knew she wasn't her regular self.
All I can think about is how long must she have felt unwell and I didn't realize. For all I know the infection from months ago could have never cleared up. I keep thinking how awful she must feel now if she can no longer be her energetic self.
She's my only pig to have gotten sick in the past years, except for her daughter who had a birth defect. I vacuum the droppings and hay on the fleece every night, and I have pads that I also change out at least once a day for high traffic areas. (Seriously, with all my pigs I have two loads of laundry each week to wash those pads, not counting the rest of the fleece.) She does play with her water bottle like someone earlier in the thread suggested, so I keep her hay elevated right by it so she can pull out her hay and not have to sit in a wet spot while she drinks. If it's a different infection, what could be causing it? What can I do differently to avoid this happening again?