A rather unusual GP?

[abbypig]

2 days ago my GP Lady (2 year old Abyssinian) started passing blood while urinating. I took her to the vet that afternoon and she was given Baytril. We didn't have much hope as I have lost 2 GPs previously to bladder crystals.

Miraculously she stopped bleeding yesterday and has been urinating clear ever since. She's now acting very odd, though. She's urinating a lot, getting agitated before having a wee or passing stool but she is not in any pain whilst actually doing either. Every time I put her back in the cage she rumblestruts and scares Ginny to death, I took her back to the vet this morning but he has no idea why she's doing this.

Does anyone have any advice or similar stories? Is it possible she is in heat? She's a rescue and has never acted like this before.

I'm currently adding cranberry juice to their water and feeding dandelion leaves, I have switched to Timothy hay and a feed with less calcium, just to be on the safe side.

[Orlaith]

I've never had any experience with bladder problems in my pigs so I don't know what to suggest. The only thing I would mention is maybe you should give them a source of water without cranberry juice, just in case they don't like the taste and it makes them drink less as that would only make Lady's problem worse. Sorry I can't be of more help.

[abbypig]

Thanks I have been giving them plain water overnight but shall give them options during the day.

If anyone can shed any light (or theories) on her behaviour, I'd appreciate it.

[abbypig]

Just an update, there is now more pink sawdust, surely bladder stones wouldn't cause bleeding to stop and start? It's also happened (both times) after I brought the piggies in from their run on the grass.

[Kayleigh]

Are there any pesticides ect used near where you put the piggies out to graze? Its unusal for things to stop then reoccur this rapidly. How long has she been off the baytril?

Kayleigh

[abbypig]

Could it be chemicals in the grass? I seperated the pigs and both their urine is discoloured, but the piggie I put on the towel (the other pig will explode before she goes anywhere but on shavings) initially had slightly discoloured orange urine which rapidly turned brown (too rapid for blood which I believes takes a few hours).

The pig on baytril (also the one that will only wee on shavings) is still on baytril for another few days. Apart from their strange urine and Lady's rumblestrutting, they're both acting normally.

[Kayleigh]

Pesticides ect can cause unusal and sometimes fatal effects on guinea pigs. You should always make sure the grass ect is NOT treated just to be on the safe side.

Try giving the guinea pigs plain water for a couple of days to see how this does, the cranberry juice may be discolouring their urine. There are also some shavings that when pee'd on turn a slightly orange colour. This is just a chemical reaction between the urine and the shavings.

Kayleigh

[abbypig]

I only put my pigs on our own garden grass, and it hasn't been treated with anything for months (it sometimes gets Feed and Weed but only in spring). I found an online article that says chlorophyll can cause orange-reddish-brown urine, which would explain why I have two healthy pigs who seem to have red urine simultaneously coming in from the grass.