Guinea pig with a bladder stone

Question
I've taken my male guinea to the vet with symptoms of blood in his urine and squeeking during urination.  They tell me that it's probably a stone which I can find out easily for 500.00 xray and if it is who knows how much the surgery will be.  I'm a single woman and have already spent quite a bit at the vets with this little guy.  
I'd love to keep him until he passes but besides the pain during urination and the bleeding he eats well and shows no sign of being ill.  
If he's in severe pain I don't want him to continue with that but my question is, without going the route of surgery, will he be alright for now or should I put him to sleep?  
Who knew that something so small could break a big heart.

Answer
Believe me Melanie when I tell you I know exactly how you're feeling. I've had to make that decision and you're right, how can something so small break your big heart?  I had a sow that tried to pass a stone that was almost the diameter of a dime. How she managed to get it as far down as she did is a medical mystery. There was no choice but to gently euthanize her to aleviate her pain.

We don't know why cavies get these stones. It's not terribly common, but happens more than we know. We don't even know why humans get bladder,kidney or gallstones. Nor do we know how to prevent them. It most typically happens more in sows than boars, but there's nothing absolute in any condition (other than boys can't have babies!)

The squealing when he urinates is a cry of pain. If they do an xray and see a stone the only option is surgery, and that's not inexpensive. He cannot pass it unless it's small enough to get through the urethra, and if it were that small he would have passed it quickly. If it helps you to know for sure you can wait awhile and see if he does pass the stone on his own. You will know when the time is right.

There's no guarantee he would survive the surgery and there's no guarantee he would not continue to develop stones. Even if you had unlimited income there is nothing much that can be done other than put the poor guy through the stress of anesthesia and surgery, and still he may may not survive it. Then of course you are expected to pay the bill regardless of the outcome.

I know you're asking for an honest and forthcoming opinion so I'm not going to give you false hope. If this were my pig I would do right by him and have him quietly put down. It's tragic how we make humans suffer a painful death when they are being eaten alive by cancer. At least for our pets we can do the humane thing by not allowing them to continue suffering.

My heart goes out to you. I've been in this position and understand just what you're feeling. This isn't about money. The decision is not made because you can't spend hundreds of dollars trying to fix the unfixable. It's about what is the kindest thing to do.  

Having raised guinea pigs for so many years I've had to make that decision several times. One part of you will try to second guess yourself and ask "Am I really doing the right thing?"  But soon you realize that it's selfish and unfair to ask a beloved pet to suffer.

I hope this helps make it easier for you. Sometimes we just need someone else to tell us what we already know.