Bladder stones

Question
So Sunday night (feb 12) I noticed my guinea had bloody urine. I took her to the vet the next morning and they confirmed she had a bladder stone. She is about four I  not Exactley sure on that because I rescued her. Anyways she has been put on batryil and metacam. The X-ray showed her stone being very small. If you google guinea pig bladder stones the Image that appears her stone is about one eight of that one. It is like a third of a green pea. The vet informed me if she doesn't pass the stone in a week I'd have to do surgery. Which is 500-660 dollars that doesn't include the re X-ray of her bladder to confirm the stone is still there. I am 19 and that surgery will take up have of my savings. I know it sounds awful and it's so hard to put a price on my baby's life but I don't want to do the surgery if she will get more and need another surgery.

My questions are
Are the reoccurrences really high of bladder stones?
Will she survive the surgery and the recovering of the surgery? I have read some guineas pass after.
How long does it take for a stone to pass?


She seems happy just in pain only sometimes. She still loves running around  coming out of her cage. She has never had a previous medical issue.  I will attach an image if you would like.

Answer
That's a tough decision to make. The statistics on bladder stones indicate that those who are prone to having them have a fairly high rate of occurrence. There are studies that indicate that kidney or bladder stones in humans are related to the type of water they drink or the areas in which they live. To the best of my knowledge there are no studies like this about guinea pigs. But I think it's safe to assume the conditions may be very similar.

The success rate for surgeries on cavies depends on a number of factors: the age of the pig is a big one. The condition for which they're being treated, and the severity of what has caused the need for surgery.

I've had only one sow with bladder stones. Remarkable for a herd the size of mine and the number of years I've raised cavies. This poor little sow had a huge stone that lodged in the urethral opening.  She was just a little older than yours. I elected to euthanize her rather than put her through more pain and suffering.

How fast a stone can pass is nearly impossible to predict. The urethra in a pig is very small, so a tiny stone will cut and tear on its way out, if it makes it at all. A large stone like your girl has will most likely not pass on its own.

You have a very tough decision to make and I don't envy your having to make it. You must consider the pain and suffering she will go through and decide whether you wish to put her through what is probably going to be a rough surgery.

Although as animal lovers we don't want to have to make decisions based on financial means, but sometimes that's unavoidable.  There is no guarantee that spending that kind of money will assure success.  

This is one of those horribly hard emotional decisions that we'd all like to never have to make.  Unfortunately circumstances make it impossible to avoid.

If what you are asking is what I would do, I'm afraid I would make the same choice that I had to make for my pig. But this is one that you have to do on your own. Don't be influenced into doing anything that you're not comfortable with.  You have to listen to your heart and you will be able to make the choice that is best for you and her.