Dire Situation- Please Respond!

Question
I have a two and a half year guinea pig named Gini. A little more than a week ago I noticed that her urine was pinkish/red- so I made an appointment with the vet and my girlfriend took her in. The vet informed her that it could be a UTI or stones- and prescribed an antibiotic to give to Gini for a week. Other than the urine- Gini shows no signs of illness. She is active, eats, drinks, and sleeps fine.

It has now been a week and the condition fluctuates. On certain occasions her urine is clear, on others it is red. The area underneath her anus was very wet so I used a damp towel to wipe the area then a dry one to dry it last night.

I have repeatedly tried to contact the vet for an update about what I should do now- seeing as though the condition hasn't changed- but he has yet to contact me. In the interrum- I wanted to get your thoughts...

I love my guinea pig to death but my hands are somewhat tied by my financial situation. I am a recent college grad and do not have that much disposable income (part of the reason I bought a Guinea Pig instead of say, a dog). My concerns include 1. Going back to the vet, putting Gini through a battery of tests that ends up costing $300- and finding nothing or something very minor...or conversely 2. Going back and finding something major that needs an operation which could cost many hundreds of dollars which a small chance of survival...

Other factos that may have contributed- but I'm not sure... We recently changed the bedding from Carefresh to Aspen chips due to another guinea pig that we recently bought being allergic to Carefresh. We also took them off vitamin drops thinking it might be better just to give them fresh veggies- which we did but maybe not enough vitamin C... so we put them back on them yesterday.

At this point I just want to know what your thoughts are. I understand that this situation can be very serious- but Gini shows no signs of illness- should I wait longer and see if the meds have a delayed reaction? Should I give her cranberry juice? What are cost effective solutions and what are the chances that I can spend a reasonable amount of money and have her back to being 100% healthy.

Warm regards,


Answer
Hi Rick,

   First of all, aspen bedding is among the healthiest beddings because others are known to contribute to upper respiratory infections (URI).  Also, I suggest that you keep adding vitamin drops to her food and water along with daily vegetables, because they will help your piggie to be the healthiest possible - as will daily excercise and attention.

    I researched the cranberry juice idea, and an extremely helpful and credible website suggests "unsweetened, diluted" cranberry juice to lessen the frequency of the times your guinea pig has blood in her urine.  An x-ray should also be taken to check for bladder stones.

    The antibiotic with which you are treating your pet may take a few weeks to completely stop the UTI incidences, and since she seems to not be in any type of discomfort, you should not worry too much.  The only expense besides the treatment that I see necessary is an x-ray - if she has already had one, then you are okay.  The cranberry juice and antibiotics should have your guinea pig in good shape in no time.

    Thank you for your question, I hope I have been of some help to you.  If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.  Good luck with your guinea pig (=

                                            - Nicole

p.s. - the website to which I was referring was:

http://guinealynx.com/uti.html#top

you may find it very helpful now, as well as in the furture.