Urgent! About my guinea pig (followup)

Question
Hi Annie,
this doesnt sound good...but i heard that the stone can be removed either by disolving it with some chemicals, or surgically. is that true? i dont really care how much i spend on him, i just want him to be healthy and happy.
i'm in Sydney, Australia. it's currently sunday here, so no vet is open today, do u think i should take him immidiately to an emergency vet hospital or wait until tomorrow when everybody is open?

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Followup To

Question -
I have seen some blood in my guinea pig's urine, so i took him to a vet and they give him some baytril, as they instructed, i fed my piggy 0.4 ml of the baytril (25mg/ml) every 12 hr, but then he stopped eating and drinking and more blood is seen in his urine. i fed him some crushed vegetables and carrots with a syringe...i'm really really worried about him, please inform me if you know the reason..

Answer -
Hi Wenzhuo,

I'm sorry to say your piggy sounds like he has urinary bladder stones.  There is no "cure" for this.  The only thing you can do is try to reduce the amount of calcium in his diet.  This isn't easy because guinea pigs need calcium.  

I recommend that you give the veterinarian a call and see if he or she can reccomend a specific diet that will meet your guinea pig's needs and reduce the syptoms.  

Unfortunately the outlook is not great, I just recently lost one of mine to urinary bladder stones.  He just continued to get worse no matter what I tried.  There are some that live with this condition, but it is best if you tell the veterinarian what I've said and see what they can do.

You need to tell the vet that the baytril had no effect.  He or she was treating your piggie for a urinary tract infection, which are uncommon in guinea pigs.

I feel really bad about this.  I felt awful when I lost mine.

Annie

Answer
Hi again Wenzhuo,

If you continue to force feed him and make sure he is getting enough water, in fact extra water will make him more comfortable because it can help dilute the urine, he should be fine until Monday morning.  You are there and should use your own judgment, of course.  If you think that he won't survive the day then you should call the emergency vet, but usually urinary bladder stones are not urgent - dehydration is urgent, so force that water down him!  The stones themselves are not an urgent-care problem; it is the resulting dehydration and loss of strength because he's not eating enough.  Mix pellets in water and force feed him using a plastic eyedropper or infant's dosage syringe. You need to see that he gets a minumum of 1/4 cup food and as much water as you can possibly get into him.  I know this is time consuming and difficult, but I have seen critically ill pigs through with this method of care, so it is worth it.

I have heard about both surgery and chemical treatments.  Guinea pigs are touchy little guys as far as chemicals go and will need absolutely safe chemicals.  This is a problem with surgery too, because guinea pigs are sensitive to anesthesia.  The biggest problem is that he will probably form more stones even if you manage to get rid of the stones he has now.  He will require dietary changes to reduce the incidence recurring bladder stones, even this is no guarantee, but it is certainly worth trying!

I hope this helps.  Don't give up without changing his diet, many piggies do live with this condition.  Please let me know how it goes, if you get the chance.

Good luck,
Annie