A real eye opener..

[RodentsRule]

I have 2 guinea pig piglet and peanut and i woke up today and piglet was HUGE his stomach was alot bigger than normal and he wasn't moving very fast. As the day went by he got more active but was still huge so we called the vet and went in for an appointment they ruled out constipation and said he was very dirty down bellow and he aint cleaning himself which aint really a big deal luckily piglet peed so the vet could examine it and there was blood and stones in her pee so they gave me antibiotics for cystitis and if he aint better in 2 days bring him back for a x ray. so to get to the point the real eye opener was i dont spoil them as much as i do my other pets and im just annoyed that it to piglet nearly passing away for me to spoil him he was spoilt but they arnt out much as they just sit there, so im just wondering what kind of toys to buy guinea pigs they have a few cat toys a tunnel and a few treats and chewies but there arnt many guinea pig toys available so any ideas would be great.

[daydreambeliever]

Can they have loo roll cardboard?

[racinghamster]

The Peter Gurney Guinea Pig Pages - Cystitis

This needs clearing up as it sounds as though it`s advanced to the stage where there are crystals or stones involved and this can sometimes mean being surgically removed. In rats, it`s called Urolithiasis, but I`m not sure the it`s the same in guinea pigs, but I can imagine it`s still as bad.

Cystitis in any pet can cause pain when urinating and also abdominal pain. I would keep a close eye on Piglet (I`m presuming Piglet is a male?) and check his penile area daily. Watch his behaviour as he urinates and check the urine for blood or whether he`s agitated when trying to pass urine.

The link I provided is from peter Gurney`s webs page. But there are so many good websites you could research on this and get the best treatment for Piglet.

His diet should have added cranberry extract or berries as cranberries have a compound that helps prevent bacteria from sticking to the bladder walls, but this would only be helpful secondary to the antibiotics you are administering. I wouldn`t worry too much about gimmicky treats and stick to good natural herbs and make sure he is well.

Has his tummy bloating went down? You may also want to look up `bloating in guinea pigs` in case this is a separate issue. x

And no, piggies shouldn`t have toilet roll tubes they are too small.

[icklemunch]

Originally Posted by daydreambeliever

Can they have loo roll cardboard?

Toilet roll tubes filled with hay is a great boredom breaker. My bunny loves to throw hers around.

[racinghamster]

If used like this they make good hay holder toys! But not just the tubes on their own as they are pretty useless otherwise.