PD urinary illness

My six year old male (neutered) PD has been visiting the little rodents room more than usual over the last few days. He does appear to be urinating, however tonight he seemed to be having trouble. He spent a longer duration in his "bathroom" and when I inspected it afterwards there was only a small puddle. I'm worried he's having some issues with his liver, kidneys, or urinary tract in general.

He eats free choice timothy hay, oxbow pellets, and snacks on cheerios and carrots. He is not obese and does not appear to be sick or lethargic. In fact, he's been more playful lately than usual. I'm going to make a vet appointment this week, but would appreciate any feedback on this issue. Thanks

Cheers
Phil

Hi Phil,
I have 2 female prairie dogs and they both have had urinary difficulties which turned out to be bladder infections. I believe males can get them also, its just not as likely. The symptoms she would display would start out as restlessness, she seemed more active and playful than usual but it turns out that that was out of discomfort, and because of the discomfort she would not be able to lay still for very long. She would also make frequent bathroom trips and we could tell that it was hard for her to urinate. We took her to our vet and he did a urinalysis which confirmed that it was a urinary tract infection. We were able to treat it with Baytril, an antibiotic, and that would clear it up within a few weeks. Make sure with your vet, but I think you should make sure your PD is getting plenty of fluids. Also, if you have to administer any medicine through a syringe and your prairie dog gives you a hard time I reccomend putting just a little bit of peanut butter on the tip of the syringe. Also, your vet might be able to flavor the medicine, ours likes the peanut putter flavor.I hope it all goes well for you and your PD.

Amy

Amy,
Thanks for the info. You described what Monkey is going through to a "T." I monitor his water pretty closely because I feel like he never drinks enough water, but lately he's been drinking more water than usual. I've had to give him medicine through a syringe before and used the peanut butter trick. It got to the point where I'd wake up and walk into the kitchen and when I came back his nose was sticking out of the cage and grabbing for the medicine (peanut butter or not). He knew he was getting a little treat after taking his medicine. Thanks again for the insight, this is midterm week and I've got more than enough on my plate with that. This eases my worries a bit with him.

Cheers
Phil