Questions about stone pigs

[Retve]

I currently have 4 female guinea pigs but never dealt with stones, I have dealt with sludge before though.

Recently my vet reached out saying they have a male (neutered) guinea pig who was left at their clinic who’s looking for a home. He was brought to the clinic to have an emergency bladder stone removal surgery. He’s about to turn 9 months old soon, so young to already have a stone.

I would really love to give him a home but of course I’m concerned about him already having had a stone.
Has anyone ever had success after a stone removal surgery with not having another stone return for some time? I know if I adopt him he’ll probably have problems again down the line I just hope it wouldn’t be immediately and that I wouldn’t be setting myself up for heartbreak.

I would be giving him a low calcium diet as I already do that for my bladder sludge prone piggy.

Does anyone know if administering subcutaneous fluids can help prevent bladder stones? I give those to my sludge pig and she's had good results.

Thanks for any advice that's given.

[Lynx]

I expect you have read the stones page?
https://www.guinealynx.info/stones.html

Hard to know what contributed to the formation of stones for him. If you knew more about his previous diet, activity levels, and genetic issues (you'd need to have a "family stone history"), you would be better able to decide.

As you have noted, they can return. But you also might be able to mitigate the problem.

Sorry I have no answers. Discussing this with your vet (at that clinic) might help you decide.

[Sef]

Ditto Lynx. There are so many factors involved, and it's just impossible to know if this will be a one-time thing for the little guy or if he will have a recurrence (or multiple recurrences) and when. Not to sound too negative, but nearly all of my males who have had a bladder stone have gone on to form others later on. One formed them in a matter of weeks post-op; others have managed to go a year or more without a recurrence. Unfortunately, I never really found anything that could prevent recurrences.

That said, it would be great if you could give the little guy a good home. Would your vet be willing to work with you on cost if he does end up needing future stone removal surgeries?

[Lynx]

I was wondering about that too (if the vet could work on cost if future surgeries were recommended). A discussion with the vet for this (and general prognosis) could help you decide.