Kerrie74
Adult Guinea Pig
A large hamster? Really? 
-
DONATIONS NOW OPEN! TGPF relies on donations to run. If you'd like to donate towards running costs you can find out more HERE
-
Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement
Absolute Horror At The Vets!
- Thread starter jrogers
- Start date
- Status
Alanaf
Junior Guinea Pig
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2015
- Messages
- 186
- Reaction score
- 155
- Points
- 255
Unfortunately vets just arnt taught about piggies very much even from the beginning.
A friend of mines girlfriend had just finished her veterinarian degree at one of the best universities and she told me afew weeks ago that they only ever had about two lectures where g.pigs were mentioned - and then not a single question about them in any exam.
Of course there are absolutely brilliant cavvy vets and as the years go on we are getting more and more practices that are actively trying to increase their knowledge and the research into treatments is only broadening - but it still seems as though g.pig knowledge has to be something that a vet themselves actively goes out to seek - rather than part of initial training framework.
I lost a girl last year who I rushed to a vets with fluid pouring out of her nose. She had been fine one minute and was like that the next. The emergency vet I saw just had a quick listen with a stethoscope, gave her a pain killer injection and sent us on our way with a baytril prescription and 'maybe she's got a cold'. We then lost her 24 hours later.
After long conversations with my now vet she believes that Tipex had sudden heart failure.
It was the first time one of my pigs had got ill, and having only a basic understanding of what to look out for when something's wrong I took the vets advice and treatment without question - perhaps if I'd known a bit more and had access to a better out of hours vet service Tipex might have still been with us, she was only 3.5 at the time (or even if the vet had know what was going on and the decision to PTS was made there and then, rather than what must have been the longest 24 hours for her)
I'm sorry to hear about your experiences and still can't get over the large hamster comment - I've seen children with more identifying knowledge!
A friend of mines girlfriend had just finished her veterinarian degree at one of the best universities and she told me afew weeks ago that they only ever had about two lectures where g.pigs were mentioned - and then not a single question about them in any exam.
Of course there are absolutely brilliant cavvy vets and as the years go on we are getting more and more practices that are actively trying to increase their knowledge and the research into treatments is only broadening - but it still seems as though g.pig knowledge has to be something that a vet themselves actively goes out to seek - rather than part of initial training framework.
I lost a girl last year who I rushed to a vets with fluid pouring out of her nose. She had been fine one minute and was like that the next. The emergency vet I saw just had a quick listen with a stethoscope, gave her a pain killer injection and sent us on our way with a baytril prescription and 'maybe she's got a cold'. We then lost her 24 hours later.
After long conversations with my now vet she believes that Tipex had sudden heart failure.
It was the first time one of my pigs had got ill, and having only a basic understanding of what to look out for when something's wrong I took the vets advice and treatment without question - perhaps if I'd known a bit more and had access to a better out of hours vet service Tipex might have still been with us, she was only 3.5 at the time (or even if the vet had know what was going on and the decision to PTS was made there and then, rather than what must have been the longest 24 hours for her)
I'm sorry to hear about your experiences and still can't get over the large hamster comment - I've seen children with more identifying knowledge!
- Status