Another bank holiday curse! Oh Rupert!

Oh dear you're having a hard time of things lately @alpacasqueak probably the best thing to do is talk your concerns over with the vet and see if poor Rupert has improved any. It must be an awful thing to see him so poorly but I can see you wouldnt want to give up on your lovely old boy. Sending hugs and lots of piggy kisses! X
 
Sending you big hugs @alpacasqueak ! We all know how hard it is when it comes to piggies being sick and not much improvements to see. My Cookie is just gaining her weight back slowly but her very tiny wound (what's left of the very big one she had since 20 March) is still leaking a bit, which is easy enough to clean by wiping it. Hopefully lovely Rupert is just taking it in very slow progress (fingers crossed). But you would know, and he will tell you, if it comes to a worse outcome.
 
Thanks so much replies, sorry brain turning to mush at the moment! xx

I think the difference with me fighting for him and Pedro is his age (Ped’s middle aged even though nearly 9!), and he’s had such trouble in the past with bladder probs that it’s not fair to put him through too much when I know he’s not up to it @PigglePuggle x And not a good idea to risk even though I want to! Wouldn’t want to feel like I’ve given up with him but also his best interests are what I need to think of.

We’ve had an amazing six years together, him being a happy lad nearly the whole time, that it’s hard to see him so odd at the moment. But guess it’s just see how we go and what the pee tests say. He’s so brilliant and we’re such good friends that I hate forcing food into him or working him up so everything’s very slow! As hopefully just his healing is this time @anyar.dris! x
Thanks @piggieminder x
 
Sending you massive hugs. Understand how you feel, I nursed my Georgie(6.5years) through the last 3 months we had together. It never gets any easier and your maternal instincts to love and protect them just become stronger.
Holding you all in my thoughts and hope things improve soon.xx
 
Thanks a lot @rhymer, yeah you definitely feel so much more protective. As he’s been ill before and went through so much with all of his probs last time it doesn’t seem fair for him to go through it again, especially now he’s older bless him. We’re very close with all the care he needed last time but he seemed to be fighting a bit more then. Hopefully he’ll pull through xx
Enjoying some grass atm which is the only thing he’s really tucking into himself. But at least that’s something and he’s not given up on life completely x
 
He’s got an appt booked for first thing on Saturday, with the vet who did his emergency surgery (who’s the best now with small animals at my local vet after my other lovely vet left). We’ll be up extra early for a pee sample!
 
Thank you :)
Progress! He looked very chirpy on the bed til 1am, wasn’t keen on the syringe and kept trying to escape and toddling round the bed. A nice greeting when I got up and weighed 772g compared to the 754g yest (:(). Had a nibble on dried grass and a few dry pellets, then meds, cucumber and even carrot and a bit of grated sweet potato! First time he’s branched out in days!
I’m sure my beasts can understand English and think ‘vets, that!’ :D
 
Thanks @piggieminder :D x
He really seems much less tense and a bit relieved today, wondering if he may have passed something nasty in the night?! I’ve had my torch in the cage but impossible to see with all the hay! (Didn’t see anything with his last tiny stone either)
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Had a good scoff, five big heaped teaspoons of cc and pellet mush, no syringe needed and even munching it off the towel on first pic!
God boy, you do like to confuse me! :doh::love:

(Just said his eyes look happier to my grandma, how can you tell, he’s only a guinea pig! Grr, I can tell!)
 

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alpacasqueak said:
Thanks @piggieminder :D x
He really seems much less tense and a bit relieved today, wondering if he may have passed something nasty in the night?! I’ve had my torch in the cage but impossible to see with all the hay! (Didn’t see anything with his last tiny stone either)
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Had a good scoff, five big heaped teaspoons of cc and pellet mush, no syringe needed and even munching it off the towel on first pic!
God boy, you do like to confuse me! :doh::love:

(Just said his eyes look happier to my grandma, how can you tell, he’s only a guinea pig! Grr, I can tell!)
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Course you can tell you are his Mum!
Rupert you are a gorgeous boy x
 
I can tell when Spike's got some sludge, he looks heavy and sad. He has extra fluids and cystease syringed everyday so when he's like this I give him a couple of extra sessions of fluid a day. When he's passed it he looks lighter, he bounces more and his eyes look happier. Yes, you can see when they are not happy. Non piggy people just don't understand.
 
Thanks again @piggieminder, with Rupert’s first stone (and surgery) he also had sludge which was flushed out, so maybe that if not just a uti or dreaded stone. He’s been on cystease since the op. I have upped his water the last couple of days with him not really drinking from the bottle so maybe that’s helped with flushing stuff. I’m so strict with his diet but I suppose some pigs just more prone to things as never had issues with my others! He’s definitely feeling a lot better today though :)
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Had to get pics as so shocked after him looking so unwell for days! Coriander and a few chunks of celery, then a bit of hay! Jess sat and ate for nearly an hour too so she can tell he’s a bit more himself I think!

Yes my nan’s really not a pet person, asked if it was ‘the black one’ that was poorly, that was Reggie who died nearly 6years ago! Asks occasionally how ‘the fluffy one-eyed one is’ but showed her a pic of how well he’s healed the other day and she said ‘er!’. Family! :hb:

@piggieminder, just wondering how much water and how often you give for a bit of a flush with Spike? Don’t want to make Rupert sore overloading his bladder with how he’s been but think may have helped him with the extra fluids (and if not sure it won’t do him any harm!) x
 
Sorry I am so late to see this thread. At first glance, I thought it was about banking in England and Europe. Then I wondered how banking in Europe and England were affecting piggies.

Rupert is a super cute boy. My Finn and Lara send him lots of hugs and kisses.
 
Spike has 15ml 2 x daily. I don't stress over it too much though if he only takes 10ml that's fine although he's very good he has pro c in it and he loves the taste of that and grabs the syringe and shakes it for more if I'm not quick enough picking up another one.
Peanut also has bladder issues although probably IC so he has 10ml once daily. I must stress this was all worked out by my vet who wanted them to have a little bit extra vit c as they are getting older (4.5) and very fussy over veg. They are also on a low calcium veg diet, minimal grain free nuggets and double filtered water. We've been doing this since beginning of January and there is a definite improvement, particularly in Spike. In January we had two occasions where he weed gravel and fresh blood, now we just get occasional sludge. The vet originally put Peanut on 10ml 2 x daily as he weighed only 1 kilo, Spike was about 2.3. Stress seems to bring on Peanuts problem so I dropped it to once when he stopped showing signs of squeeky wees as he hates being handled. They are both on Cystease and extra fluids for life now, I put Peanut back to 2 x daily if he shows signs of stress when weeing and of course they are both back at the vets whenever there any concerns.
I have noticed Spike reacts to particular veg celery being a major trigger so it may be worth you keeping a food diary for Rupert so you can avoid any triggers. It's worth noting that too much vit c alters the conditions in the bladder which aids the formation of stones (humans as well as guinea pigs!) so going overboard with loads of extra c particularly as supplements is not a good idea. I try really hard not to overthink things and go with the vets advice, they have both been so helpful. I was a nervous wreck after losing Willow and Bracken to stones, so hard not to think it was my fault especially when Spike started having sludge a few days after Bracken was PTS. I feed grass and or green leaf veg daily, 1 slice bell pepper, 2 slice cucumber, 1 or 2 green bean, root veg only as occasional treat (1 small slice).
Hope this helps. Rupert is such a gorgeous little chap it's lovely to hear he is brighter. I have my fingers crossed for him. Sorry to have written such an essay!
 
Not an essay, really helpful thanks @piggieminder :hug:xx

I’ve try everything with Rupert after his first issues in 2016 to keep calcium to a (safe) minimum so he has either JR Farm or Science Selective grain free nuggets, bottled water that’s always below 40 (co-op one I stock up with is 18mg/l). He stopped having ‘naughty’ veg completely, not that he was having a lot but broccoli maybe twice a week and spinach/kale once a fortnight.
So both pigs on the low calcium veg (but Jess gets snuck a bit of naughtiness occasionally!) and they’ve never had treats, the odd bit of fruit or forage type thing but he is really restricted now!
He doesn’t have any leafy greens now other than romaine lettuce, sometimes little gem, after his couple of bloaty probs in the last couple of months he can’t have spring greens anymore so just grass really! So hoping I’ve done enough and this is just a blip! :)

He’s getting there, Jess is much, much happier and he even had a good scoff this morn so Ped could get his flush first rather than Rupert’s feed! Still a bit quiet but poo a bit squishy yest after too much veg I think, hadn’t really eaten anything other than cucumber for 10 days!
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Sad face, happy face :love:
He’s one of those pigs with a really expressive face, why I seem to get such funny pics of him :)
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But Jess still keeping watch just in case :)
x
 
I am sorry to hear you have been having 'brain' problems again. X

Rupert is gorgeous, it's a pain when they have issues with the food they can have when what they can have is restricted anyway. Mine are supposed to be on an mainly grass diet, impossible this winter with the garden probably being contaminated with parasites!
 
Thanks a lot @piggieminder, brain’s a bit all over the place atm! But if my pets are happy then I am as they’re my no 1! :)

I’ve also found so many hays are rubbish this year, the usual one I get from local fruit and veg shop is like straw and b&m one they love hasn’t been in for weeks. But he’s enjoying my oven dried grass so hoping that’s enough for now! Jess has started shouting at me at the side of cage ‘cooking’ it today so I know she’s loving it! :)
 
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