Freya1234
Teenage Guinea Pig
Hi all,
Seems like I only really come on here bearing bad news now but unfortunately my almost 7 year old piggie Smokey is very poorly at the moment. Thanks to regular weekly weighing we picked this up asap and he went to the vets where she found his lymph nodes were swollen, but he was also wheezing. He was on antibiotics for a week to decide if it was just a respiratory infection or if it could be lymphoma. Unfortunately last friday at his follow up the vet came to the most likely conclusion that is it lymphoma (we opted against any diagnostic testing due to his age) and that Smokey is now on palliative care since treatment for lymphoma doesn’t always do well for guinea pigs. He is now on antibiotics, paracetamol, loxicom and frusol (which he‘s had for his heart since he was about 3). He is also having visible difficulty breathing and his body rocks even when he’s resting, and has lost his wheek which has turned into a wheeze! Unfortunately Smokey who usually sits around 1.1kg is now 950g and seems to be skin and bone
Since starting the pain meds he seems to be eating a bit better and is still excited for veggies and hay, but he seems to lose interest in the food quite quickly - i think possibly due to his difficulty breathing. He is definitely still happy in himself and has a good quality of life for now however I wanted some advice as to whether trying to help him gain some weight might be a good idea since he just seems so fragile! Also because his cagemate Winston is an excitable one year old who zoomies around like crazy and Smokey occasionly gets mounted i‘m worried Winston may accidentally hurt him in such a fragile state.
i have read the syringe feeding guides would this be the best way?
Any other advice is welcome and much appreciated! Thank you
*also added a Smokey pigture because i couldn’t resist!
Seems like I only really come on here bearing bad news now but unfortunately my almost 7 year old piggie Smokey is very poorly at the moment. Thanks to regular weekly weighing we picked this up asap and he went to the vets where she found his lymph nodes were swollen, but he was also wheezing. He was on antibiotics for a week to decide if it was just a respiratory infection or if it could be lymphoma. Unfortunately last friday at his follow up the vet came to the most likely conclusion that is it lymphoma (we opted against any diagnostic testing due to his age) and that Smokey is now on palliative care since treatment for lymphoma doesn’t always do well for guinea pigs. He is now on antibiotics, paracetamol, loxicom and frusol (which he‘s had for his heart since he was about 3). He is also having visible difficulty breathing and his body rocks even when he’s resting, and has lost his wheek which has turned into a wheeze! Unfortunately Smokey who usually sits around 1.1kg is now 950g and seems to be skin and bone
Since starting the pain meds he seems to be eating a bit better and is still excited for veggies and hay, but he seems to lose interest in the food quite quickly - i think possibly due to his difficulty breathing. He is definitely still happy in himself and has a good quality of life for now however I wanted some advice as to whether trying to help him gain some weight might be a good idea since he just seems so fragile! Also because his cagemate Winston is an excitable one year old who zoomies around like crazy and Smokey occasionly gets mounted i‘m worried Winston may accidentally hurt him in such a fragile state.
i have read the syringe feeding guides would this be the best way?
Any other advice is welcome and much appreciated! Thank you
*also added a Smokey pigture because i couldn’t resist!
