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Fed Up :-(

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Guinea Slave

Guinea Slave

Adult Guinea Pig
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After all the concern over my little girl probably having to lose her other eye....and making sure everything is prepared...my boy is sick :-( He started to look a little 'off colour' at the weekend. Nothing specific but just was'nt his normal self. yesterday he nibbled at his breakfast then refused grass (unheard of) and he has now lost 40g in the last 4 days.

He has been to the vets and they can find nothing wrong other than a slightly rattly chest, teeth are fine and all other vitals fine. He has been given baytril, emeprid, Bio lapis (for the Baytril) and some painkiller in the view that we throw everything at it then see what happens. My wonderful mum is syringe feeding him as I am away with work :-( If not any better by Thursday then X-ray as a last ditch to find something.

She thinks he is older than we believe (he is a rescue and his age was approximate) and that he is just getting old.

I am so gutted, I just looked at him the other day and he looked so well! the other complication is that my little girl with the bad eyes love him and relies on him to look after her. If he leaves us before she has to have her eye removed and time to adjust I am not sure what I will do!

Why do these things always happen at the wrong time and when you are away. I could cry.
 
To have the worry about one sick guinea pig is bad enough but then to have another being ill is piling the stress on you. I hope your boy gets better and the eye operation on your other gp goes well.
 
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I'm really sorry, it all seems to come at once doesn't it. I currently have 3 poorly animals (horse, dog and one of the piggies) I seem to be living at the vets and spending loads of money and getting nowhere :(
I'm really fed up too, I feel your pain :(

x
 
Thanks guys... it always helps to vent on here as you know there will be someone in a similar position! Hope yours all recover Goth Mummy...nightmare and healing vibes sent! Its these blasted 'mystery' illnesses that get me. Mum said he seems a little better though so lets hope it continues. x
 
Healing vibes to all of you.

It just goes to show how important it is to find a vet you can trust to help you make the right decisions for their care.
 
I am so sorry :( Having had another vet trip today myself, I can understand why you would be fed up. My bladder pig showed blood in her urine today, one had an op about a month ago & has had hormone jabs every fortnight & now I am back again this week with the older one. So that is every week I have had to make a vet visit since the beginning of April. Hopefully things will start to get better for you soon (And all of the rest of us too!) :)
 
PiggieOwner said:
Healing vibes to all of you.

It just goes to show how important it is to find a vet you can trust to help you make the right decisions for their care.
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You are absolutely right! I have been trying to find a vet nearer me (my current is a 45 min drive one way) but I just struggle to trust anyone else. My vet and I have been through a lot together and you build a trusting partnership over time don't you?
 
Poppy'sMum said:
I am so sorry :( Having had another vet trip today myself, I can understand why you would be fed up. My bladder pig showed blood in her urine today, one had an op about a month ago & has had hormone jabs every fortnight & now I am back again this week with the older one. So that is every week I have had to make a vet visit since the beginning of April. Hopefully things will start to get better for you soon (And all of the rest of us too!) :)
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Gawd I know how you feel but thats hard work. Poor you. Loads of healing vibes being sent. Re the blood, thats just the worse. I have had bladder piggies over the years and your heart sinks to your feet when that happens.
 
Oh & to top it all, the bladder piggy has got a case of randyitis so is trying to mount the other 2 & causing no end of havoc & upset so she is having some time out so they can sleep for an hour :doh:
 
HUGS! It is never ending, isn't... I hope that your boy is going to pick up again!
 
I hope things are better today for your little poorly boy?
This morning I just wanted to give up keeping pets all together :( I'm getting so discourage having poorly animals.....its so disheartening when you try your best for them and nothing seems to be working :(
 
Guinea Slave said:
You are absolutely right! I have been trying to find a vet nearer me (my current is a 45 min drive one way) but I just struggle to trust anyone else. My vet and I have been through a lot together and you build a trusting partnership over time don't you?
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Definitely, trusting your vet is the most important thing. Sorry to hear about your troubles. I have come to the conclusion that you are jinxed if you have more than one pet. Currently, we have a rabbit with pasteurella (was on baytril, then nebulised, now it's probably injections), Badger's story has been ongoing since January and our little guinea pig has been diagnosed with a upper respiratory infection. I really feel your pain and frustration, it never ends and if you want to do right by the little ones, then it's a lot of work (and money!).
 
Thank you everyone! Firstly, he seems to have improved a fair bit. He has not lost any more weight and he was only syringe fed twice today 6ml each time, so not much. He seems to be very distracted, running around the run like a mad thing and 'talking' to everyone..maybe because he feels better?! I'd say he's 90% but I still think he's not 100% (its just a gut feel though!). He is five days on antibiotics, pain relief etc and then we'll see. I dont think its an infection as I would be surprised at the antibiotics working that quickly (within a few hours mum said he picked up) so its either gut related and the Emeprid did the trick or its pain and we can only tell when he is off the rimadyl in a few days. Lets just hope its simple...

With regards to your other comments, I getting more and more soul destroyed! I see people with guineas they leave in hutches with no interaction or care and they live for ages! Does my head in! We all give our animals 200% and they get sick! And as we all say, having several sick at once is a huge commitment. I am seriously thinking of fostering when these guys sadly move on. At least then you dont get too attached AND you dont see them leave us through old age!

Anyway...good luck to everyone with sick animals...I feel your pain!

Oh yes I forgot to add.....add to all of this mum just called me, she has fallen over and off to A&E with my father for stitches! OMG what next?! Healing vibes to my mum!
 
Hope your mum is alright, and with regards to guinea pigs in hutches without interaction or love. A lot of them die, but will never be remembered or mentioned. Antibiotics can work very fast (with ear infections and other stuff). Fingers crossed.
 
Cyberpig said:
Hope your mum is alright, and with regards to guinea pigs in hutches without interaction or love. A lot of them die, but will never be remembered or mentioned. Antibiotics can work very fast (with ear infections and other stuff). Fingers crossed.
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HIya, Yeh I know...its just seems the more you care the more you need to care (if you see what I mean!). I do agree, 'better to have loved and lost than never to have loved'....just does drive me mad though! I knew someone who kept a guinea on its own (after its friend died) outside in a hutch and it eventually died at 5 years old. I offered to take it many occasions, I gave them spare hay and tried to help. It was out in that cold winter a few years ago when it went down to minus 8 and still the guinea was 'fine' (well alive). It was sad and miserable though and as you say, never loved. It broke my heart but they would just would not give it up. Now, if I put mine out in a hutch for an hour in the cold they would all get pneumonia in about 5 minutes!
 
I know life is pretty unfair at times. However I like to look at it in a different way, that maybe I have poorly piggies that are lucky enough to have an owner that cares & is willing to spend on occasion a whole weeks wages on getting them right :) For sure my Mummy piggy would not have found another owner willing to spend nearly two grand on a guinea pig ;) We should celebrate the fact we care so much & try not to get down when things go wrong, as we all do the very best we can, that is certain :) So glad your boy is perking up & hope your mum is ok x
 
Poppy'sMum said:
I know life is pretty unfair at times. However I like to look at it in a different way, that maybe I have poorly piggies that are lucky enough to have an owner that cares & is willing to spend on occasion a whole weeks wages on getting them right :) For sure my Mummy piggy would not have found another owner willing to spend nearly two grand on a guinea pig ;) We should celebrate the fact we care so much & try not to get down when things go wrong, as we all do the very best we can, that is certain :) So glad your boy is perking up & hope your mum is ok x
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Umm, I like that! I guess very few would have survived into old age without us. Good positive point of view. So many people think we are crazy spending that kind of money but the hours of pleasure they give. It's not even up for debate is it!?
Poor mum...been in a&e for nearly four hours...loads of stitches and glue in her hand :-(
 
Sending you Huge hugs x You are having a real tough time lately x
 
Oh @Guinea Slave how is your mum now? Poor you. I really know how you feel.

I was ranting last night to my husband that I know so many people with guinea pigs in hutches at the bottom of the garden (eg. Lots of my son’s friends) and they always seem fine and I seem to be encountering constant problems with mine (and the dog and the pony of course). I spend a lot of time reading up about all the different animals that I have and have a good relationship with 3 different vets so that everyone can get the best care.
My husband suggested that maybe other people’s guinea pigs die without people really realising what is wrong or have a very shortened life span which is viewed as "normal" whereas ours seem to live between 6-8 years old. I don’t know. Sometimes I just feel incompetent though and wonder if its just me being rubbish and missing something really obvious with the animals L
Hope your mum is better very soon xx
 
Goth Mummy said:
Oh @Guinea Slave how is your mum now? Poor you. I really know how you feel.

I was ranting last night to my husband that I know so many people with guinea pigs in hutches at the bottom of the garden (eg. Lots of my son’s friends) and they always seem fine and I seem to be encountering constant problems with mine (and the dog and the pony of course). I spend a lot of time reading up about all the different animals that I have and have a good relationship with 3 different vets so that everyone can get the best care.
My husband suggested that maybe other people’s guinea pigs die without people really realising what is wrong or have a very shortened life span which is viewed as "normal" whereas ours seem to live between 6-8 years old. I don’t know. Sometimes I just feel incompetent though and wonder if its just me being rubbish and missing something really obvious with the animals L
Hope your mum is better very soon xx
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I know what you mean, I start to question what I am doing as well. Am I doing something fundamentally wrong...you could drive yourself mad!

Mum, is OK, very sore hand (it had to be her right one!) loads of stitches and bandages...makes me grimace! Thanks for asking ;-). Shook me up as she is in her seventies and you just dread that call 'I am just off to A&E'! Thank goodness it was'nt worse. Its funny how roles are reversed in life as you all get older..I worry about them constantly now!
 
Hi, it seems that you care very much about the welfare of your animals, there's nothing wrong with that. You are just a good person.
 
Positive update! Well my boy seems to be pretty much better. A combination of painkillers, gut stimulant and baytril seem to have worked (hope I have not jinxed him now!) he is putting weight on slowly and back to his cheeky self.

I may have found the cause...may be. I have a couple of stuffed 'beds' which they have had for years. My boy is a bit of a chewer...loves paper bags and fitch bedding. Anyway, when cleaning out the other day I noticed a huge piece of material gone...a whole 4x4 inch hole. No sign of material anywhere. I wonder if he chewed this and it got caught in his digestive system? The gut stimulant etc would have helped pass it through. Needless to say I have thrown it out and he has had a stern talking to..he is blaming the hamster.

Let's hope it's as simple as this!
 
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