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I think Garry may be dying...

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MintyAndGarry (TEAS)

MintyAndGarry (TEAS)

Adult Guinea Pig
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Director at TEAS (West Hunsbury), Northampton, UK
I'm sitting here in tears as I type this. Garry is wrapped in towel next to me and I feel I've failed him so badly. To cut a very long story short, he lost a lot of weight because his teeth had over grown. He used to be around a kilo. He had his teeth filed down and all seemed good for a while. He put a bit of weight on and seemed to be eating OK. But last week at the vets, he'd lost weight and the vet said that his teeth were almost half way back to where they'd started. Clearly he hasn't been making much effort with eating hay to wear his teeth down on his own. The vet said that obviously he would need ongoing dental treatment but that Garry really needed to help himself by eating roughage. At the moment, Garry weighs in at 585g and I just know he's not gaining anything at all. Everything he tries to eat is a struggle and it's so painful to watch him. I've been giving him mashed up pellets and/or oats with critical care mixed in which he seems keen to have. I have tried syringe feeding him, but he just won't have it, no matter how hard I try. He is so frail now that everytime I check on him I fear the worst. Right now, I don't think he'd survive any sedation for further work on his teeth, but even if he did, what's to say he'd be any better with his eating?

The vet went through the options and mentioned those three words none of us want to hear - quality of life. He has an appointment tomorrow night but looking at him now, I'm not sure he'll be here by then. He has a couple of nibbles at the mixture I've got for him and then flops down and curls up in the towel. He squeaks every so often too which is unusual for him. In one way I wish that if it is his time, he'd just let go but I just don't want to lose him.:(

Sorry for the long post but I just needed to vent. I just feel so bad.
 
Oh I am so sorry, you must be going out your mind with worry. I'm sending you a big hug from Glasgow.
 
Oh dear, I am so sorry to hear Garry is poorly. Have you tried him with Timothy hay? I will keep my fingers crossed for him and will be thinking of you, poor little piggy x
 
Oh hun, I'm so very, very sorry that little Garry has taken a turn for the worse.

Big hugs to you! I sincerley hope that he perks up again real soon xx
 
I've tried everything with him - different hay, other roughage type things, but I think because of his teeth he can't either get it in his mouth or chew it. So at the moment the vet advised that if in doubt, just try to get something into him. He won't touch baby food or even take it into his mouth when I syringe it in. Like I said, he's taking a few nibbles of food but then seems to give up. Then, after a while, he'll seem to perk up a bit and look keen for food, but then it's only for a couple of nibbles again. I'm trying so hard to keep some form of food moving though him but it's proving to be difficult. I think I know what the vet might suggest tomorrow and I can't make up my mind if that is the fairest thing to do although he's not going to gain weight enough to get his teeth done without getting his teeth done first. It's a catch 22.
 
I'm sorry to hear Garry is so poorly. I had a piggie in a smiliar situation with dental problems and I know how difficult it must be for you. Sending hugs to you and Garry.
 
Poor him and you. Sorry I don't have any advice but just didn't want to read and go.

Fingers crossed you can sort this out.
 
The only thing that ha worked for our pigs and has got them eating again is grass - don't know why but it seems to kick-start their appetite, so might be worth a try if you can get hold of any .. will be thinking of you and hoping Garry perks up.x
 
I am so very sorry to hear about Garry. Thinking of you x
 
I am sorry he's struggling so much now Emma, sending you lots of big hugs. I know how hard it is seeing them struggle so much, my sweet Tuppy was very similar in many respects.

There is only so much you can do for them; there has to be a will, a strength in the guineas themselves. Often, the biggest and strongest characters fall the hardest when ill. xx
 
katiep said:
The only thing that ha worked for our pigs and has got them eating again is grass - don't know why but it seems to kick-start their appetite, so might be worth a try if you can get hold of any .. will be thinking of you and hoping Garry perks up.x
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Thanks for the advice. I've just tried him with some small pieces of parsley which he used to love and he chewed them for ages but nothing happens - they just came back out whole and a bit oaty from what he was eating before.

I think he might have reached the end of the line. God knows how I'm going to hold it together at the vets tomorrow.
 
For now forget about trying to get him to eat on his own and just syringe as much food into him as possible. Poppet didn't eat a single thing for herself for over five months, but she had her teeth filed weekly and I syringed her food every few hours. After five months she started to manage softened guinea pig food and I would cut tiny pieces of grass up and mix it in with the softened food. As you know, we did get there in the end and Poppet eats 100% independently now. We will always need to manage her dental problem and she still has her teeth done fortnightly.

I know how frustrating and heartbreaking it is to watch them literally fading away before your eyes, but just keep going with syringe food. Experiment with different types of food whether it be Critical Care, Science Recovery, mushed up guinea pig food. I even used to puree veggies.

My thoughts are with you and Garry!

Love Debbie x
 
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God I am so sorry to hear this. It is heart breaking.

I agree with furryfriends, force him to eat, it could do him the world of good. I really really hope he pulls through.

Big kisses from me and my boys. x
 
I am so sorry to hear about Garry's struggles!

Hopefully, you can fight for him a bit longer to give him a chance at making it; although he will probably need regular dental treatment from hereon in.

I'm sending him my best vibes - hopefully, he likes pureed parsley! ;)
 
How bad has the vet said his teeth are? Are they trapping his tongue? I am just thinking that his reluctance to take food of any kind could be because his mouth is sore due to teeth cutting into his tongue. I would say just get as much food into him as you can between now and your appointment and see if the vet can just file them a little to make sure his mouth is comfortable. Also give metacam incase he is in any pain. More extensive dental work can be done when he has gained a little weight and strength.
 
I'm really sorry about your guinea pig :( It must be so hard to watch him suffer :( Give him a big hug n kisses from me and my guinea pigs! x
 
fingers crossed for you and garry, but i agree force feeding is sometimes required to get them to accept food again, also you need to find a vet who can file his teeth without any medication - my rabbit had bimonthly dentist visits without ever being sedated or anaethatized we also had to hand feed him the weekend before he went on the monday you could just tell he was not happy, but once his teeth were done he would bounce about the garden. thinking of you, eleanor
 
MintyAndGarry said:
I'm sitting here in tears as I type this. Garry is wrapped in towel next to me and I feel I've failed him so badly. To cut a very long story short, he lost a lot of weight because his teeth had over grown. He used to be around a kilo. He had his teeth filed down and all seemed good for a while. He put a bit of weight on and seemed to be eating OK. But last week at the vets, he'd lost weight and the vet said that his teeth were almost half way back to where they'd started. Clearly he hasn't been making much effort with eating hay to wear his teeth down on his own. The vet said that obviously he would need ongoing dental treatment but that Garry really needed to help himself by eating roughage. At the moment, Garry weighs in at 585g and I just know he's not gaining anything at all. Everything he tries to eat is a struggle and it's so painful to watch him. I've been giving him mashed up pellets and/or oats with critical care mixed in which he seems keen to have. I have tried syringe feeding him, but he just won't have it, no matter how hard I try. He is so frail now that everytime I check on him I fear the worst. Right now, I don't think he'd survive any sedation for further work on his teeth, but even if he did, what's to say he'd be any better with his eating?

The vet went through the options and mentioned those three words none of us want to hear - quality of life. He has an appointment tomorrow night but looking at him now, I'm not sure he'll be here by then. He has a couple of nibbles at the mixture I've got for him and then flops down and curls up in the towel. He squeaks every so often too which is unusual for him. In one way I wish that if it is his time, he'd just let go but I just don't want to lose him.:(

Sorry for the long post but I just needed to vent. I just feel so bad.
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Oh dear, sorry, i hope he does make it.
 
Emma,I'm so, so sorry to hear about Garry. Such a lovely little man. Please give him a cuddle from me. I'm in tears right now. I can't believe I've just read this, I'm just so sorry. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
Thanks everyone for your kind words.

Debbie - Thanks for the positive posts. I've just managed to get about 2ml of Critical Care into him and he's had some more oats. He's now lying down on my lap again though... Will try him again in a while and try with some more Critical Care.

The vet said last week that his bottom teeth had grown last time to form a tunnel over his tongue and they were heading that way again as he wasn't chewing anything as such.
 
MintyAndGarry said:
Thanks everyone for your kind words.

Debbie - Thanks for the positive posts. I've just managed to get about 2ml of Critical Care into him and he's had some more oats. He's now lying down on my lap again though... Will try him again in a while and try with some more Critical Care.

The vet said last week that his bottom teeth had grown last time to form a tunnel over his tongue and they were heading that way again as he wasn't chewing anything as such.
Click to expand...

I'm sending Garry all the get well vibes I can muster. I really hope he gets better soon. I'm sure there's something someone can do!
 
keeping fingers crossed for you & your little one its heart breaking when they are poorly sending hugs xx
 
When I was at the vets the other week there was a lady with a guinea pig who was really struggling to syringe feed it. The veterinary assistant spent ages with her showing her the best way to do it and when she came out she said she had learnt some really good tips. Syringe feeding isn't the easiest of things to do, especially if you feel you are forcing food on your piggie who really doesn't want it. I am more than happy to try and get some food into him for you if you want to bring him round.
 
Thanks for the offer Debbie - I'll bear it in mind. He has just had a little more CC and is really going for it with the mushy oats mixture (which also has CC in it). He is back in his cage now with Minty with a supply of the mixture so I will see how he goes. I'll no doubt be awake off and on throughout the night so will try some more syringe CC then too.
 
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