I thought I would introduce Maisy and Daisy to this lovely forum, but since I typed this yesterday, I have just not had time to attach any pics, but will do my best tonight to add them. Maisy is the Mum and Daisy is the daughter.
I adopted these little beauties last October. Was told they’re about 3-4 years old, but I don’t know if this is true, and that Daisy (black one) was the Mum and Maisy was the daughter, but we don’t think this is the case. They were originally residing in a special needs school, as stimulation for the kids, but cutting a long story short, we said we would have them for the half term period, (my son wanted guinea pigs at that time, so we thought it would be good practice), we fell in love with them and it turned out that we could keep them if we wanted.
They were quite ‘fatty’ piggies when we received them, but I think they were just fed on cheap hay, some complete dry food and that was that. Don’t think they’d ever been out of their cage, if they had, it would have been for a very short time and not very often.
Anyway, up until a month ago, all was well……….
Then one weekend, Daisy seemed to be off her food, retiring to the back of the box in the cage and then had diarrhoea and what looked like, blood stained urine.
Took her to the vets, vet examined her and said she could feel a lump on her right side. Gave her a scan and it showed that she had a cyst on her right ovary and a little stone in her bladder.
I couldn’t think straight at that time about what to do, not having any experience with piggies etc. The vet gave fibreplex just to get Daisy’s gut moving along and said bring her back in a week! I was quite shocked at the time period and said, oh I’m going to worry if I leave it that long, I think I should bring her back sooner. So, this was the Monday and I took her back in on the Wednesday.
There was no change, she wasn’t eating, but became very clingy toward me, (which was very sweet…….she just wanted to curl up in between the crook of my neck and hair, aww).
Another long story short, we were given the option to either have her put to sleep or do the op and remove the cyst and stone. I felt she had to have a chance, as with putting her to sleep, she wouldn’t have a chance, so along with my hubby, we agreed to go ahead with the op.
Post operative care has been very, very tiresome, worrying and difficult, ie in knowing what’s right and wrong and if we’re doing it right or giving enough attention etc.
Daisy is so tiny. When I had them first, Maisy weighed in at 1350g and Daisy 1.1kg. Daisy was, as at Wednesday, just 800g. I weighed her yesterday on 2 different scales, as mine is not particularly reliable and it varied from just over 700g to just under 800g. I’m getting very paranoid, upset etc and don’t know what to do for the best.
When she had her check up last Wednesday, one of the very good vets said she was 800g and that we need her back up to the 1000, (easy said that done though). If she goes below, bring her back and we can offer a food supplement. Vet also said in conversation that as she has had a “hysterectomyâ€, it’s going to take a while for her to become strong etc, same as it would for a woman. But, when she said hysterectomy, I was aghast, as there hasn’t been any mention of that up until that day. Nobody told us she had it all taken away. If I remember that day, the vet said that they usually remove it all, in case it occurs again, but she mentioned so much as our little Yorkshire terrier Ozzy had been in that day for a biopsy, that I couldn’t take it all in. I’m guessing now that she has no hormones…? Will check tonight at her appointment. (Updated at end of post).
So, I’ve made an appointment for later today, (I worry so much).
She is eating, though doesn’t hardly eat the hay. I have Countrywide’s Meadow hay, which they’ve both been on since we’ve had them. Their coats have become very very shiny since we’ve had them, only because my friend (who told us about the piggies and, who had seen them many times at the school), said that their coats were not in that condition before. Since Daisy’s illness, the vet said to keep trying with the hay, good quality hay etc…….I’ve bought the Burgess hay with dandelion in, (apparently during her stay at the vets, they would get her freshly picked dandy leaves every day as this seemed to kick start her gut, plus she gained weight too). I’ve tried different makes of hay too.
We’ve been given vit c tablets for Daisy and she is to have an eighth of a tablet per day, dissolved in water. By gum, it sure is a testing time trying to syringe this into her little mouth. (Btw, thank you to whoever it was who did the article on syringe feeding with pics, it was very helpful). She starts to struggle after the first 1.0ml’s worth and I hate it then, because I don’t want to hear her whimper.
I managed to get 4mls on Saturday eve, then only 3mls yest. Just wish there was an easier way. I’ve tried dipping some fruit/veg into the vit c liquid so hopefully this has helped too. She used to love red pepper, which I’ve read is high in vit c, but lately only eats a little nibble’s worth.
I’ve bought a run and a lovely primrose cottage hutch for them a while back, (it’s a double decker), as I thought it would be nice for them to have more space come the summer. I still want them in come the evening, we’ve been so used to speaking and checking on them, (they sleep in the kitchenette on the work top (which isn’t used for anything, just has little tv on it when we eat our tea LOL). So it works out fine then see.
Since we’ve had the odd day of warmer weather, we’ve put them on the garden in the run. They were a bit shocked at first lol, as they’ve never seen grass before, bless ‘them. Yesterday, Daisy had a nibble on the grass every now and again. I took hay out too, water and their complete food to have a nibble.
Daisy has been sniffing Maisy’s bum and eating her poo sometimes. I’m guessing this is because she’s lacking certain nutrients……….or am I wrong? Any advice will be appreciated.
So, all in all, poor Daisy has had a run of it. She is and always has been very quiet, never had “big†poos, (vets are keeping on about how her poos should be bigger), but they’ve never been the usual/typical “bullet†shaped), plus she’s never drank much water, not as much as Maisy. She will get through ¾ ‘s of a 500ml bottle in 3 days sometimes. (Maybe that’s not good, I don’t know).
I am sorry to ramble on, but I feel that this is a lovely place, with lots of information and helpful advice.
Everyone who knows about Maisy and Daisy have said that they are having 5* service with us, compared to their life before. I am a terrible worrier and what with the troubles that life throws upon us to begin with, when Daisy struck poorly, it just all erupted and I became very run down a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been so distraught over her and the separation from her Mum, together with poor Ozzy being poorly too. We have them out each evening on stacks of newspaper, in the lounge with a little barrier around them, and they love it, they wander around, wee and poo.
UPDATE: Daisy weighed in at 730g, but the lovely vet who checked her over said, yes, she has dropped since last week and although her ‘poos’ are still not ‘normal’, she has done so well to get this far. I was told to continue as I was doing already and to get her to eat grass etc, hay and the usual veg that she has already. He examined her and she didn’t wince when he felt her abdomen. She hobbled back into her carrier, (I say hobble because she seems to be a little stiff in the back end, whether that’s due to the op or not, I don’t know), but she does use both legs. She started nibbling one of these long treats that are stuffed with grass mixed with dandelion or mint etc. She had not touched it for 2 days, then lo and behold she grabbed hold of it, almost as if to show off to the vet, that “hey, look at me, I’m fineâ€, lol. It was unbelievable.
She also did a wee, which, with the quick reaction from the vet, he scooped a bit up through a tiny syringe. I mentioned about her urine being concentrated and orangey/dark colour, as I was concerned about her bladder/blood in urine and possible infection. He tested it though and it was fine………….PHEW!
He said to keep going, it will take a long time, but to give her 2-3 weeks and keep a check on her weight. I said I was paranoid about this, so he said check her twice a week.
Should she lose more, he said they can do various blood tests and/or the other option would be to open her up again (which he wasn’t inclined on doing and I agreed too), and to see if there are any adhesions, which can sometimes cause the gut to not function properly.
So…………..he seemed pleased with her, considering how little she is and he said if I had not said about her weight at the start of bringing her there, ie 1.12kg, then I guess they would have thought she wouldn’t have been much more than 800g, or they wouldn’t have had anything to go by.
I picked some grass this lunch time and washed it, then gave it to her and she ate it all, (only a small handful though).
I thank you very much for taking the time to read this massive essay (LOL), it really does mean a lot to me. I just felt that I could off load, tell you the story to date, so you would have a clear picture in your mind.
Any advice, criticism, tips you have to offer, just say whatever, I will be grateful to receive it. Again, so sorry for all this info, plus I’ve only been a member 5 minutes, but I’m just so taken with these piggies and so worried about Daisy.
Thanks again,
Beth XX
I adopted these little beauties last October. Was told they’re about 3-4 years old, but I don’t know if this is true, and that Daisy (black one) was the Mum and Maisy was the daughter, but we don’t think this is the case. They were originally residing in a special needs school, as stimulation for the kids, but cutting a long story short, we said we would have them for the half term period, (my son wanted guinea pigs at that time, so we thought it would be good practice), we fell in love with them and it turned out that we could keep them if we wanted.
They were quite ‘fatty’ piggies when we received them, but I think they were just fed on cheap hay, some complete dry food and that was that. Don’t think they’d ever been out of their cage, if they had, it would have been for a very short time and not very often.
Anyway, up until a month ago, all was well……….
Then one weekend, Daisy seemed to be off her food, retiring to the back of the box in the cage and then had diarrhoea and what looked like, blood stained urine.
Took her to the vets, vet examined her and said she could feel a lump on her right side. Gave her a scan and it showed that she had a cyst on her right ovary and a little stone in her bladder.
I couldn’t think straight at that time about what to do, not having any experience with piggies etc. The vet gave fibreplex just to get Daisy’s gut moving along and said bring her back in a week! I was quite shocked at the time period and said, oh I’m going to worry if I leave it that long, I think I should bring her back sooner. So, this was the Monday and I took her back in on the Wednesday.
There was no change, she wasn’t eating, but became very clingy toward me, (which was very sweet…….she just wanted to curl up in between the crook of my neck and hair, aww).
Another long story short, we were given the option to either have her put to sleep or do the op and remove the cyst and stone. I felt she had to have a chance, as with putting her to sleep, she wouldn’t have a chance, so along with my hubby, we agreed to go ahead with the op.
Post operative care has been very, very tiresome, worrying and difficult, ie in knowing what’s right and wrong and if we’re doing it right or giving enough attention etc.
Daisy is so tiny. When I had them first, Maisy weighed in at 1350g and Daisy 1.1kg. Daisy was, as at Wednesday, just 800g. I weighed her yesterday on 2 different scales, as mine is not particularly reliable and it varied from just over 700g to just under 800g. I’m getting very paranoid, upset etc and don’t know what to do for the best.
When she had her check up last Wednesday, one of the very good vets said she was 800g and that we need her back up to the 1000, (easy said that done though). If she goes below, bring her back and we can offer a food supplement. Vet also said in conversation that as she has had a “hysterectomyâ€, it’s going to take a while for her to become strong etc, same as it would for a woman. But, when she said hysterectomy, I was aghast, as there hasn’t been any mention of that up until that day. Nobody told us she had it all taken away. If I remember that day, the vet said that they usually remove it all, in case it occurs again, but she mentioned so much as our little Yorkshire terrier Ozzy had been in that day for a biopsy, that I couldn’t take it all in. I’m guessing now that she has no hormones…? Will check tonight at her appointment. (Updated at end of post).
So, I’ve made an appointment for later today, (I worry so much).
She is eating, though doesn’t hardly eat the hay. I have Countrywide’s Meadow hay, which they’ve both been on since we’ve had them. Their coats have become very very shiny since we’ve had them, only because my friend (who told us about the piggies and, who had seen them many times at the school), said that their coats were not in that condition before. Since Daisy’s illness, the vet said to keep trying with the hay, good quality hay etc…….I’ve bought the Burgess hay with dandelion in, (apparently during her stay at the vets, they would get her freshly picked dandy leaves every day as this seemed to kick start her gut, plus she gained weight too). I’ve tried different makes of hay too.
We’ve been given vit c tablets for Daisy and she is to have an eighth of a tablet per day, dissolved in water. By gum, it sure is a testing time trying to syringe this into her little mouth. (Btw, thank you to whoever it was who did the article on syringe feeding with pics, it was very helpful). She starts to struggle after the first 1.0ml’s worth and I hate it then, because I don’t want to hear her whimper.
I managed to get 4mls on Saturday eve, then only 3mls yest. Just wish there was an easier way. I’ve tried dipping some fruit/veg into the vit c liquid so hopefully this has helped too. She used to love red pepper, which I’ve read is high in vit c, but lately only eats a little nibble’s worth.
I’ve bought a run and a lovely primrose cottage hutch for them a while back, (it’s a double decker), as I thought it would be nice for them to have more space come the summer. I still want them in come the evening, we’ve been so used to speaking and checking on them, (they sleep in the kitchenette on the work top (which isn’t used for anything, just has little tv on it when we eat our tea LOL). So it works out fine then see.
Since we’ve had the odd day of warmer weather, we’ve put them on the garden in the run. They were a bit shocked at first lol, as they’ve never seen grass before, bless ‘them. Yesterday, Daisy had a nibble on the grass every now and again. I took hay out too, water and their complete food to have a nibble.
Daisy has been sniffing Maisy’s bum and eating her poo sometimes. I’m guessing this is because she’s lacking certain nutrients……….or am I wrong? Any advice will be appreciated.
So, all in all, poor Daisy has had a run of it. She is and always has been very quiet, never had “big†poos, (vets are keeping on about how her poos should be bigger), but they’ve never been the usual/typical “bullet†shaped), plus she’s never drank much water, not as much as Maisy. She will get through ¾ ‘s of a 500ml bottle in 3 days sometimes. (Maybe that’s not good, I don’t know).
I am sorry to ramble on, but I feel that this is a lovely place, with lots of information and helpful advice.
Everyone who knows about Maisy and Daisy have said that they are having 5* service with us, compared to their life before. I am a terrible worrier and what with the troubles that life throws upon us to begin with, when Daisy struck poorly, it just all erupted and I became very run down a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been so distraught over her and the separation from her Mum, together with poor Ozzy being poorly too. We have them out each evening on stacks of newspaper, in the lounge with a little barrier around them, and they love it, they wander around, wee and poo.
UPDATE: Daisy weighed in at 730g, but the lovely vet who checked her over said, yes, she has dropped since last week and although her ‘poos’ are still not ‘normal’, she has done so well to get this far. I was told to continue as I was doing already and to get her to eat grass etc, hay and the usual veg that she has already. He examined her and she didn’t wince when he felt her abdomen. She hobbled back into her carrier, (I say hobble because she seems to be a little stiff in the back end, whether that’s due to the op or not, I don’t know), but she does use both legs. She started nibbling one of these long treats that are stuffed with grass mixed with dandelion or mint etc. She had not touched it for 2 days, then lo and behold she grabbed hold of it, almost as if to show off to the vet, that “hey, look at me, I’m fineâ€, lol. It was unbelievable.
She also did a wee, which, with the quick reaction from the vet, he scooped a bit up through a tiny syringe. I mentioned about her urine being concentrated and orangey/dark colour, as I was concerned about her bladder/blood in urine and possible infection. He tested it though and it was fine………….PHEW!
He said to keep going, it will take a long time, but to give her 2-3 weeks and keep a check on her weight. I said I was paranoid about this, so he said check her twice a week.
Should she lose more, he said they can do various blood tests and/or the other option would be to open her up again (which he wasn’t inclined on doing and I agreed too), and to see if there are any adhesions, which can sometimes cause the gut to not function properly.
So…………..he seemed pleased with her, considering how little she is and he said if I had not said about her weight at the start of bringing her there, ie 1.12kg, then I guess they would have thought she wouldn’t have been much more than 800g, or they wouldn’t have had anything to go by.
I picked some grass this lunch time and washed it, then gave it to her and she ate it all, (only a small handful though).
I thank you very much for taking the time to read this massive essay (LOL), it really does mean a lot to me. I just felt that I could off load, tell you the story to date, so you would have a clear picture in your mind.
Any advice, criticism, tips you have to offer, just say whatever, I will be grateful to receive it. Again, so sorry for all this info, plus I’ve only been a member 5 minutes, but I’m just so taken with these piggies and so worried about Daisy.
Thanks again,
Beth XX
I would say that is the longest post from a new member ever 
|). But that's not a bad thing 
Just wondering - do you have a vet that specializes in exotic pets? You need a cavy savy vet. Also, you should not be putting vitamin c tablets in the water. Here this is a quote from GuineaLynx : 
