I originally posted about this last Tuesday and received good advice but things have moved on wedge.
Hi my guinea who is 4.5 and stopped eating and the vet said has a mass by jaw. He is not eating much..The vet said they'd need to aneasthise ( sorry no idea about spelling ). He seemed to suggest that he might be able to move it though it would cost hundreds and they may.not be able to.move it and the prognosis maybe poor..He might die under anesdthetic. He has lost alot of weight.
I'm so upset. He may only be a guinea but I love him. His brother died of bloat. His cage/hutch pal has also been to vet.
I just feel bad because he has been one of two pigs and lost his brother and not been part of a pig community or had the experience with a lady pig.
That must seem silly but I'm sensitive and have had lots of human losses and animals, several untimely.
Please advise what action i should take, urgently.
Gail
Many thanks indeed.
I pointed out he had been outside in his hutch with attached large run and when I brought him in both he and his cage mate had lost weight, actually. I notice a rat had got into their cage and had started eating the food so that had to be sorted. I wasn't too concerned as Robin had lost weight as well. . When I brought Nibble in again I noticed he had lost more weight and so I brought him in and fed him because I feel that Robin tends to get to the food a bit quicker. Then he still seemed to be losing weight and I took him to the vet.
Since then I have fed him as best I can on mashed nuggets which he eats off of a teaspoon. I'm desperate to build him up because at 7.74 kilo I don't think he'd survive any surgery. I couldn't get him to take a liquidised form. He had 3 heaped teaspoonfuls on Tuesday then one on Wednesday then two on Thursday and a bit on Friday.
I asked the vets if they could provide me with something to build him up and some pain relief though he did not seem to be in pain. I called them back at their request this morning and spoke to another vet who said guinea pigs tend to hide their pain anyway and I should bear that in mind, in also said that reading his colleagues notes he thought his colleague was saying that it would be perhaps kinder to put him to sleep, that I need to make a decision in the next few days and to bear in mind that they will be down to one vet at the end of the week.
I'm so conflicted and confused. If I cant get syringe feeding to work then I think he will simply starve and I cant allow that to happen so he would have to be put down then. My plan was to build him up and then take him to undergo investigations and surgery, if useful. The vet clearly did not feel the mass was an abcess but couldn't say what it was.
We have looked after him and the other piggy as well as possible and done everything that it states you should do for pigs but as you can see from my original note I dont feel it is enough and feel a bit bad to be honest. I realise he is only a guinea pig but he is my guinea and I like to be thorough. I shall be very upset when he goes whenever that is.
Last year he had an infection and I had to take him and Robin on holiday with me to Devon in order to keep delivering the meds. The vet felt he had most probably come to the end then but I turned it around.
Once again I ask for guidance as I am conflicted, confused sentimental old fool.
Thanks in advance
Best wishes