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Peep?

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teadragon

Adult Guinea Pig
Joined
Feb 27, 2008
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Location
Scotland
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I'm sorry I haven't been around as much as I use to. I have been incredibly stressed out at university and it's only going to get worse (the workload) until the end of this year. On top of that I've had some upsetting family dramas and then I was hit with the wet fish of realising the majority of my boars have something chronic wrong with them. Each of these realisations has been backed with vet visits, both from my own vet and in Cashew and Bailey's case the vet of susie_q.

Mimic started showing symptoms of having something-wrong with his back about a month after he settled down here. Since then, after treatment with metacam, he seemed to get better. He's since relapsed. While it isn't serious, it's sad to see my adventurous boy lay down more and become agitated when handled. My vet doesn't think much can be done about his back even if we were to x-ray him to see exactly what's gone wrong.

Bailey has a mild case of arthritis in his hind left leg and his knee pops out. It isn't at the point where it causes him extreme pain but it does cause him to bunny-hop. He is also showing signs of kidney problems which is why I've gone so long without starting him also on metacam. I've since decided to use a herbal remedy (with support from two vets and Thistle Cavies rescue) for now to manage the onset of further arthritis until the point when it's clear that he may need something stronger and his kidneys aren't a problem over how comfortable we make him.

That I will have to make this decision in the future is more upsetting than how he is currently. I knew when I first saw him that he would break my heart, and it seems like he might.

I am extremely worried about Cashew. He has recently been diagnosed with having Intersitial Cystitis (or Chronic Cystitis) where either small tumours form on the bladder or a build up of sludge and calcium deposits cakes the bladder wall causing irritation and creating a breeding ground for infection. The sludge in itself is a problem; while we're not sure if it's sludge or tumours causing Cashew's bladder wall to thicken and become extremely tender I'm more than aware that there is no set treatment and no cure for IC and each episode will have to be taken as it's given.

To learn more about his condition I've been reading Guinea Lynx threads on other confirmed cases of IC like Cashews. None of them end well or pleasantly for the pig. When Cashew has an episode he is in extreme pain and stops eating. It's horrible to listen to him knowing that I can't give him any more metacam and realising that the antibiotics may not be doing any good... all I can do is follow instructions that may not even work: suppliment him with water, give him cranberry juice and metacam and baytril in case there's an infection.

If he doesn't stop relapsing the vet has suggested an invasive surgery to examine the bladder to see if we're dealing with tumours or sludge. From then we'll be able to... I don't know... work out whether to give him metacam or not or try and flush the bladder sludge out.

I do know that other people with IC pigs don't seem to be able to find a relation between IC and diet; Cashews diet has been low in calcium with a balanced Ca:Ph ratio for a year now... I don't know what I'm doing wrong and I don't want him to hurt anymore.

I'm sorry for the "too long; didn't read" post. I just wanted to update everyone on how we're doing and why I'm not around so much.

Hugs.
 
Aawww hun that all sounds so awful, and it's happening at the worst time of year in relation to both season and university. You don't need the stress of work and poorly pigs :( *hugs*

But when it comes to their individual illnesses, you can't blame yourself and worry about what you're doing wrong. The vet is there to help and if you follow their guidence, it's the best you can do. To be honest you seem to be doing more which in itself shows your devotion and will to prevent their pain. I am sure they know what you're doing for them and appreciate all you are doing.

I sadly have no advice to give, I'm such a ****. All I can send are my best wishes and luck for both piggehs and uni x>> x
 
Blimey what a dreadful time you and your piggies are having. Sending healing and supportive vibes your way.
 
BIG HUG

All these severe and longterm health problems on top of everything else must be really upsetting for you. You so love your boys and give them the best of care, but there are illnesses where what we can do is just so limited! I know from my own experiences how gutting it is... 8...

PS: It's so good to have you back on the forum!
 
Thank you for the update, what a worrying lot of problems - I agree with the others though, you can't blame yourself - I bet if those pigs lived with other less knowledgable owners, they might not even have noticed anything was wrong let alone got a diagnosis.

I do hope things look up soon - it's such a worry when they're ill, especially when you've got other stresses too

Sophie
x
 
Wiebke, I'm not sure if I'm coming back or not. I don't have time and I shouldn't be here now, I just needed support because, god my brain feels like it's going to remove itself from the rest of me!

Thank you all for the words of condolences.

*pout*
 
I'm so sorry to hear you are having a time of it. I send wheeks of support to you and your piggies.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about your boys and all the studies it must be draining you!,i hope to see you around again soon and i hope your boys have some good news,many kisses from my piggies to yours xxxxxxxxx
 
Hey you i've missed you round here and hearing about Cashew and the guineas.

Sorry you're having a time of it at the moment and i'm sure that you'll manage in the long run. I understand what you mean about staying away - this place is way to addictive and sometimes you just have to focus on other things.

I hope you sort your boys out and please don't blame yourself, you have done a good job with your guineas and are so knowledgable too. It's just one of those things.

Take care
xx
 
I'm sorry - never really had a chance to chat before but I just wanted to say how terribly soory I am that you have had so much bad news. Will be keeping fingers firmly crossed for you and your boys.
 
University can be tough enough without any added stressors! I am sorry you piggies are ill but i am sure you are doing everything within your power to keep them well and comfortable and they know you love them and that is what counts. You can tell from your post you have their welfare at the forefront. I hope you manage to ease up some uni work over christmas and have a little rest & relaxation. All my best wishes and thinking of you and your piggies

(ps there is nothing wrong with a long post! :))
 
Thank you all for your kind words and support. They made me feel fuzzy inside :) If I were a dog I'd be licking you all.

Cashew use to be a very skittish pig and I've since spent two years working on him to make him freak out less when I go to handle him. It meant doing a lot of nice things with him when he was to be handled so he would associate my hands with something great and being with me with something great.

I've been trying to give him medication in a quick and stressless way...

Go in cage, give them veggies, grab pig-to-be-medicated, ram medication down throat, give more veggies and make things awesome again.

While Bailey and Mimic seem to appreciate this method, this morning during veggie time Cashew was nowhere to be seen. I went into the cage to seek him out and he let out a rip-roaring scream and started hurtling around the cage chattering and leaping away from me.

I did catch him and I did give him his baytril, but I felt awful that he now seems to associate me with something-bad instead of something-good which is another thing I now want to work on. Perhaps I should make medication time less predictable? I just thought that feeding it to them during veggie time (or directly before when they come toward me and stay) would be less stressful than picking everyone up and out of the cage individually to do it.

Normally something like this wouldn't bother me - I'd get over it. But for some reason I'm taking it personally. Perhaps because I slept in for uni today... perhaps because I feel like I'm failing and now I can see my pig is scared of me.

If I was him, I'd probably do the same, though.
 
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I don't think there is an easy way for giving brrrrr medication (and let's be honest, baytril scores 10 out of 10 on the list of horrible medicines!). I found the grab and smash method the least stressful and most effective way - and not for lack of trying!

Any piggy of mine is doing a diver when I announce the dreaded word "doctor". But that way, they know at least, when I'm NOT after one of them. Usually, I find that soon after I finish the course of medicine (especially baytril), they will relax again with me.
 
bad doggie get down!ha ha
oh dear cashew is not stupid and is definately on to you unfortunately you have to be cruel to be kind as he needs his medicine maybe try and make more time to take him out for fusses when you dont have to give him medicine and special treats afterwards.
hugs hun you are a good piggie mum and they will appreciate it
 
I think you are very brave... I have skittish pigs too and think along the same lines. I take them to the vet to get their nails done thinking they won't like me if I do bad things to them... (I know this is silly but I still do )

Yeah, I'd totally do a Cashew too. When I was little I once hid the medicine (dug it down in my sandbox ) and was both surprised an disappointed when mum just called the doctor and got a new bottle. Sheesh!

And put it this way instead -two out of three like you even if you feed them Baytril. That counts for something. If this was an election you would totally be president!
 
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Yep, nobody likes getting their medicine. Unless it's my pal who has now been banned from taking Benylin cos he likes it way too much! @)

I think Wiebke is right - you just gotta do a quick grab and get it down them. When Fluff was poorly, I used to have to wrap her in a towel and feed her metatone by syringe. She did not like it but she was very forgiving / forgetful and did get back to her old self quite quickly.

Sorry to hear it's such a stressful time - keep remembering that it will pass. Hugs to you and the piglets!:)
 
Last night I had a major panic because Mimic didn't come out of hiding when I announced veggie time. You can imagine how perplexed I made the rest of the pigs when I began turning things upside down desperately searching for him expecting to find a dead pig.

I found him eventually when he poked his nose out of the corner of their triangular bed; I didn't see him because he was stuffed into a dark corner. I put extra veg in front of him and fussed over him.

You know you're tired when you have a near heart-attack when pigs do what they normally do; Mimic's unique in that he's not motivated by food so much as free time and open space.

Bailey has decided that he also doesn't like syringes. I've taken to pouncing on them with medication and I've stopped caring about what they think of it, not because I've suddenly decided that it's OK but because I need to do it quickly.

Poor boys.
 
So sorry to hear that your boys are poorly :(

You seem to be doing a great job at getting their meds inside them - and that's the important bit I guess. Hope that all of them are feeling better very, very soon

Big hugs x
 
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