Well, here is the update...I'm firmly on the "sick piggy rollercoaster" and it is not a fun ride!
After taking her to one vet that said it wasn't a abscess in her mouth and that it was "probably overgrown bottom molars" I found another vet who was actually able to look at all her teeth, and said she saw 'some' points on them, but overall they weren't too bad, but she did find a huge mass under her chin...I think this must have sprung up pretty fast, because I saw the first vet feel all around Penny's mouth that first day, so it isn't like she didn't examine there...and when I went to the first vet Penny was still eating on her own, but very slowly...less than two days later is when I saw the second vet, and by then Penny couldn't eat at all, and she had stopped drinking too...
Sooooo, the vet tried to drain it...(sorry this is going to be gross) but there wasn't any puss...just blood...and lots of it, they basically had to almost give her a bath to clean her up...poor baby. So the vet looked at the blood sample under a scope and didn't see any infection bacteria...so it is possible it is cancer, but none of her other lymph nodes were swelled. Now, remember, there are NO piggy specialist vets in my city (not a small city either) so I have to deal with realities here...the 2nd vet I saw does have experience with piggies, but I'm afraid to report that where I live I have NEVER heard of anyone taking their guinea pig to a vet...and A LOT of families have piggies for their kids, it is disappointing, but I can't be too judgmental, if I hadn't found this forum I wouldn't have known you could take a piggy to a vet either. But it does mean that vets don't get a lot of them to see...mostly they will only treat for general illnesses. I did find a couple places that would do molar trims...guess how much that costs here? $200-$400 each time, and always with anesthesia. (in British pounds that is 132 - 264)
We decided to put her on a course of antibiotics (batryl) with a probiotic, and she taught me how to syringe feed her with critical care, and she gave me pain med. So I had my first night of all night feedings. We are doing OK with it, although I've made a mess of her pretty white fur in the front. I'm to give her 3 tablespoons critical care a day, vet said split it into 3 and feed her 3 times in a day...but I wanted to make sure her system wasn't stalling since she hadn't eaten in at least half-1 day...and she won't take that huge amount in one sitting anyway...so I'm giving her as many times per day she needs to get that all down...we'll see how it goes.
She has perked up a bit from the feedings, and will take some "very" small pieces of solid food from my hand...I think the lump, or whatever, will not allow her to close her mouth all the way. She is pooping but not "recycling" it if you know what I mean. At the very least I will have some very special bonding time with her because of all the syringe feeding...which is lovely...I thought yesterday I'd lose her...so even a few more days with her is nice, to see her perked up a bit.
We don't know what the lump is, or the cause, it could still be an abscess from a tooth problem in the root or something and I don't know what the next step would be if this doesn't work, but I'm going to syringe feed her through the weekend and check back in with the vet on Monday.
Penny herself doesn't seem to be suffering or aware of a problem, she never was very smart.
I'm the one doing all the suffering.
I have been a weeping mess and haven't been able to do any of my normal things, personal or work (I work from home) And now I'm super tired to boot. So that is it for this update..., except to say that I am SOOOOOOOO happy I introduced baby Nutmeg to the two old girls last month...they all get along soo much better now than when it was just the two older girls, it is like Nutmeg gives them something in common that they both like. And I don't have to worry about Honey being alone if Penny crosses the bridge....
Sending healing vibes her way!
