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Pigglywink's been sick

  • Thread starter Thread starter Pigglywink's Rachel
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aww you sound like you are being a great mum to Pigglywink, I hate that kind of thought can't you just send them back and exchange? that is so not the point and everytime someone says anything like that to me I go into this huge rant and they then have the decency to look bashful (sometimes) I tell them would you exchange your children? well they went silent after that.

I really hope Pigglywink gets better, sounds like the poo ordeal might have done the trick with the right bacteria for her gut to get her to start eating again. Thats a common one for hand rearing baby rabbits which I learned last year, so good luck, I'm sending piggy healing weeks and vibes and well wishes your way
 
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While syringe feeding Pigglywink tonight, I had to hold her head in order to get the syringe in her mouth... a very smelly pus poured out of her eye (approximately 1 teaspoon worth, if I had to measure). I believe she must have an abscess there. With all of her other problems, which don't seem to be improving, and now this, would it be kinder for me to help her cross over? I'll be contacting the vet tomorrow, but I was wondering if anyone here has any thoughts on if there's any hope. She's only six months old, and she's been sick, between mites when I first got her, and then the bumblefoot and all of this other stuff now, for altogether probably a month of them. I don't want to let her go, but I don't want her to suffer either. I need help... I've never had to make this decision before... all of my other pets have lived to old age... please, someone, anyone... I don't want her to suffer if she's never going to be well...
 
I think you could try to treat the infection first, she might pull through. Also, consider whether she feels it's time to go. When my baby Rene was ill, he never behaved like he wanted to go, on the contrary he wanted to be with me more, so I couldn't betray his affection. I'm not trying to guilt-trip you, but the animal will know. Like cats usually come and say goodbye and go die on their own. That sort of idea. See page 5 on the Celestyn thread (pregnancy and labour I think), there's an interesting post about vets wanting to put animals to sleep.
Hope this helps.
 
it's me again. I really feel for you. Eating poop is naturall for piggies, so don't worry. Please have a look on thread Double Poop (health and illness) as it has a link to a good website which I think is based in the US. There are many words my hubby and I did not understand (like Q-tip - we call them cotton buds over here) so you might be able to get what you're looking for. There is also some mention on that website (poss another page of it) about drugs containing B vit to improve apetite. I would also look out for Piggly rumaging down in her rear end for what it commonly called vitapoos. Anyway, if she does, it's good, if not, you may need to help her (it's usually a boar's condition). failing that, normal poop is OK even if another piggy's.
I really hope this helps... good luck and don't feel defeated.
Finally, mention the Critical Care to your vet, they might have something similar but with a different name to give you. I have a half packet that I don't need but I think it would take too long to arrive...:( Again, you may want to buy online from the US. places like ebay and the sort might be able to help, who knows...
 
I have talked to the vet about Critical Care and probiotics for Pigglywink... unfortunately, they're considered a restricted substance in Canada, and are illegal to import. There isn't considered to be enough medical evidence to support their use. Her poos are almost liquid now (the texture of baby food), she doesn't want to be cuddled... she just sits in the corner of her cage with her fur all fluffed up and squeaking occasionally. The vets are refusing to give her antibiotics, due to the fact that her GI tract isn't working. I tried phoning a couple vets in Nanaimo that advertise for specialization in pocket pets (that's what they classify guinea pigs, hamster, rats, chinchillas and that entire genre as), and they said as well that if it had been caught early enough they'd be willing to take a look, but with the symptoms she's already showing, there isn't anything they can do. One of them even told me that if we lived in another country there might be more they could do, but "due to the short sightedness of the current agricultural administration, there wasn't enough treatment options available for small animals".

I feel like the worst person in the world right now... I'm going to give her at least until Saturday to see if there's any improvement at all, and of course she'll be going back to the vet tomorrow... is it a bad sign that they've learned to recognize my voice on the phone?
 
this sounds awful!

the link I've PMed you shows that Oxbow foodstuffs are available in Canada. How is that a restricted sentence? It's dried up mushed up hay! She defo needs some fibre and dry food in her tummy. Try blanket treatment. keeping warm in a blanket might help (it did my (late) Pickwick when she had diarrhea (often)). This is sooo sad... 8...
 
I would definately give her a chance. When my sow had reached old age and I took her to the vet for something to help her back legs the vet said there was nothing they could and she wouldn't make it past the weekend. I took her home and she lived for another 6 months. During that time she also had a corneal ulcer and I took her to the vets for treatment and again the vet said it wouldn't heal as it was too deep and she would have to have surgery on her eye. I refused and said I wanted her to have meds to try and treat the ulcer. 6 weeks later and 2 different antibiotics later the eye healed and you would never have guessed there was ever a problem. My point is, with all due respect, vets don't always know what is best and they don't always know everything. It is you that knows her best of all. I would give her at least another week. If you are happy to give her the extra care she needs and she is not in any pain then these are the things to consider. Could you not order the probiotic and critical care from the web? There are many people on here who have done this and I'm sure they recommend you good reliable sites to use. The important thing now is to keep her hydrated and regularly fed. Maybe stop the veg/fruit for today to let her tummy recover and get poops back to normal. Try blitzing/crushing her pellets/dry mix and syringing her this instead. Thinking of you both xx
 
yes, I think pellets with minimal moiture will do her tummy good. Plus, bio-lapis is good for poop, it'sa fiber drink and mine love it! Try to listen to your instinct. You know what's best for your piggy... Bar in mind that animals behave differently at the vets so what the vet sees isn't always what goes on at home, it's a defence machanism to deal with unsettling situations... You know best!
 
I've just phoned 11 vets offices up and down the Island regarding this possible abcess (sp?) in the eye. All of them have given the same statement, namely that antibiotics aren't feasible at this point, and that I should be considering quality of life. Pigglywink was out of her burrow for the first time in a few days today when I got up this morning, and ate her softened pellets by herself and due to this, I'm unwilling to give up right now.

[*]Can anyone suggest home treatment options for how to deal with an abcess or some similiar infection behind the eye?[/*]

All of the threads I've found deal with a surface abcess, and flushing out with saline solution, as well as a round of antibiotics, and since the vets aren't willing to provide antibiotics, and there's no way for me to get at the abcess in order to flush it out with a saline solution, I'm hoping for some alternate suggestions on how I can proceed.
 
I would probably boil some water, leave it to cool, and then syringe some into the eye so any muck or something that may be stuck in the eye can be removed. Brolene eye drops can be used 1-2 drops daily for eye infections. Piggies can secrete like a milky, white substance from the eye which is their cleaning fluid which they use for cleaning themselves. The link below is what you need.

http://www.musikick.co.uk/Items/586_2431

This link might help to work out if it is an abscess causing the problems

http://www.guinealynx.info/eyes.html#discharge

Hope this helps and I'll be thinking of you.

Rachel x
 
Have you checked her stools today? Are they better? I think it' a good sign that she's eating on her own. so you are DEFINITELY doing something good.
Keep at it ! Let us know... :)
 
Her eye is SO much better... I squeezed it yesterday as soon as I got home from work (hmm, maybe one of these days I should try to do some work here instead of doing research on sick guinea pigs), then I did it again right before I went to bed... it got less and less pus coming out each time, and I rinsed with sterile water and a witch hazel eye wash, and putting in Polysporin eye drops. Anyway, squeezed this morning, and nothing came out at all, plus her conjuctiva is a lot lighter than before (still not normal, but not brick red anymore). The eye itself is still cloudy, so I'll continue with the rinse. As well, the vet will be putting out an antibiotic ointment for me to put in. At cost, since she failed to notice the huge abscess when she gave Pigglywink a "thorough" eye exam.

The diarrhea is maybe a bit worse, and she's been a bit more off of her food again (I even tried fresh grass, which took me forever to find some that I could be sure didn't have any nasty stuff on it... incidentally, don't disturb abbey's during evening prayers... the nuns don't like that). Anyway, put that in there, to see if she would be interested, and she sniffed it, seemed to stimulate her appetite, because she went right past the grass and started eating a few more of her pellets. Silly pig.

Anyway, I've been reading Peter Gurney's pages, and am going to try some attapulgite to see if that helps. Also bought some electrolyte solution to syringe her in order to keep her hydration up. She's not out of the woods yet, but I'm feeling much more hopeful today, and so thankful to MrsM and Rachel for encouraging me so much to not give up and listen to the vet and their "quality of life" speech just yet.
 
That all seems positive news, great job! Nuns bit made me laugh though! I've often been seen out in the small hours of the morning, in dressing gown and wellies, picking fresh grass for a sickly pig! I used to wonder what the neighbours thought, I've stopped caring now!

Where there's life, there's hope.. and if she can keep eating then that's half the battle and gives you a chance to treat whatever else is wrong with her.

Fingers crossed here for you!

Sophie
x
 
It's great news. :):):) I'm so glad you've kept faith! How is the little one behaving with you? I found that the bond I had with Rene deepened dramatically when he was sick because I was just always there, I guess. Let us know, and please, can we have a pic?

It's midnight here so i guess about 4 pm for you in BC!
 
I can ask my friend Roger if he can come and take a picture of Piggly... I don't have a camera myself.

She's actually been taking little nips at me lately, but she was so apologetic and cuddly when she actually got me last night (my finger zigged when it should have zagged). But once everything's over and done with, and she's all fed and watered and had her eye taken care of, I cuddle her in one arm, and gently stroke from between her eyes to about an inch before her bum area with two fingers... she closes both eyes almost all the way and makes this weird rumbling sound for me.

Hopefully I can just keep her getting better and better... finally figured out how to get more solid food into the syringe... so that helps... but I think I should maybe get four ready before I even start, because it takes me a long time. It would be easier if I could use a 2cc syringe, but she objects in the strongest possible terms to anything larger than the 1cc.
 
Most excellent news... I got home from work and, as is my recent habit, put Pigglywink in the bathtub with her food and water dishes (after locking the cat in my room with a bowl of canned cat food, so she doesn't think she's being punished) and went to clean out Pigglywink's bed and put down fresh hay. Instead of finding a mess of liquid poo mixed with hay and bedding, I found a nice pile of slightly small, but otherwise perfectly formed poo... not too hard, not too soft, not sticky at all... who ever thought that poo could possibly make a person so happy.

Anyway, I'm not going to get overconfident... keep giving her the probiotics for a day or two, along with syringe feeding her if she's not eating enough to suit my taste (I measure it out carefully at the start of each day, and divide by three for the three feedings), but I'm really hoping that she'll continue to improve now...

Oh, I'm so happy... I have to gloat over my baby some more now, but wanted to provide the update as soon as possible...
 
Rachel, this is fantastic news! :) So have you managed to get some probiotic? ?/ I'm really chuffed for you, and please do ask your friend for a picture... And don't worry about being happy about poo, I'm obsessed with it and always looking my babies' bums! :(|)
 
I've posted some pictures of Pigglywink in the Photo Gallery... under Pigglywink, appropriately enough. You can kind of see her bad eye, in two of the shots.

Little bit loose in the stools again this evening, but still not completely liquid. She also ate a fair bit... 6 mL of pellet food, plus 3 mL of electolyte solution, then she put her paw on the syringe and pushed it away, which I took to mean "All right, mum... I'm done now". Glad it's the weekend so I can feed her and deal with her eye four times a day instead of just three.

Her eye is worrying me... it was better this morning, then tonight there was pus again, but there was blood mixed in with it... rinsed her eye especially well, and have now started using the prescription strength antibiotic ointment, and when I did her midnight feeding (I'm so glad I'm a night owl by nature) and checked her eye, not only was there no new pus, but the swelling in the conjuctiva had gone down and the eyeball itself is looking somewhat less cloudy. Could the ointment be working that quickly?

Oh, and sorry, yes, I found some probiotic... it isn't specifically geared for small animals (ie bunnies and guinea pigs), but it's better than nothing while I wait for the website from the UK to get back to me about whether they can ship Bio-Lapis to Canada or not.
 
I've just been reading thru your thread, sorry i'd not answered before. Anyways rice is a no no.....i see that you were given the Guinea Lynx site link to their foods list it's a good one and you can relate to most of it being from Canada.
I"m so pleased she seems to be pooping better now, as long as you can get more of the pellets and water into her that will help xx>>>xx>>>
All the best for the little sweetie she sounds such a darling xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>

BTW Vancouver and BC is a beautiful place xx>>>
 
I'm so glad to hear that Pigglywink is beginning to improve. I've been thinking about her a lot over the last few days. I keep my fingers crossed that things carry on improving :)
 
I know I need to get more food into her, and she did eat a little bit more this morning,but if she's fine with the syringe, actually opening her mouth for it and seeming happy with it, and then after 6 mL of food, each with a diluted (3 parts water to 1 part electrolyte solution) electrolyte chaser, and halfway through the final water chaser she tucks her chin down and hides her mouth, would that be an indication that she's full and has had enough for now? I know guinea pigs can't throw up (or at least I don't think they can), and I don't want to put more food into her than her stomach can hold.
 
It could be that she's full, or had enough for now. When I've syringe-fed my boys, they'd have so much of the critical care and then turn their heads away from the syringe.
 
Well, just when I think things can't get any stranger...

I was giving Pigglywink her afternoon feeding, which was going pretty good (she was chasing the syringe around with her mouth when I took it out for her to chew what was already in there, chewing quickly and swallowing so she could get more), all of a sudden, on her third electrolyte/water chaser, there was this weird popping sound (kind of like a champagne bottle opening, but a lot quieter), and a little bit of pus came trickling out of her eye. I kind of freaked out (since I'd tried squeezing before the feeding, and there wasn't anything there), wiped her eye, and squeezed around a little, but there wasn't anymore that came out. And then I noticed that her eye, which had been somewhat sunken, was about 3/4 of the way back to normal. I don't know if I should be happy about this, or freaking out. I'll monitor it closely for the next few hours in order to see if an emergency visit to the vet is warranted, but have any of you ever experienced anything like this?

On an unrelated note,it's started snowing just now... part of me hopes that it keeps up and we get a good dump so that the schools will be closed on Monday (giving me an extra day at home), and part of me hopes it doesn't, since Keegan's school concert is on Tuesday, and his Grammy is going to be coming over from the mainland for it as long as there's not too much snow on the ground. We only get snow once or twice a year down here in the valley, although the mountain usually gets a lot (probably why there's a world class ski resort there... one of only three in western Canada).

Anyway, if someone can get back to me on this thing with her eye, because it's the strangest darn thing I've ever come across, although my gut instinct is that it's a good thing, I'm not sure if I should be trusting my gut.
 
dunno about the eye but she seems to be behaving well and geting stronger. Was she still eating after the pop?
BTW, wish we had snow here and I did not have to go to school (= work for me) next week... We live too close to the sea...:(
 
After it first popped and I squeezed around a little and wiped her eye, she wasn't that keen on eating (tucked her head down and hid her mouth), so I put her back in her cage, and five minutes later she was standing at the bars wheeking for me, since she knew darn well I hadn't finished feeding her. Polished off another 5 mL each of the food and water and then seemed done. Then about an hour later, she was calling again, so gave her another 3 mL of each, which seemed to satisfy her. I've just now finished preparing eight more doses of the food (going to have to buy more syringes tomorrow, I think, because it's so much easier if I have them preloaded before she's ready for them) and am waiting for my next call.

Well, I have to work, too, but if there's no school due to snow, then obviously I have to stay home, because my son isn't quite old enough to stay home by himself yet. It works for me... what's my boss (who's a lawyer [barrister & solicitor]) going to say if there's no school? Break the law and leave your kid at home alone so you can come to work? It's funny you don't get snow because of the snow... I live a ten minute walk away from the beach and it snows here, and we're surrounded on three sides by the ocean in Courtenay, with the harbour, ocean and estuary.
 
That's true. We get the influence of the gulf Stream, a warm sea current that comes from the carribean I think, so it keeps the climate temperate. People will tell you how there always used to be snow here in the winter but not anymore... I've seen snow here every year since I moved to the UK, but never quite enough to stop the country from getting to work, etc... Back home (Brittany, France), I can remember 3 or 4 winters when we had snow when I was growing up, yet the rest of the country does get a fair bit (Alps, Pyrennees, Alsace, etc...) and regularly too... To give you an idea of where we are , Bordeaux (600 m ish due south) has the same latitude as New York. Both on the coast. Yet, NY gets very cold winters and Bordeaux seldom sees the snow ot even minus temperatures, all because of the Gulf Stream...

Back to Piggly. It's still a good sign that she was still hungry after the pop. Does she eat any thing on her own at the mo? You could always try to reintroduce soft food like melon, cucumber or banana (the flesh bits, of course mallethead) and smear your homemade delights over them. She does need to use her teeth or you'll find yourself at the vets for overgrown teeth or worse: malocclusion.
 
She's already going to have to go back to the vets for her teeth once we get some weight back on her. The one thing they did notice was that her back molars are leaning inwards slightly, probably making it hard for her to chew. She's been eating a little bit on her own, just the softened pellets, but she has a hard time getting them into her mouth, it seems like. I've not been giving her any fruits or veggies until her poo is consistently firm, as I don't want to give her diarrhea again, and her poos are still kind of hit or miss as to firmness. Yesterday when I got home they were totally normal, but by the time her midnight feeding rolled around they were very loose and runny again, then firm again this morning and this afternoon. I think it might have something to do with the radicchio I let her have after supper yesterday.

She's been very cuddly yesterday and today, except that she likes to crawl up to the back of my neck and hide under my hair, and if I've got it up in a bun (as I normally do, since it's so long), then she starts chewing and pulling on it to try to get it down. And I swear she gave me a kiss this afternoon. I put a sheet, folded into fours to make it firm, on top of her cage and I was feeding her there (hoping to move her out of the whole only eating in the bathroom thing), and when I was done I bent down to check her eye, and she leaned forward and touched her mouth to my nose.

We never used to get snow here, either... I grew up on the coast, and we would go three or four years without any snow, and when we did get it, it would only be a tiny little bit, but the last three years we've been getting lots of snow in the winter, and they say the glacier up the mountain is growing. It's why I start ranting when people talk about global warming... global climate change I don't have a problem with, global warming, on the other hand...
 
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