Ally
New Born Pup
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2014
- Messages
- 11
- Reaction score
- 5
- Points
- 90
I'm really confused and don't know what the right thing to do is, I could really use some guidance.
My 3 and a half year old guinea pig, Cubby, began looking quite raggedy months ago when he started living with his new cagemate, Milk (he was alone for years). I thought it was stress, but then his eyes were watery so I took him to the vet. She said everything looked normal and based on his history he could have a bit of an underactive thyroid. She offered to do tests, but I literally do not have that kind of money at this point in my life [and my parents were against a guinea pig in the first place - he was a gift]. I honestly didn't realize that vets bills were that high - I always saved money in case he needed one, but spent almost all of it just on the first appointment. She said he seemed normal, though, so I took him home and just tried to keep an eye on him.
So months go by and he remains raggedy, but I don't notice any other changes. He's always been very skinny and not very bubbly. Then a couple of weeks ago I notice that he's even skinnier, and Milk is getting rather fat. The new one is dominant, so I tried to make sure Cubby got his share of the food. Then last week I hear Cubby crying the way he does when Milk bugs him, but when I look over, they're nowhere near each other. When I go over to the cage, Cubby's still interested in his treats, but he's having trouble holding his head up. Soon after that, I see a few drops of blood on the fleece and then small, very soft, misshapen stool.
It's thanksgiving so I rush him to an emergency vet, where I'm told that he's lost the little weight he had in the first place and his body may be shutting down. It could be tumors, stones, parasites (did a test and it's not), or just a simple UTI. He says that I can do a round of tests, which I again can't even begin to afford (especially at emergency vet holiday prices), I can put him down, or I can treat him with baytril and give him critical care, and if he shows no improvement, I can l put him to sleep having given him a chance. He's still got a really good appetite at this point, and only seems to be in pain when he passes stool/urine, so I take the baytril and go home with him.
It's been 8 days now and I'm more confused than ever. He's completely stopped crying when he passes stool/urine, there's no more blood, his stool isn't perfect but it's a much more normal size, shape, and colour. Based on that, I think the problem is indeed a UTI or small bladder stones that he may have passed.The problem is that his back legs became paralyzed soon after I brought him home, which I read is a common thing that happens to sick guinea pigs from weakness or infection, and they can and do recover from it. So I continue with his treatment - only his front legs also became paralyzed over the weekend, while his back legs improved a little bit. He's just lying on his stomach in the cage, spread out like a starfish. It breaks my heart. He's still got an appetite, though it's less than before [I read baytril can affect that so I started giving him probiotics].
He so skinny at this point, and when I pick him up he's so floppy in my hands, that I feel he may be too weak to pull through. But then, he's improved so much otherwise, and he's still eating. I want to do right by him but I don't know if "right" is giving him every possible opportunity to recover that I can, or seeing the struggle he's enduring and will have to endure and taking that burden from him.
I honestly feel like a terrible owner, like I let him down. I don't know how much I can really help him without a vet's consistent input - researching guinea pig health only goes so far without clinical testing. I know it may be time to let him go, but I can't help thinking...what if he just needed one more day? What if he just finished the round of antibiotics? Please tell me what you think...
My 3 and a half year old guinea pig, Cubby, began looking quite raggedy months ago when he started living with his new cagemate, Milk (he was alone for years). I thought it was stress, but then his eyes were watery so I took him to the vet. She said everything looked normal and based on his history he could have a bit of an underactive thyroid. She offered to do tests, but I literally do not have that kind of money at this point in my life [and my parents were against a guinea pig in the first place - he was a gift]. I honestly didn't realize that vets bills were that high - I always saved money in case he needed one, but spent almost all of it just on the first appointment. She said he seemed normal, though, so I took him home and just tried to keep an eye on him.
So months go by and he remains raggedy, but I don't notice any other changes. He's always been very skinny and not very bubbly. Then a couple of weeks ago I notice that he's even skinnier, and Milk is getting rather fat. The new one is dominant, so I tried to make sure Cubby got his share of the food. Then last week I hear Cubby crying the way he does when Milk bugs him, but when I look over, they're nowhere near each other. When I go over to the cage, Cubby's still interested in his treats, but he's having trouble holding his head up. Soon after that, I see a few drops of blood on the fleece and then small, very soft, misshapen stool.
It's thanksgiving so I rush him to an emergency vet, where I'm told that he's lost the little weight he had in the first place and his body may be shutting down. It could be tumors, stones, parasites (did a test and it's not), or just a simple UTI. He says that I can do a round of tests, which I again can't even begin to afford (especially at emergency vet holiday prices), I can put him down, or I can treat him with baytril and give him critical care, and if he shows no improvement, I can l put him to sleep having given him a chance. He's still got a really good appetite at this point, and only seems to be in pain when he passes stool/urine, so I take the baytril and go home with him.
It's been 8 days now and I'm more confused than ever. He's completely stopped crying when he passes stool/urine, there's no more blood, his stool isn't perfect but it's a much more normal size, shape, and colour. Based on that, I think the problem is indeed a UTI or small bladder stones that he may have passed.The problem is that his back legs became paralyzed soon after I brought him home, which I read is a common thing that happens to sick guinea pigs from weakness or infection, and they can and do recover from it. So I continue with his treatment - only his front legs also became paralyzed over the weekend, while his back legs improved a little bit. He's just lying on his stomach in the cage, spread out like a starfish. It breaks my heart. He's still got an appetite, though it's less than before [I read baytril can affect that so I started giving him probiotics].
He so skinny at this point, and when I pick him up he's so floppy in my hands, that I feel he may be too weak to pull through. But then, he's improved so much otherwise, and he's still eating. I want to do right by him but I don't know if "right" is giving him every possible opportunity to recover that I can, or seeing the struggle he's enduring and will have to endure and taking that burden from him.
I honestly feel like a terrible owner, like I let him down. I don't know how much I can really help him without a vet's consistent input - researching guinea pig health only goes so far without clinical testing. I know it may be time to let him go, but I can't help thinking...what if he just needed one more day? What if he just finished the round of antibiotics? Please tell me what you think...
