Dollyx
Junior Guinea Pig
When I first got my pair of guinea pigs, they were fine, seemingly healthy. It was Dolly and Maple, and both seemingly 2 years old as that is what I was told.
They needed to be adopted from Petco because they previously had a owner return them for having "seizures" although what they had described was 'popcorning'.
It seems bad to have a favorite, but out of the two Maple had an outgoing and curious personality, it took no time at all for her to trust me and warm up to me. This does not mean I ever neglected Dolly, she gets just as much love and attention, even though she looks repulsed whenever she is petted.
This was back in October of last year. I started noticing at the end of January that Maple's head had a slight tilt. Of course, I have never seen this before and was very concerned. But also, of course, by the time I had found anything that was remotely helpful, it got worse.
Maple started having seizures, or at least seizure like episodes. I had gotten her a vet appointment as soon as possible, but the episodes were more frequent and I managed to get her in sooner. All the vet found was an ear infection. I used the medicine they recommend and it helped for a while.
The seizures came back, however, as well with her having a cloudy eye. I used medicine to help the cloudy eye and I took Maple back in the vet.
The vet could not provide any useful information and told me to just keep using the ear medicine. Which I did
It wasn't until February 12th when Maple's body completely shut down. She was dying in my arms for 4 hours, I wish I could've had her put down to put her at peace quicker, but with everything going on it never even crossed my mind that was something I could do. If I could go back I would've done that as soon as possible for her.
I still don't understand why her body shut down, it was just an ear infection right? I still think about her everyday and what I could've done different for her. If I could now, I would go above and beyond for her to still be here. As I said before, she had just the cutest personality and was easier to bond closer to, being that she allowed me to get closer with her.
I resent the vet for not being able to do more and not telling what more I could do besides use the medicine. The vet never recommended any tests, just only ever said that Maple had dirty ears, an ear infection and it needed to be treated. Which was true, it helped but not for long. I don't understand what else could've been wrong, I don't understand why she slowly died if it was just an ear infection.
Although I'm still angry at the vet, I of course still take my guinea pigs there when needed. I know that there is only so much that can be done.. even though more probably could've been done for Maple.
As early as it was caught that something was wrong, Maple's health rapidly declined before she was able to get help, which probably worsened her condition to the point of no return.
I feel as if I'm forever traumatized by what happened to Maple, everything was very upsetting for me and I still blame myself and the vet. The 4 hours when she was dying was the worst 4 hours I have ever been through.
I'm not asking for what could've been wrong with Maple, I'm just expressing all this as I can never stop thinking of it. Always keep an eye out for any small changes in your guinea pigs health.
They needed to be adopted from Petco because they previously had a owner return them for having "seizures" although what they had described was 'popcorning'.
It seems bad to have a favorite, but out of the two Maple had an outgoing and curious personality, it took no time at all for her to trust me and warm up to me. This does not mean I ever neglected Dolly, she gets just as much love and attention, even though she looks repulsed whenever she is petted.
This was back in October of last year. I started noticing at the end of January that Maple's head had a slight tilt. Of course, I have never seen this before and was very concerned. But also, of course, by the time I had found anything that was remotely helpful, it got worse.
Maple started having seizures, or at least seizure like episodes. I had gotten her a vet appointment as soon as possible, but the episodes were more frequent and I managed to get her in sooner. All the vet found was an ear infection. I used the medicine they recommend and it helped for a while.
The seizures came back, however, as well with her having a cloudy eye. I used medicine to help the cloudy eye and I took Maple back in the vet.
The vet could not provide any useful information and told me to just keep using the ear medicine. Which I did
It wasn't until February 12th when Maple's body completely shut down. She was dying in my arms for 4 hours, I wish I could've had her put down to put her at peace quicker, but with everything going on it never even crossed my mind that was something I could do. If I could go back I would've done that as soon as possible for her.
I still don't understand why her body shut down, it was just an ear infection right? I still think about her everyday and what I could've done different for her. If I could now, I would go above and beyond for her to still be here. As I said before, she had just the cutest personality and was easier to bond closer to, being that she allowed me to get closer with her.
I resent the vet for not being able to do more and not telling what more I could do besides use the medicine. The vet never recommended any tests, just only ever said that Maple had dirty ears, an ear infection and it needed to be treated. Which was true, it helped but not for long. I don't understand what else could've been wrong, I don't understand why she slowly died if it was just an ear infection.
Although I'm still angry at the vet, I of course still take my guinea pigs there when needed. I know that there is only so much that can be done.. even though more probably could've been done for Maple.
As early as it was caught that something was wrong, Maple's health rapidly declined before she was able to get help, which probably worsened her condition to the point of no return.
I feel as if I'm forever traumatized by what happened to Maple, everything was very upsetting for me and I still blame myself and the vet. The 4 hours when she was dying was the worst 4 hours I have ever been through.
I'm not asking for what could've been wrong with Maple, I'm just expressing all this as I can never stop thinking of it. Always keep an eye out for any small changes in your guinea pigs health.
