SpinningNickel
Junior Guinea Pig
Hi all,
I have a very sick piggy on my hands.
I own two boys (Machu and Picchu) who are about 5-6 months old. Picchu had a slight ear infection three weeks ago -- no symptoms, but a little discharge in his left ear when I took him to the vet for a routine check. I was given some drops and told to treat him twice a day for five days. I did, discharge SEEMED to go down (as much as I could tell, hard to hold this pig still) and he was eating/drinking/running around normally. No head tilt, obvious balance issues, etc.
Yesterday morning he didn't come out of his hidey hole for breakfast. Went to work and didn't think much of it since it was so early. After work, I've found him lying on his side in the cage, breathing a bit ropey and with his fur a bit matted as if he's been there awhile. He didn't seem to be able to move his back end, almost as if it were paralysed. Picked him straight up with no fuss (VERY odd for Picchu) and to be honest, I really didn't think he was going to last the night.
I took him to an emergency vet straight away, fearing a respiratory infection (took his cage mate to be safe as well). They found a lot of pus in the same ear, thought the infection was particularly resistant and the weakness was all due to balance issues, and gave him a 50/50 chance of pulling through. They gave him three injections (Baytril, Metroclopromide? for nausea, and Metacam) and gave me some Science Recovery to syringe feed him through the night. They also took his temperature and said it was fine. He perked up within half an hour of the injections -- seemed more alert, was trying hard to pick himself up, even dragged himself a metre or so across the floor.
I put him in his little travel carrier apart from his cage mate and fed him every couple of hours through the night. Sometimes he took it, sometimes he fought. When he didn't seem to want to swallow I'd syringe him a couple ml water to wash it down. Initially he obviously hadn't had much to drink all day and was obviously very thirsty. He continued to cycle through resting and kicking hard trying to right himself between feedings.
We made it through the night and by morning he was wheeking in mild protest when I reached in to pick him up. I called my boss and asked if I could bring him to work with me to continue nursing him at my desk, then take him to a vet near work for another round of injections this afternoon. On the way in, he was able to haul his front half properly upright and sit twice, although he couldn't quite get his back end under himself. He seemed very alert and much better.
He's had another feed since and produced his first poop, so I know he's swallowing and digesting at least some. However, he's gone quite listless and weak again, and was shaking slightly as if cold. I've wrapped him in a tea towel in a little box on my desk, with some hay underneath; he's resting and breathing pretty fast (though being honest I've never paid much mind to how fast pigs normally breath, so I don't know if it's normal) but has stopped shaking. His eyes are open but he seems to be asleep (again, as they're normally hiding away to sleep I don't know if they normally close their eyes..?), not moving or responding really.
Has anybody had this kind of infection treated this way, and what do you think his odds are having made it through the night? Are we still at 50/50? What about after the second round of injections? Should I be concerned by the sudden listlessness, or has he just over-exerted himself picking himself up twice this morning? What are good signs and bad signs?
Also, with regard to syringe feeding -- they didn't mention water, just the recovery diet (which obviously has water in it), but I've been following every feeding with plain, cool water. Is that a good idea? They gave me one sachet, so assuming he makes it through another night he'll probably need supplementing for awhile with the syringe and that will be gone. I'm planning to just grind down and make a warm paste from his usual pellets, thinking he might take to those better and they'll get him that all-important vitamin C. Again, is this good or should I get some more recovery powder from the second vet for fibre? If so, should I alternate the two, mix them together, what? How much should I aim to get down him in terms of food and water while he recovers? He's managing about 1.5-2 ml every two hours of food, and about the same of water, but he sometimes fights it or doesn't want to swallow the food and I'm concerned he's not getting enough as I've seen only one poo so far.
Sorry for all the questions, but I'm worried sick. The injections obviously helped his nausea and made him feel better in himself, but I don't want to get my hopes up as I don't know what's happening with the infection in the background. These are my first pigs and I'm very worried for him.
I have a very sick piggy on my hands.
I own two boys (Machu and Picchu) who are about 5-6 months old. Picchu had a slight ear infection three weeks ago -- no symptoms, but a little discharge in his left ear when I took him to the vet for a routine check. I was given some drops and told to treat him twice a day for five days. I did, discharge SEEMED to go down (as much as I could tell, hard to hold this pig still) and he was eating/drinking/running around normally. No head tilt, obvious balance issues, etc.
Yesterday morning he didn't come out of his hidey hole for breakfast. Went to work and didn't think much of it since it was so early. After work, I've found him lying on his side in the cage, breathing a bit ropey and with his fur a bit matted as if he's been there awhile. He didn't seem to be able to move his back end, almost as if it were paralysed. Picked him straight up with no fuss (VERY odd for Picchu) and to be honest, I really didn't think he was going to last the night.
I took him to an emergency vet straight away, fearing a respiratory infection (took his cage mate to be safe as well). They found a lot of pus in the same ear, thought the infection was particularly resistant and the weakness was all due to balance issues, and gave him a 50/50 chance of pulling through. They gave him three injections (Baytril, Metroclopromide? for nausea, and Metacam) and gave me some Science Recovery to syringe feed him through the night. They also took his temperature and said it was fine. He perked up within half an hour of the injections -- seemed more alert, was trying hard to pick himself up, even dragged himself a metre or so across the floor.
I put him in his little travel carrier apart from his cage mate and fed him every couple of hours through the night. Sometimes he took it, sometimes he fought. When he didn't seem to want to swallow I'd syringe him a couple ml water to wash it down. Initially he obviously hadn't had much to drink all day and was obviously very thirsty. He continued to cycle through resting and kicking hard trying to right himself between feedings.
We made it through the night and by morning he was wheeking in mild protest when I reached in to pick him up. I called my boss and asked if I could bring him to work with me to continue nursing him at my desk, then take him to a vet near work for another round of injections this afternoon. On the way in, he was able to haul his front half properly upright and sit twice, although he couldn't quite get his back end under himself. He seemed very alert and much better.
He's had another feed since and produced his first poop, so I know he's swallowing and digesting at least some. However, he's gone quite listless and weak again, and was shaking slightly as if cold. I've wrapped him in a tea towel in a little box on my desk, with some hay underneath; he's resting and breathing pretty fast (though being honest I've never paid much mind to how fast pigs normally breath, so I don't know if it's normal) but has stopped shaking. His eyes are open but he seems to be asleep (again, as they're normally hiding away to sleep I don't know if they normally close their eyes..?), not moving or responding really.
Has anybody had this kind of infection treated this way, and what do you think his odds are having made it through the night? Are we still at 50/50? What about after the second round of injections? Should I be concerned by the sudden listlessness, or has he just over-exerted himself picking himself up twice this morning? What are good signs and bad signs?
Also, with regard to syringe feeding -- they didn't mention water, just the recovery diet (which obviously has water in it), but I've been following every feeding with plain, cool water. Is that a good idea? They gave me one sachet, so assuming he makes it through another night he'll probably need supplementing for awhile with the syringe and that will be gone. I'm planning to just grind down and make a warm paste from his usual pellets, thinking he might take to those better and they'll get him that all-important vitamin C. Again, is this good or should I get some more recovery powder from the second vet for fibre? If so, should I alternate the two, mix them together, what? How much should I aim to get down him in terms of food and water while he recovers? He's managing about 1.5-2 ml every two hours of food, and about the same of water, but he sometimes fights it or doesn't want to swallow the food and I'm concerned he's not getting enough as I've seen only one poo so far.
Sorry for all the questions, but I'm worried sick. The injections obviously helped his nausea and made him feel better in himself, but I don't want to get my hopes up as I don't know what's happening with the infection in the background. These are my first pigs and I'm very worried for him.
He's never had banana before but when he's well he's a little pig-shaped Hoover and I've yet to find any fruit or veg he really DISlikes!