Going through the seven circles of hell, some experience advice needed please...
Ok, before I start my story, I'm asking that no one shouts at me for gtetting my guinea pigs from a pet shop. I didn't do enough research, I know that now, and after the amount of misery our fluffy family is going through right now, I will never touch pet shop animals with a barge pole in the future, or buy their products. For what it's worth, dues are certainly being paid for this poor decision on my part...
But yes, my girls were gotten from a store that shall remain nameless. They were supposedly thoroughly checked, I took them home, after a couple of territorial scraps they settled in beautifully and seemed very happy. Then, 3 days after bringing them home, I was giving my little Wibble a brush, and found a hard lump the size of a -grape- behind her ear. The ears they'd 'checked' just days before. I gave it a gentle touch and she didn't seem phased by it, she was still playful and chattery and loving her food, but none the less the following day I took her straight back to the shop and showed them. They took her back in, which brought me to tears and promised to get her to the vets first thing monday, which they did and found it was an abscess. It was drained, cleaned and she was put on Baytril, then the following day they asked us to bring her cagemate in as well so she could have company, which we dutifully did.
Then the day she was due home we were told the lump was back and she had to go back to the vets. They repeated the cleaning, sent her back to the shop with more antibiotics, we were told to give it a few more days and she'd be home.
And then we're told the lump is back again only real option was surgery, so trying not to think about all the potential dangers, we agreed.
Surgery goes well, abscess is removed, no sign of any underlying cysts etc, I'm promised there will be a biopsy on what was removed, and she'll be home in five days.
She was supposed to be coming home today. But I've just been told that overnight she and her cagemate scrapped and the stitches got tugged and pulled away part of the scab and a little pus came out. So she's not coming home again.
Now first of all, am I wrong in thinking that as she was recovering from a big operation for such a little animal and this sort of thing -must- have been an obvious risk, they should have been in seperate cages?
Second, what is the real prognosis for this in other people's experience, cos I just -can't- seem to get an honest answer from the petshop. Fair enough, they're paying the vets bills but I have a right to know, don't I? Every time they've said they'd call me with news they've either forgotten or been several days late, when they do have news it's always only when I actually go into the store to try and see her. I was under the belief the vet treating Wibble was cavy savvy but the repeated use of Baytril which clearly isn't working is starting to grind my gears...
My poor girl is half bald from being shaved for the op, has a two inch scar, is moulting from the stress of it all and is still so affectionate. She plays, she eats well (from what I am able to see, I don't get much time in the way of visitation rights cos they're so busy in the shop..) but she must be sick of everything she's being put through and it just feels like we're slowly losing her...
We had her 3 and a half days. She's been gone 3 and a half weeks...
Oh and that biopsy they promised? "Sorry, we aren't going to do it cos it's too expensive." I would pay for it myself but they won't let me change her registration details over to me at the vets to do it and I can't get her home to take her elsewhere. I feel like anything I try and do is just going to endanger her life more...
I guess some people will think I deserve it because I got her from a pet shop. But whatever my mistakes, Wibble didn't ask for this. Please, if anyone out there has an abscess survivor, what can I do?!
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