Vet Talwar's Medical thread

[4boipigs]

He is not eating 100% on his own, but he is now trying to take the syringe of Emeraid away from me.

His breathing is definitely different. His respiratory rate doesn't seem as fast, but he is still taking deep, hard breaths.

His poor little right arm must be sore from the IV. I catch him holding it funny or it will fold under him. It doesn't appear swollen or broken. The vet said they had to place an IV in both of his arms while he was hospitalized, so hopefully just pain from that.

No word from the vet on the full CT report. We have to send it to a radiologist to read, so it can take a few days.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Trying to pull the syringe away is a good sign. Leo does that when I feed him his "cookie" .

 

[SSLee]

I'm just catching up on this thread. So glad that Talwar is doing much better. Sending positive thoughts that the pet insurance will come through.

 

[4boipigs]

So Talwar had a scare… he was limp and unable to stand after the neb treatment. Went to the er expecting him to die. Dr states that he could have become hypoxic from the neb chamber (cat carrier with towels wrapped around it). We did xrays and no change. He perked up and started eating and acting normal at the vet. So he came home.

He did stop eating and was bloated again today and had lots of syringe feeding.

I guess we will do a follow up with our vet on Sat. I’m getting discouraged.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

I can't see him becoming hypoxic in a neb chamber. They're just so small, and the nebulizer brings in air. Is there a vent to allow c02 to escape?

 

[4boipigs]

I did the neb with him this morning and left the towel off the front. He was fine this time around. His appetite is really hit or miss, and he seems painful (sit in corner not moving and so on). Considering he is not picking up, I will likely euthanize this week. Sooner rather than later depending on how he does thru the holiday. The meds are obviously not helping considering we did xrays last night at the ER and there was no change. It sucks because he is so young, but I don't believe it is worth putting him thru anymore. Money is definitely an issue too. We hit $5k on him last night. And most people wouldn't even go that far for a guinea pig. They also recommend home oxygen which is an absolute deal breaker if he can't survive w/o supplemental o2.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

If he's suffering and there's no chance for recovery, I would agree. You've done a lot to this point. I do wish he could have recovered but sometimes it's just not in the cards. No one could ever say you didn't do what was necessary.

 

[ItsaZoo]

I was really hoping he’d improve. You’ve done so much for him. I lost Gidget just after her second birthday and it does suck when they’re young, but quality of life is more important than anything. Take care.

 

[4boipigs]

I put him to sleep yesterday...that's all I'll say about it.

Insurance approved 2 of the claims and I need to submit the other two.

Poor Maple Leaf, who was/is next to Talwar, got scared/became very nervous when I started removing Talwar's side and it was bare. I put Walter next to him today and he's doing better. Walter could absolutely care less that there is another guinea pig next to him (and the rescue said he got upset around other guinea pigs).

Sucks...so young. To be bought at Petsmart and returned with that nasty cut, and then to go out like this at 1.5(ish) years.

 

[ItsaZoo]

I’m so sorry, what a way to start the year. His time may have been brief but when you took him home he was very lucky. He couldn’t have had better care. My condolences to you and your piggies. Take care.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

I am so very sorry. Rest in wheeks, Talwar. You did everything you could. Gone way too soon but once you got him, he knew love and a good home.

 

[bpatters]

I'm so sorry. But you gave him a great home and great care. RIP, Talwar.

 

[4boipigs]

His CT results came back. The doctor said -

In his left lung, the “mineralized object most likely an abscess. It appeared that it was also causing shifting of his heart to the side with some significant lung consolidation. Additionally, something I had not expected, but they radiologist also found his gall bladder to be pretty distended and it looked like he had some mineralization (stones/sludge) in his gall bladder as well. Mostly likely this was an incidental finding, but this may have also been related if infection was spreading from his lungs to other parts of his body.”

The CT scan itself was very interesting and they pointed out some other features like one side of his upper molars growing unevenly.

Ultimately they would have recommended pts for him.

The other pigs are ok - kinda glad Talwar didn’t have a partner, so no bonding worries. Wally and Maple Leaf are within sight of each other (Wally is where Talwar was) and both seem okay with it. I expanded Maple Le’s cage into Talwar’s old area.

 

[ItsaZoo]

So many issues for the little guy. You gave him a very good life and great care when he was ill.

 

[bpatters]

Poor little guy. He didn't get dealt a very good hand. I'm so glad you had him. In spite of his problems, those were the best months of his life. Thanks for taking such good care of him.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

I second everything @ItsaZoo and @bpatters have said. Even though he got dealt a terrible hand, he got the best hand he could have had when you found him. Thank you for giving him the best, and doing everything that could be done for him.