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Teeth Sly's Medical Thread

Guinea Pig Papa

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Thank you, everyone. Sly thanks you too. I don't know how much credit I'm willing to take for any of this, it's just Sly's will to keep going and his vet doing a fantastic job. I asked him yesterday if he'd ever had a pig with that many dental planings and he flat out said, "No. Never."

I just give him all the love, food and fresh water he needs. He gets his Metacam every day, and some glucosamine and his "cookies". The rest is all him. He's eating very well today, surprisingly. I think this is the best I've seen him eat after a procedure in quite a while.

@spy9doc, Hopefully all is well with Sparky? I know you said all seems to be well, so hopefully it stays that way! We know similar trips with Chester all too well.
 

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Like humans, love and care go a long way in wanting to go on. Stats are people with depression and are alone die sooner. Mental and emotional health are very important along with a good exotic vet.

Love he's definitely got. My pigs are my children and I treat them as family members. He certainly seems to be a happy little fella!
 

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Exactly. All pets should be loved and cared for that way. Too bad it's not like adopting a human child where you are closely screened.

Agreed.

The little ham is out trolling his little brothers as we speak. He's such a funny little man.
 

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Woke up to a sick little man this morning.

He's always, always waiting at the bars for his pepper slice when I get up. This morning, no Sly. I called him and got his nose to poke out for a second, then back in. I lifted the house off him and moved it, and he ran back into it. I went to give him his metacam and glucosamine which he just loves. He took the metacam and refused everything else.

I gave him his slice of red pepper, and he nibbled at but not much. I mixed up critical care which he also loves. A few bites, nothing more. I picked him up to hold him, and I could hear a grunting, crackling noise when he breathes. His breathing seems to be somewhat laboured, his sides seem to move harder when he breathes. When I put him back in his cage, he went and laid face down in the corner.

Sly's vet is on vacation until Monday. I called the vet hospital and told them what I had, and they agreed that it is likely an upper respiratory infection. They're going to have antibiotics ready for me to pick up this afternoon. He's had one dose of Sulfatrim this morning that I had left over.

He's been up and around a little bit more since then. Picked a little at food, and I've seen him eat some hay and a few pellets.
 

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Good luck to him! Hope the meds clear it up soon.

Thank you, [MENTION=13820]bpatters[/MENTION]. It's just worrisome because of his age. I gave him his daily bowl of veggies and he is eating them for the moment. I'll pick up his meds this afternoon and see where the weekend takes us.
 

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I am SO glad I had that one dose of antibiotics left over.

The vets office did end up giving me a course of Sulfatrim for him, with the stipulation that he sees Dr Ker first thing Monday morning. 0.5 ml every 12 hours til finished. Sly was up staggering around at 430 this morning, and when I got up at 6, he was at the bars waiting for me as he usually is. He was even climbing the bars, a rarity lately. He ate his entire red pepper slice in one sitting, and is now eating from his pellet bowl.

He went for a stroll in the pen, realized he had a new box and had to play with it a little. He briefly trolled the kids, then went back to eat. He's also been at his water bottle, which he only did twice yesterday.

Safe to say he's feeling better. Not out of the woods yet, but a tremendous improvement over yesterday.
 

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He's been eating almost non stop most of the morning, now. Catching up I guess. He napped from about 930 til 11, then back into his pellet dish.

He went back out to troll the kids again, and then actually popcorned (or what passes for a popcorn with his old bones these days) and went back to eating.

The difference 24 hours and two doses of antibiotics have made are like night and day. Very, very surprised.
 

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Happy to hear he is improving! You caught it nice and early, so I am sure he will be just fine. He is the pig that just keeps on kicking!

We recently had a URI outbreak here. I woke up a couple of weeks ago to one breathing heavy and rasping sounding, which then spread to 3 others over the course of a couple days. Not sure where it came from, but all my girls are feeling much better, they are still on a week or so of antibiotics, but you wouldn't know anything was ever wrong now.

URI's are so frigging scary. They just pop up out of nowhere, and they can take a pig so very fast. Again, Sly got sick on a Friday. Friday the 13th, of course. I don't know what it is with him and Fridays, but at least it was first thing in the morning so I didn't have to make panicked phone calls to get him in. They initially wanted to give him Baytril, but I asked for something milder first because Pooper had Baytril once and tolerated it poorly. Very poorly. Sly doesn't have the weight to trade off.

He's been eating and playing all day. Not quite normal, but getting there rapidly. He does NOT like the antibiotics, and I snookered him this morning between his other syringes. The look I got when he realized what I'd done was priceless.

Hopefully your girls will be just fine in no time. URI's are no joke, they're absolutely terrifying. This episode has actually made me consider keeping an antibiotic in the house just in case this happens again on a weekend.
 

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Thank you, [MENTION=42524]Iluvmypigs[/MENTION]. He certainly is an amazing little man, kind of like the Energizer bunny. He keeps going and going. He IS feeling better, but he isn't eating enough to suit my taste. I'm going to weigh him tonight, and if I don't like what I see we're going to start with Critical Care feedings. His breathing is somewhat laboured, he's kind of puffing when he exhales, very similar to what happened when Pooper fell ill in May of 2016. His vet says his lungs sounded clear on Monday, and his heart sounds good. He's to stay on the antibiotics for another 7 days. He has another checkup for his teeth Aug 1st, but if anything pops up before then he's to go back immediately to see the Dr.

As for being lucky? I'm pretty sure I'm the lucky one!
 

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Sly is having a rough go this time around.

Not very active at all today. He again showed little interest in his meds this morning, and took over 30 minutes to eat a red pepper slice. Hes not even been out to troll the young fellas today.

He HAS been eating some regular timothy hay again, which is strange. Poop output overnight and today has been minimal, though he IS eating. Hes also packed in a fair amount of veggies today. His weight tonight was 1190 grams, whereas Sunday morning it was 1140.

I am suspecting he is having some adverse effects from the antibiotics. I am as yet undecided whether or not to continue them.
 

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Mooshy stopped eating on baytril. Can you try another one?

Sly is still eating, but i cant see him all day long to see how much. His weight is also up which is good. Its the inactivity and lack of interest in anything, coupled with very little poop output today thats scaring me. Ive also not seen him drink at all today.

He isnt on Baytril. Hes on sulfatrim.

I think I'm going to stop the antibiotics.
 

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Sly now has pneumonia.

To paraphrase the vet this morning, "He is a very, very sick little pig."

He's been given a Baytril injection, and had another oral dose tonight. He IS eating, and has actually been out running around, just a little.

Obviously, he will need to be monitored to make sure he still eats, but this mornings crackly breathing has subsided significantly.
 

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Poor little guy. Praying for him.

I had to stop with Bellas ear cleaning and med. Sat night my left breast that had cancer got infected. I had radiation and am prone to infection. There are signs of bella scratches when trying to hold her down so I'm pretty sure that's the cause. Anyway I'm in the hospital on iv antibiotics hopefully discharged tomorrow. Poor bella is home alone with my friend helping twice a day. Her appt is fri for xrays and urine with culture labs. Got to take her even though it's a drive and I'm pooped.

Love to you both.

I'm just as concerned about you and Bella, as you are about my bear cub. I hadn't seen any updates on her, and I was kind of hoping that no news is good news.

Do what you have to in order to get well, for both your sakes. I'm so glad little Bella has some help.

Love to both of you, and our thoughts and positive energy for both of your recoveries.
 

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Oh no! Poor little guy. Best wishes to you guys. I hope he can pull through this.

Hopefully the baytril doesn't bother him too much. We recently used doxycycline with a lot of success. It took care of 4 URI's and was well tolerated by everyone. But if the oral antibiotics start taking their toll on him, possibly ask your vet about nebulized antibiotics. Many years ago I had pneumonia successfully treated with one of my pigs. I believe gentamicin was used.

Regardless, I'm sending thoughts your and Sly's way! You as well @Artista best wishes for you and little Bella, I'm hoping you recover well and that you can get some answers for your girl.

We had Pooper on Baytril once, and it hit him pretty hard. Sly's appetite is diminished, but this morning he ate almost all of his red pepper slice, some Critical Care and some lettuce. He was out waiting this morning, but not doing his usual dancing at the door for his treats as usual. I totally understand, poor little nut.
 

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Update:

I don't know where this little pig finds the will, or the strength.

The crackling is his lungs is gone, or so quiet now I can't hear it with his little mouth next to my ear. He's lethargic, but he comes out, eats in binges and then goes back to bed.

Tonight, he was out either lying in the pen in his box, or trolling the little fellas for almost 2 hours. He ate two helpings of Critical Care, and an apple slice.

It's obvious that he's still a sick little pig, but the difference between yesterday morning and tonight is profound. He's not out of the woods yet, but he's even got enough strength to walk normally.

If I cross my fingers any harder I'm pretty sure I'm going to break them.

Sly says thank you for everyone's support :D
 

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Good news, I hope he keeps it up! Sly is such a fighter.
He boggles my mind, [MENTION=31353]sallyvh[/MENTION] . He really does. He just loves life.
 

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Sly was doing very well, even this morning.

He had plenty to eat this morning, along with some critical care, a slice of cucumber and his red pepper. He was into both his hay, and his pellets.

This afternoon,however, he is very lethargic. He just got his bowl of veggies, and although he seemed interested he has eaten none. I picked him up and he is warm, and the wheezing and crackling have returned. He was also stumbling a bit while walking.
 

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Sly is struggling for every breath he takes.

We have an appointment for 230.
 

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Sly is back at home now. We have Theophylline to try and aid his breathing, but there is very little left that can be done for him. At this point, it's basically hope for the best.
 

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You know that I'm right there with you. Did you mention the "steam tent" idea to the Vet? If so, just wondering what he thought of it?

I did. His thoughts were that anything could help at this point and that its worh a shot.

He gave him Theophylline to help, and said we should see improvement in 24-48 hours and to give the meds more of a chance. He's very sick, but Dr Ker doesn't feel he's beyond saving.

He HAS gotten up and around and been eating some since he got home
 
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