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Not Eating Punkin's medical thread

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Guinea Pig Papa

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Punkin has returned to the vets this morning for the day. His condition has not improved, and he is still unable to eat anything on his own. Dr. Ker is very concerned for him. He will be re-examined for a possible abscess, and then the other possible Dental issues. He is also going to take X-rays and give him Sub-Q fluids and critical care.

He will be coming home tonight at 5:30, as they are unable to care for him during the overnight hours. Hopefully I will have so much better news this evening.
 

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Punkin's update:

Teeth are fine. No lumps in his jaw, and nothing obvious in his mouth to indicate a source of pain. Dr Ker feels as though it may be an infected tooth which is possible considering how Punkin dives headlong into his hay pile. Hes now on 15mg of Baytril twice a day for 10 days. We will know in a day or two if the antibiotics are having any effect.
 

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Thank you for the update. I hope this helps Punkin feel better.

If only they could just tell us what is wrong...it would make things so much easier and less expensive 

I agree, it would make it so much easier. The money I couldn't care less about, I just want him well again.
 

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Poor guy. Were skull and jaw X-rays performed on him? They would likely be able to see infection in a tooth with those images. Anyways, I'm sending good thoughts your way, hoping that he regains his appetite and begins eating on his own!

It was mentioned as a possibility this morning, but I've come to find out our vet doesn't have an x-ray machine. He'd have to take Punkin elsewhere to do the x-rays. Our vet is currently building a wonderful new facility just around the corner from their current location which WILL have an x-ray machine, but that doesn't help us today.

We should know in, I would think a day or two if the antibiotics are having any effect and he starts eating again. I understand because of the antibiotic he may not, but at this point he's trying to eat and can't. I would think with the easement of pain the might change if we're on the right track.
 

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I hope you see improvement with the antibiotics! If you don't though, it may be worth it to ask your vet to refer you somewhere else to have the images done. I'm not sure if there's any other good clinics out your way with the expertise and technology, but if it not you could likely have him sent to the OVC in Guelph for imaging if you could make the trip there.

There are exactly two exotic vets in Niagara. Dr Ker is one. I was actually thinking about Guelph, and if we don't get this sorted is short order I'm going to ask him to do exactly that. I'm sure he has access to an x-ray machine but he was so busy it just wasn't a viable option today, so if the antibiotics don't trigger a turnaround I'm sure he'll make something happen. He's to go back in one week, or sooner if he doesn't improve.
 

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Morning update:

After Punkin came home from the vet last night, he was as playful and energetic as I've ever seen him. Running around chasing and mounting his brother until well past 10pm, and to some degree this morning it's continuing.

I got a full syringe and a half into him this morning along with his Baytril, and just for the heck of it offered him his morning pepper slice. Imagine my surprise when he started eating it on his own. Mind you he ate slowly and he didn't eat a lot with a full tummy, but this is really the first progress he's made at intake in close to a week. He has tried so many times to eat his favourites and failed, and today he did well. His Papa is happy.
 

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I've seen some more improvements today. He seems to be taking in more hay, but not really eating anything else on his own. The Baytril may be partly to blame for that, we just don't know. He also doesn't drink on his own, at all. Which seems kind of strange to me, as when Sly had mouth pain he drank copiously where Punkin drinks nothing at all. He gets several 1ml syringes of water at every CC feeding. He's been lazy most of the day, but both of them have been and tonight they've both been running around playing again.

The slobbers have also stopped, even when he was due for another dose of metacam. Dr Ker lowered his dose from .45 to .30 yesterday, and that seems to have been adequate. Another day or so and I think we'll stop the metacam altogether and see how he does.

Other than the little bit of pepper slice this morning, he hasn't eating anything other than some hay and of course his Critical Care. Baby steps.
 

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Mooshy stopped eating on baytril. Vet switched her to something else and problem solved. Baytril is known to have these effects. I'd switch.

Punkin stopped eating a week ago. Being on the Baytril now is finally gotten him feeling well enough that he is starting to eat on his own again. As we speak hes had a little parsley, and hes currently mangling a spinach leaf. Hes only been on it for 24 hours and so far I've seen improvement.
 

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Today's update:

Not much new to report today. I had to leave early this morning so I didn't get to watch him right after his 6am feeding. I gave him his pepper slice and I know he sat and worried it for some time, but I have no idea how much he actually got in him because his brother Scooter the garbage pail came along and finished it.

He's still fairly inactive, and I'm sure that the Baytril has quite a bit to do with that. I have seen him at his hay pile a couple of times, but no idea how much he's actually getting. His around the clock feedings continue.

On a positive note, his weight went from 1398 grams yesterday morning, up to 1435 grams today.
 

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@Guinea Pig Papa Any updates on Punkin?

Sadly, no. There's been no real change. His weight is holding stable, this morning was 1438 grams. He has an appointment with the vet Monday at 5pm. At that time I am going to insist the xrays be done. He's still being fed around the clock and is largely unable to eat anything on his own. He tries and is very interested, and sometimes he gets a little but not much. He still plays a bit with his brother in the evening. Most of the time he just sleeps in his hidey and and he seems so sad it breaks my heart.
 

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Morning update:

Punkin was an active boy last night. Played with his brother for 2-3 hours, which was surprising. I changed the hay yesterday and added some beautiful Orchard Grass, and he was pretty happy with it. He was eating, and he was getting some which made me very, very happy.

Put down their bedtime salad, and he was very interested in that too. I watched several parsley leaves disappear into his mouth, along with a leaf or two of spinach. Encouraging. He's slow, but he's getting some.

This morning, weight up again to 1445 grams. His weight has gone from 1398 grams Tuesday morning, and today he is up to 1445 grams. Thrilled that we're going up, instead of down.

Lastly, after a full syringe of Critical Care at 6am, I tried his pepper slice. He ate I would say, roughly a third of it. Slowly, but he ate it. Ripped out chunks and chewed and swallowed, and he was very interested in it. Given enough time he may have eaten all of it, but since he'd had 12CC of Critical Care I think he was just plain full.

I'm not going to jump the gun here and say we've turned the corner. What I will say is that the last 12 hours have brought about some changes which I am hoping are significant, and hoping they continue.
 

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Update for Chunky Monkey:

His weight has slid backward a bit the last couple of days, but more or less stable. It was 1445 Saturday morning, but back to 1416 today.

I have discovered that he can eat some of his veggies if they are held for him. He can take bites with his incisors, and then twists his head to rip pieces out which he can eat. He's eaten most of his daily pepper slices the last two days, over a couple of sittings mind you. He ate a baby carrot last night which was cut in half, to give him an edge to work with. He also ate a cucumber slice cut in half, and he left the skin.

He had an appointment today at 5. Other than his incisors being angled now from chewing on one side of his mouth, his teeth are all otherwise normal appearing. The antibiotics appear to slowly be doing their job.

He is now booked for xrays on Thursday. We need to take a deeper look at what is going on inside his mouth. Dr Ker feels that it may also be one of the so-called "cheek teeth" and is very much hoping the consistent antibiotics will do the trick, but surgery may also be required. At this point we just don't know, but I can say that he has been eating somewhat better on his own. He managed parsley last night as well as some kale and spinach leaves.
 

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Update:

Punkin will be spending the day at the vet today so that they can do xrays. His eating improves little by little. This morning he was given his Critical Care, and a small slice of apple with the skin cut off. He ate the entire apple slice with little to no help. Might be some light at the end of the tunnel.

In other news, I have a question.

Has anyone had an ill pig, and had their other pig start acting strangely because of it? Scooter has not been eating all of the salad given to them even though the amount has been decreased to compensate for Punkin eating little to none. Two days in a row now, Scooter has not finished his pepper slice. Yesterday he left a little, but today he left most of it. So I decided to weigh him again. He has dropped 65 grams since Sunday morning. I see him eat and drink, so I'm not sure what his issue is?
 

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The hits keep on coming.

Putting a few variables together, and realized a couple of things. I have heard Scooter cough a couple of times over the last couple of days. Nothing major.

He's been eating less of his salad at noon and at night, and now not finishing the pepper slices. Gave him an apple slice which he loves, didn't finish it. Left some Critical Care in a bowl which he DID finish, and gave him a cucumber slice which he ate very little of. All of these things are his favourites, and he's left most of them. He's also sleeping in the cozy a lot.

So in short, making an appointment for him now as well. I'm thinking it's likely a URI.
 

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Thank you, [MENTION=27627]Artista[/MENTION]. Scooter goes at 0930 tomorrow. Pretty sure his will at least be a fairly simple solution.
 

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Update for Punkin:

X rays are done. Molars are fine, no elongated roots. The issue appears to be with one of his upper incisors.


Looking at the x rays, his upper left incisor is infected. The bone on that side of his upper jaw is all white, and Dr Ker used the term "all messed up". Worst case scenario is to remove the tooth, which is major.

We have switched antibiotics to Sulfatrim, .75ml twice daily for 14 days. His eating has somewhat improved on the 10 days of Baytril but no way to know how much improvement has been gained because prior x rays hadn't been done. Anything I need for him, I can call and get. If he worsens on the Sulfatrim, a phone call will change it.

We are to continue with the antibiotics, the Metacam for pain management and the round the clock feedings, insofar as his eating doesn't improve. We can back off the feedings somewhat if eating on his own improves.

So for now, we at least know what we are up against, and it seems as though it may be an uphill battle.
 

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Update:

Punkin's weight has slid backward somewhat since his stay at the vet for the Xrays. It dropped from 1432 the morning before he left, and dropped to 1392 by the next morning. Today it was down only 5 to 1387. This is still a good weight, but to put in perspective how big a pig he was, the last time he weighed roughly 1387 he was only 7 months old.

He continues to be able to eat a little on his own, and I think I have even seen some improvements. If there are any, they're so small it's difficult to tell. His daily routine remains roughly the same, but this morning after his feeding they were both active but Punkin much more so. It was wonderful to see. Today he actually came when called for his noon salad, and sat for roughly 15 to 20 minutes and munched what he could get. Eating is difficult for him.

On another quick note, Scooter does indeed have an URI. He has been put on .3 ml of Baytril twice a day for 14 days. His appetite has returned slightly and is back to eating some pellets and drinking a little, but he is being syringe fed a few times a day as well. His weight Sunday morning this week was 1448 grams, and by this morning he has slid back to 1343. He actually wheeked for his noon salad, albeit only a couple and he didn't eat much.
 

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For those following Punkin's issues:

We have been rather preoccupied with Scooter the last day or two, but Punkin has finally been showing some progress. It began with being obsternate during feeding time.

Tonight, he was given his own pile of vegetables and he sat and munched for some time. He has been munching hay off and on all day, and this is a new development also. He has popcorned a few times today, and for the first time in a few weeks when picked up for his antibiotic and metacam at 6pm, his chest was dry. No drooling 24 hours after his last dose of metacam. He also took his first drinks out of the water bottle on his own in a few weeks.

He seems quite like his old self tonight, which is wonderful and sad at the same time considering his little brother is so ill. They are separated, Scooter is in a 2x3 "hospital cage" where Punkin can still see and "talk" to him, but can't bully him the way he has been to a small degree over the last week. We were told Scooter needs a lot of rest tonight.

Will post more about his progress as it becomes relatable.
 

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Update for Punkin:

Punkin is slowly, but surely improving. This is going to be a very long process for him and he will likely be on antibiotics for some time.

He is eating more on his own, but is still syringe fed on an every 4 hour basis as he still doesn't eat anywhere near enough to sustain himself. He is eating more hay, and eating some vegetables at night as well. Eating is difficult but he spends a considerable amount of time now eating them, instead of sniffing them and sampling and getting frustrated and leaving.

For the first time since this started, last night, Punkin also ate a few pellets. The sour smell from his mouth disappeared yesterday and his chest has remained almost completely dry for the last couple of days, but was a little damp this morning. That smell did return a little this morning as well. Yesterday he was a very, very active pig and was running around and having a grand old time, but today seems a little more tired and subdued. We are getting there slowly with him, but it's nice to see him have some time like his old self.

It is evident now that he (and we) are in for a long journey. I will post updates here as he progresses, but a full recovery of the infection just disappearing on its own with antibiotics is unlikely. In the meantime, we will keep him as happy and healthy and comfortable as we can, and spoil him of course.



I also wanted to take this opportunity to publicly thank everyone for their concern, kindness, love and well wishes for both Punkin and Scooter. Every little bit helps both them and me. Only in a place like this, would anyone ever understand how one feels about their pigs. So thank you, and my boys thank you too.
 

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Update for Punkin:

Punkin was switched back to the Sulfatrim roughly 10 days ago, as it seemed to be doing a better job than the Baytril was. There has been improvements with Punkin, but other things have gone sideways which considering what the problem is, was expected.

Punkin and Scooter's vet left mid week at the end of September for an exotic vet conference in, I think, Missouri. He returns tomorrow, and Punkin has an appointment at 4pm.

Punkins spirits are wonderful. He walks around bipping and talking, although not as much as he used to. He spends considerable time gnawing at veggies, but he doesn't get enough to sustain himself. He also spends plenty of time in the hay pile, again not sure how much he gets.

He is still drooling and there is still some smell of infection from time to time but that has greatly improved. He is still on metacam. He has a new problem which I expected.

His incisors are now badly angled. Obviously this is from chewing on one side of his mouth due to the pain. Although I can't see for sure, I'd bet the farm that he now needs some dental work so that he can eat again. Being force fed results in noises that sound like he struggles for breath and this concerns me greatly. We've had to slow down his feedings and give him less per mouthful to try and avoid choking him. And of course, as soon as he's been fed more often than not he goes straight to his hay pile.

His weight has dropped more, but has gone up again and down again is small increments. His current weight is 1350, which is well below his normal "fighting weight" of 1600 grams. He has gone as low as 1311 but no lower.
 
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