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Not Eating Punkin's medical thread

  • Thread starter Guinea Pig Papa
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Guinea Pig Papa

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I was hoping for better news, but good to hear that Punkin is holding his own. Don't expect him to regain his previous weight. In my experience, that rarely happens. They simply reach a new normal and hover around that figure, whatever it is.

I looked back at Sparky's record and on Feb. 1 he weighed 3 lbs. This morning he weighs 2:09.7 or 1171 grams which is a bit light, but he seems to hover around 2:10 and has done so for several months. His appetite is good and his Papa feeds him whenever he seems hungry. All discipline has gone out the window since he was diagnosed with CHF. The reality is that he will probably not live long enough to become overweight. His fourth birthday is on Oct. 11 and we're going to celebrate!

It should go without saying that Sparky sends good wishes to Punkin and Scooter. "Hang in there, fellas. We're in this together!"


I do very much hope Sparky still has plenty of time left. Punkin and Scooter's third birthday is this Tuesday, two days from now. Won't be a salad celebration this time around since they likely won't eat much, but we'll celebrate the fact that they're both still here.

An interesting note. You and I had spoken before about a head bob and forceful breathing being hallmarks of CHF, you had observed that in Sparky and sure enough it happened. I had expressed concern about the same thing, as Punkin has always had that head bob and forceful breathing, accompanied by an occasional cough.

Since his weight has dropped, the forceful breathing and head bob have disappeared. I don't know what to make of it. I didn't think it could be his weight because he had the bob and breathing even when he was a baby just a few weeks old.

Punkin has always been a big pig. Up until this, he had always hovered just under 3 1/2 lbs. When he doesn't want to be force fed anymore, he has taken to crawling out of his blanket burrito and either standing on top of my forearm, or just snuggling against my upper arm as if to say, "Enough now, Dad. I don't want any more." Adorable, and very, very heartbreaking at the same time.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Update for Punkin:

Punkin had his first visit with Dr Ker since mid September. His molars are slightly overgrown, but not enough to cause a problem. He tried to squeeze some of the pus out of Punkins mouth and was unsuccessful. Punkin was thoroughly pissed off with all the manhandling and poking and prodding.

He needs to go for another round of xrays next week, to see if there is any progress. Dr Ker is, at this time, of the opinion that Punkin will more than likely need to have the tooth removed.
 

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Update for Punkin:

I have waited most of the weekend to post an update to see how things progress. Here is where we are.

Punkin was scheduled to go for Xrays this coming Wednesday. By Thursday last week he had declined further and in light of Scooters missed molars on initial examination, I called the vet back and insisted that he have Xrays Friday, and have his teeth also looked at under sedation. Turns out I was right.

Punkins molars were all overgrown, and I knew because I could feel the obstructions putting a 1ml syringe in his mouth. The infection, thank god, appears to be gone. No evidence of it on xray at all.

Because his incisors were SO angled from chewing only on one side of his mouth, he had broken off the lower right incisor. Dr Ker trimmed that off, and straightened the uppers.

He has been drooling a lot which is to be expected. Since the procedure he has an amazing interest in any kind of food, but is unable to eat much of any of it. He does seem to manage to get a fair bit of leafy green vegetables rather well, but obviously I can't constantly feed that to him. It appears that he is eating other things like hay and pellets, and he gets some but not enough to sustain himself. Not even close. He is down to a perilous 1156 grams as of this morning. Compare that to his maximum weight in January of this year, at 1654.

We were told to wait over the weekend to see if their appetites would return after being removed from the antibiotics and to let them eat on their own, and they have. I gave Punkin a cucumber slice this morning and it took him some time to manage half of it. I have decided to continue with syringe feeding every few hours. He took a full syringe and a half this morning, and then followed it with that half cucumber slice.

All in all he is in fantastic spirits. Very happy boy, chases and mounts and plays with his brother who is now able to reciprocate. He even bullies Scooter in that he continually kicks him out of whatever house he's in.

Not out of the woods yet, but progress is slowly being made. His attitude certainly gives me hope. One thing I neglected to mention is that he has figured out his water bottle again. He hasn't touched it in six weeks, and he has been drinking copiously.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Update for Punkin:

Drooling is still constant. He gets .4 ml of metacam daily. Still interested in food but not getting much. I have reverted back to feeding a full syringe and a half every 4 hours. He gets his last feeding around 10pm and is fed again around 530am.

He has lost more weight. This morning he was down to 1126. It has gone up and down, back up at high as 1145.

He's still in great spirits. The missing incisor is growing in nicely. Obviously his mouth is still in pain evidenced by the slobbering but no idea why. Woke up this morning to a trashed cage. Hay everywhere, hideys all relocated. Looks like the two of them had a party for crying out loud. They havent normally been active during the night at all once lights have gone out. Before I actually went in the living room I checked the camera (night vision) and both were running around.

I guess we just have to keep moving forward and try to do everything we can for him.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Punkin was 3.5 lbs when he became ill. Scooter was 3.2. Both have lost significant weight. Punkin was 1126 grams or 2.48lbs as of this morning, so he has lost......459 grams since the start of this. Scooter now weighs 1136 grams or 2.5lbs so he has lost 314 grams. This is in spite of the constant Critical Care.

Scooter is now eating pretty much enough to sustain himself. Punkin is not. In fact, Dr Ker wanted him to eat on his own immediately following his planing last Friday, and he lost 150 grams in three days. He has been back on a 4 hour feeding schedule since, minus the 2am feeding. He's getting 1 1/2 Monoject 412 syringes full of CC every feeding.

He's being fed CC just to sustain what he has. I would LOVE to get his weight up.
 

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Punkin spending the day at the vet today.

The vet tech called yesterday to see how the boys were doing. Good news for Scooter but obviously not so good for Punkin.

The infection smell has returned and antibiotics have been started again. Over the last several days his interest in food has slowly declined. Hes still in good spirits but constantly drooling and that's not good for him.

Theyve asked to keep him for the day for observation.
 

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The last round of xrays showed no infection. He may be getting new xrays today, perhaps the antibiotics simply werent long enough. He wants to extract the tooth as a last resort. All of his teeth are healthy and strong and not loose at all, including the affected one.

The tooth that's affected will also make extraction extremely difficult from what I have been told.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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This will more than likely be the last update for my boy. I hope not.

He has been sliding all week despite multiple vet visits. X Ray's show no infection. His gums are not inflamed or irritated, and there is no pus or smell. I was mistaken that I smelled infection earlier, it was the constant drooling I could smell. He has gotten critical over the last 24 hours and has dropped weight rapidly despite being repeatedly fed Critical Care and water every four hours. He is now letting the Critical Care run out of his mouth even though it appears he is chewing it. He is also being supplemented with unflavored pedialyte.

His weight has dropped from 1113 grams yesterday morning, to 1038 this morning. If anyone has any suggestions I'll take all the help I can get, but I feel like I'm being cruel at this point.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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I'm going to continue trying through the day today and see what happens. He still has some energy and attitude. I gave him at least 20 mils of water this morning and 3 or 4 of pedialyte, and hes gone out and grumbled at Scooter and kicked him out of the cosy. I dont want to give up yet.

Thank you, [MENTION=44038]MerryFriarTuck[/MENTION]. Although honestly I don't feel like a very good piggy parent right now. Though you're right about the love, I feel like I have failed him.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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I appreciate it. All of you. Unfortunately, Punkin isn't going to come out of this. The last feeding told me everything I needed to know.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Thank you all for the love, well wishes and support. Punkin would thank you too.
 
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