His spirits are good. Hes just unable to eat anything on his own. I've managed to keep his weight stable now at 1418 grams with a full syringe of CC every four hours, but as far as eating on his own theres been little to no improvement yet.Originally Posted by Artista
Would low dose diazepam help?
At this point I'm not sure. He's super interested in food, he just can't seem to be able to get it in his mouth. I cut up some apple into matchsticks slices last night and he did pretty good with those, but eating things like a carrot or his pepper slice he just flips them up and down and can't get a bite out of them. His weight is still unchanged this morning so his feeding schedule is sufficient to maintain his body weight.
I just wanted to let you know @GuineaPigPapa that all my pigs and I are wishing you and Punkin well. I hope that he is on the mend and back to eating normally soon.
I actually used this opportunity to learn a bit about malocclusion myself, and something you mentioned about Punkin having a potential runny nose made me relook at the following information: http://www.guinealynx.info/malocclusion.html
You are much more knowledgeable than myself on this, but could be have a small abscess/sore in the mouth/tongue from the teeth poking it prior to surgery that perhaps is causing some irritation now (even though it may be on the mend also with the teeth no longer poking area)?
I would think the tongue would be needed more to move hard pieces of carrot and pepper to their proper place to avoid choking during chewing, whereas apple may be a bit softer and more management especially in thin matchstick slices?
Perhaps as the tongue heals he will be more brave in using it properly.
I also wanted to say that your gentle, consistently attentive care to your guinea pigs is inspirational and serves as a role model to new guinea pig owners who read the site. Thank you.
Thank you very much for the kind words and support, @Smileandnod. Myself and Punkin (and Scooter too) appreciate it very much.
It IS entirely possible that he has an abscess or sore on his tongue. Dr Ker did mention that his teeth were stabbing into it and in his words they would have been like, "little hacksaw blades cutting into it." It has only been four days since his molars were clipped, and it happened so fast that his incisors didn't even angle. There were no real indicators prior to this issue other than his laziness and weight loss, and he's kind of lazy sometimes anyway.
He is still, for lack of a better term, "chewing sideways" when he's given Critical Care. The greyish discharge happened again this morning, only once and only from his left nostril again. I picked a bowl of fresh grass for them this afternoon, and he worked harder to eat than he has in a week. Not sure how much he got but it appeared as though he did.
I tried the matchstick apple slices again today, some with skin and some without. Last night he had trouble with the ones that had skin, but still managed. The soft ones with no skin worked out better. Today, he wouldn't try at all. I have tried cutting baby carrots into strips this week for him as well and he's unable or unwilling to try those as well. Same with cucumber.
Again, thank you for the kind words. My piggies mean everything to me and I'll do whatever I can for them.
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.
Hopefully they can find out what is causing the reluctance to eat. Keep us posted.
I hope the vet finds the problem so poor Punkin can be on the mend and back to his old self. I will check back later for an update.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Yay!!! So glad to hear it!
Great news!
Sparky sends his best to Punkin. Feel better soon!
It is good to see some positive news this morning! My little man Nutter Butter sends his regards.
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