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Not Eating Scooter's medical thread

Guinea Pig Papa

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Sure you do! That's because it reduces inflammation and makes him more comfortable.

Regarding drinking water.......Sparky has this little peculiarity. He absolutely ADORES ice cold drinking water straight from the refrigerator! We discovered this quite by accident when doing the bedtime cage cleaning routine. It was back in the early summer and Gary decided that his drinking water should be cold and filled his bottles from the refrigerator. Sparky sat and guzzled water for what seemed like an eternity. Even though summer has passed, Sparky still loves his cold water. I have no idea if it might pique Scooter's interest, but it's worth a try especially if his gums are tender.

It's interesting that you mention the cold water. Sly ADORED cold water as well. Both Scooter and Punkin love their water cold as well. At least they did, until all of this started. Their water bottles are changed at the same time every day and they know when the filtered water from the fridge is coming. They used to wait for it, and sometimes would fight over the same bottle. Not any more.

About 10 days ago, a few days after Punkin's surgery, he discovered the cold water again and drank for roughly 10 minutes straight. He's really not touched the water bottle since and Scooter rarely takes a sip any more either.
 

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Update for Scooter:

I figured I would give this thread a quick update, before anyone starts to wonder later on today or tomorrow.

Scooter IS doing better. He finishes the ear drops tomorrow night, and I plan on taking him off the metacam at the same time. He isn't really gaining or losing any weight, he just kind of fluctuates up and down.

He is eating vegetables on his own, and I see him in the hay pile more often now. Sometimes he eats lots of vegetables and sometimes not. He is back to begging for his apple wedge and has lost interest in the orange segments.

The last couple of days, I put the bowl of moistened (almost powdered) pellets back in the cage and he has a renewed interest in these. We'll see how this goes.

He is still not drinking any water on his own. Not that I have seen, anyway. And I'm pretty much always watching some way or other.

So he's much improved, but not out of the woods yet. We now have to hope that he copes with the loss of his brother well enough to stay healthy.
 

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Does he like cucumbers? Maybe smush up a pile?

Yes, he does. He eats cucumber slices and has been since he was able to eat again, no problem.
 

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He's eating fairly well, honestly. Until yesterday and today, that is. I saw him eating quite often and last night I saw him take a very short drink from the water bottle. Just one bubble, basically.

I thought he was eating well yesterday but weigh in this morning says different. He dropped 29 grams from yesterday and his current weight is now 1098. Far cry from the 1450 he used to be. He doesn't feel bony, or dehydrated or malnourished at all. No tenting of the skin behind his shoulder blades so he isn't dehydrated.

I dont know why he lost such a chunk of weight, and I'm getting worried again.
 

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Update:

Scooter is understanding now that he's an only pig. His weight went back up a little yesterday to 1107, but dropped today to 1085. Yesterday was his first day without the eardrops or metacam. After his weigh in, I restarted the metacam again to see if that's the difference. So far today hes eaten almost an entire pepper slice, almost an entire thick cucumber slice, a little bit of Critical care and is currently munching in his hay pile.

He is a sad little man. Watching him walk around the cage and pen, checking every hidey, box and cozy for his brother. When he doesnt find him, he goes to the cozy, lies down and tucks his head. Brings me to tears.

Hes never been one to sleep under the hay pile. That was Punkin. He would flop under it and nap without a care in the world. Scooter has never done that until now.
 

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Scooter has a vet appointment of sorts, for Thursday.

He will be spending the day with them for observation and evaluation. He's also going to have another round of x-rays. We need to know if the mass that appears to be in his ear canal is either gone, smaller or larger. While he is sedated for the x-rays they will also have a closer look inside his mouth again.

I did notice him eating yesterday, and cocking his head down and to the left again as he had done before. He only did it once and appeared to have a little trouble chewing, but it disappeared on its own. This is the only time I've seen it, but that doesn't mean he hasn't done it while I've not noticed.

As we speak, he is out having a little more of his noon vegetables. It's definitely good that he eats on his own, and he hasn't had to be force fed via syringe since his molar planing on October 9th.


He really seems to be looking to me for support. Almost every time I walk through the door to our upstairs apartment, he comes flying out of the cozy, babbling away and runs over to the bars to see me. Usually with an adorable case of bed head. Sometimes he gets a treat and sometimes he doesn't.
 

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Maybe Scooter is sleeping in the hay pile out of memory for Punkin...I believe animals can see and feel things we can't...you never know ❤️

So glad to hear he's doing better, and hope everything goes well! May every case of babbles and bed head do both of your hearts good. He has some of the most adorable hair on a piggy I've ever seen!

I know it's bad and politically incorrect as hell, but...........sometimes I call him "Little Hitler" Because, well...........



Look at his mustache.
 

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That is a precious picture, like all the pictures you've put up.

I have thousands of photos. Literally. I have roughly 5000 of just these two over the last 3 years, then add Sly in. And probably another four or five thousand of Pooper and Sly. I had a hard drive crash which took most of Pooper and Sly's life together, away from me in picture at least. I still have the hard drive they're on and one day I'll have it recovered. That particular picture that I just put up, I had a bowl of bedtime veggies in my hand. Can you tell?

Just checked my phone. There are 2600 photos just on that alone. I love my pigs. Every one of them.



On a side note, Scooter seems to be craving attention tonight.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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And off he goes for his day at the vet.

He seems to be losing, on average lately at least, 7 grams a day. He went from 1085 Tuesday, to 1078 yesterday morning. This morning, down to 1071.

His eating has definitely slowed. His incisors are nice and straight and are not indicating a problem with his molars. He nibbled his pepper slice this morning and seems to be becoming more finicky about which colour peppers he will eat. He ate most of a green pepper yesterday, but orange pepper got hardly any attention today.

Gave him a nice thick slice of cucumber, and he ate perhaps 90% of it. Took him roughly twenty minutes, whereas it would normally take him 5-7.
 

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Scooter is back at home.

He's been off antibiotics since October 9th, I believe, when he had the molar planing. He was on the ear drops until Sunday night of this week.

He was under anesthetic for xrays today, at which time his teeth were examined. There was some slight overgrowth on one side, due to his being in pain and chewing only on one side. Dr Ker trimmed his molars down and they are basically fine.

The ear drops did little to get rid of the infection. In fact, it appears to be worse now. Here is the xray from today. I have circled the ear canal where the infection is. Above it, you can see the right side ear canal which is clear. This infection is down at the bottom of the ear canal, at his jaw. My photoshop skills suck, please don't hold this against me.



He's had an injection of Baytril today. Tomorrow, he will start 10 days of Azithromycin. Dr Ker wants a progress report on Monday, to see if he's better, or worse. If he stops eating again, we are more than likely going to switch to the injectable Baytril and Dr Ker will teach us how to do it.

Scooter still has a long road to travel. This infection is extremely difficult to treat because of the location. We will do everything we can for him.
 

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Update:

Scooter seems to be responding well to the new antibiotic. His weight has not dropped below 1057 grams. He seems to have one day where he poops fine, and the next he barely poops at all. His weight has gone as high as just over 1100, but drops once the pooping resumes.

The best news is that he still has an appetite. He will still beg for treats, still eats hay and his salads. He still isn't drinking at all or eating any pellets. His taste for what he likes in a treat vary from day to day. His spirits are good, he is active at times and wheeks a bit for his salad. He has become an attention hog.

He will be on the azithromycin for two courses, lasting 20 days. After that 20 days he will have another round of x-rays. Hoping for continued improvement.
 

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He's only had 4 doses. I'm very encouraged with how well he seems to be doing. The pooping/not pooping thing is bothering me, but I think we'll sort that out.

I walked in the door earlier this afternoon after I posted that update, and was greeted with some of the loudest wheeking I've heard from him in quite some time. Other than the illness, what bothers me the most is that I can tell how lonely he is. He gets as much attention as we can possibly give him, but I know he's alone at night and he doesn't venture out.
 

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Update for Scooter:

Scooters weight continues to climb. He is back up to roughly where he was in the middle of October. His weight Monday morning was 1057 grams, and tonight it is 1160.

He has been eating a mix of orchard grass hay and timothy hay. Just today I replaced his glass water bottles (which were probably 4 or 5 years old) with brand new glass ones with no drip nozzles on them . We'll see if he likes them. He hasn't been drinking from the bottles at all for weeks now and I replaced them in the hopes that it might encourage him.

He's been getting just a couple of syringes of Critical Care a day. The rest he's been eating on his own. He still isn't interested in pellets at all.

He's pretty much a lap pig now, and has taken to licking my hand when I have him out for a feeding or meds. Where he used to fidget and want to go home after about 5 minutes when being held, he will now sit quietly (or sometimes not so quietly, bitching softly) for a good hour. I know he misses his brother terribly and is looking to us for attention.

With the progress he is making, I'm hoping very much that in about two weeks (pending clear x-rays) that I can find a buddy for him. I have been looking locally and pickings are slim. There are a few in the Toronto area, but I would have to take a couple of days off for that to work, one for picking up the new guy and another day for introductions. Getting time off work, especially with a co-worker leaving for vacation shortly will be next to impossible but I'm hopeful. I'd like to get him a buddy, or a little lady (spayed, of course) his own age or close to it to be his companion.
 

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Update:

Scooter has been weighed weekly, every Sunday morning at around 6am his entire life. Since he has been ill, he has been weighed daily and sometimes twice daily. I know that's counterproductive, but it makes me feel better (or worse).

He is always weighed before any food, water or meds are administered in the mornings. This morning I was a little disheartened to see that he had dropped 15 grams from yesterday morning. That was until I took a closer look at things.

Since the first week of September when all of this started for both pigs, he has posted a net loss of weight each and every week. EVERY week. Small or large, he has lost weight every single week since September 1st.

UNTIL THIS WEEK. This week he posted a net gain of 32 grams. 1083 last Sunday, 1115 this week. A 32 gram gain.

I gave him a syringe of Critical Care yesterday morning, and with how much he ate yesterday morning I decided NOT to give him any more CC the rest of the day.

This morning, not only did he eat a full syringe (15 grams) of Critical Care, he ate a yellow pepper slice (a BIG one) and a cucumber slice. Net weight between all three was 60 grams. Add to that roughly 10 grams of water and vitamin C.

He spent all afternoon grazing yesterday. It was SO nice to see. He even spent 10 or 15 minutes at the pellet bowl, which he really hasn't done at all since this started. Just need to get him drinking from the water bottles again.

I am finally allowing myself to hope a little bit here.

I wish Punkin could be here for this too.
 

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Great news! Scooter and you have been through a lot recently, so I am happy to see hopeful news!

I just lost a beloved pet of 17 years this past week. I have been sick with grief, but I am also a firm believer that their spirit is always with us, nudging us along. Punkin is smiling upon you and Scooter from the rainbow bridge because the love never dies. When the time is right, you will open your heart to another furry soul who needs you.

Thank you again for the update. Give Scooter a cuddle for me and tell him that he has a lot of people rooting for him who have never met him, but know how special he is.

P.S. the picture of him and your response about his mustache gave me a much needed laugh. Thank you.

I am so, so sorry for your loss. 17 years is a lifetime of love, even though it's never enough. My thoughts are with you and your family, and Scooter sends his wheeks for support.
 

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Update:

Just a quick one this time. Scooter's weight continues to climb little by little (1136 this morning) He is still being given two syringes of Critical Care per day just for supplementation.

Over the last few days, he has been in his hay piles more. Still isn't drinking out of the water bottles yet. Biggest change is pellets. He has been at the pellet bowl several times per day now. That tells me that he is better able now to eat harder things which must mean the pain and difficulty are subsiding. HOPEFULLY. He is also, for the most part, pooping normally again.

He has also been finishing, or close to finishing, his salads. He's backed off eating his pepper slices again, but he LOVES his cucumbers. He is scheduled to spend the day at the vet Wednesday next week, for some observation and new x-rays.
 

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Update for Scooter:

I have waited for some time to make this post. I so deeply wish it was for both Scooter AND Punkin........

Scooters weight has been trending upwards, and he is now just a few grams shy of 1200. He is eating pellets normally, finishing his two small daily salads, and eating hay normally again. He is also eating and finishing both his morning pepper slices and an additional cucumber slice. Although I do notice that he is lonely (no popcorning at all) he has begun to make his noises again, and has turned into daddy's little sucky pig. To the point where he just about comes when he is called, burbling and wheeking.

He had a "spa day" at the vets again today. This time, there was no need for any dental work whatsoever. His x-rays came back completely clean, both tympanic membranes look identical and are clear. He has stopped tucking his head down when eating (indicating he's having pain or difficulty chewing) and his poop is plentiful and normal.

He is going to continue on another two bottles (20 days worth) of the azithromycin. The infection certainly appears beaten and we want to make absolute, damn certain that it's dead. Once his weight tops 1200 grams, we will end the Critical Care supplementation and the metacam and see what happens. We are going to keep a spare bottle of powdered azithromycin on hand just in case we need to start it again down the road.

I don't want to jinx it and say it's over and we're home free. But things are looking so, so much more positive. I'm looking for a buddy for Scooter. :)

I don't want to jin
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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So happy to hear that Scooter is on the mend! Not sure if you know this, or if it's too far a drive for you, but Toronto Animal Services frequently has guinea pigs and spays or neuters any that come through their doors. They currently have a VERY cute spayed girl. Their spayed females tend to go fast!


https://petharbor.com/detail.asp?ID...,'TRNT3','TRNT4','TRNT5'&atype=&where=type_OO
Thank you for that, [MENTION=31353]sallyvh[/MENTION] ! One more place I can keep looking. Fiona IS a cutie, I may email them in the morning about her. Scooter IS still on meds and we are very hopeful that this is the end of it, but also still scared to bring a new pig home and that one become infected as well. Whatever this bug is, it cost me Punkin and came close to taking Scooter as well.
 

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I’m glad you’r guinea pigs are doing great, but mine isn’t. So I have a guinea pig that was dropped by my sister two weeks ago. And I immediately took him to the emergency pet vet. She did he was fine and had in inflamed left side of his head; so basically a head tilt. She gave him meds which I gave to him but have ran out. He seems fine and eats, poops and drinks fine. The only problem is his eye. I told the vet that I noticed that his left eye was a bit wonky. Like when I blow air in his right eye he closes it, but his left eye kinda shakes and sinks in? But the vet said it was normal from the fall. But now I’m looking at his eye and it’s clouded and hazy. I’m afraid that he’ll lose his eyesight. Where I live there aren’t any exotic vets besides the one emergency pet hospital. And i don’t know what to do. I love my piggie and I just need advice on what to do. Please if anyone knows anything let me know on what to do. I’m so scared and worried about him and today my heart broke when I saw his eye.



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It certainly sounds as though he needs to see the vet again. There may be more going on than the vet had seen, upon his initial visit.

Whereabouts do you live? Not your exact address, just the general area. We MAY be able to help you find an exotic vet.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Ok, I know we have a few members in your general area. I'm in Canada, so hopefully someone will see this.

What I would suggest you do, however, is create your own Medical thread for your furball. It will show up on the main page, and the people who need to see it, will.
 
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