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Hair Loss Nugget's Medical Thread

Guinea Pig Papa

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

Awwww, what a sweet little face! He looks like Scooter, who thinks that sometimes its a pretty fun game to goober his CC as much as he can!

One tip I would like to offer you when you syringe feed him. Put the syringe sideways in his mouth, from left to right or right to left. It may be difficult because his molars are overgrown. Just squirt a little at a time into each cheek, basically.

If you squirt it straight in and either squirt too much, or hit an air pocket and it pops in too quickly, it can end up in his airway and either make a URI worse or he could choke.
 

Smileandnod

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

Nugget is an absolute cutie! Love that face!

I am so sorry you and he are having to go through this. He is lucky to have you.

Be patient and stay hopeful...don't forget to give him the probiotic to help with the antibiotic induced tummy issues.

I will definitely be rooting for the both of you...me and all my piggies too! Please continue to keep us updated.
 

hkwalker1

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

Thank you for the tip, Guinea Pig Papa! Feeding him into his mouth sideways is much easier.
Here's the morning update: I gave Nugget his second round of meds. He took them easy, as usual. Fortunately no liquid or bloody stool today! Bad news - there doesn't seem to be any poop at all :( Additionally, when I woke him up to get his meds, he shook violently for a few seconds. I have no idea what that was about.
He's walking around a little more than he did yesterday (which was not at all), but he's walking with his but in the air. I've seen him very lazily show interest in drinking out of the water bottle. He barely puts his mouth around it and then stops. I'm guessing it's the combination of not feeling good + his teeth overgrowing and causing him pain. I'm about to give him a nebulizer treatment and syringe feeding. I'll update how he feels later today!
 

hkwalker1

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

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He’s being so brave. I hope he can go back to annoying his brothers soon.
 

Guinepigmom_2.0

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

Omg, hope things start to look positive. the medicine should work if anything! omgosh poor baby <3 my heart goes out to you both.
 

hkwalker1

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

I was hoping I'd have a better update today, but the situation seems no better. He's so limp and his breathing is labored. He can no longer walk. He crawls across the floor, nearly dragging his back legs (like he's swimming). I'm at a loss. It's hard to stay hopeful, but the only thing I can do is keep up with the medicine and syringe feeding.
I don't think he has pooped at all. His brother managed to weasel his way through a hole and get into his quarantine area, so it's hard to tell which is which. But there is nothing liquid, only healthy poops (which I assume are from Fudge). I think being backed up is preventing him from using his back legs. Anything I can try?
 

hkwalker1

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

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His legs are sprawled out like this. I’m just holding him to my chest. He feels like a corpse. I’m waiting for the vet to call me back, but more than likely I’m taking him to the emergency vet. His problem must be intestinal, considering the bloody stool and lack of stool now.
 

hkwalker1

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

Sorry for so many update posts. The emergency vet doesn't have an exotic vet on staff right now, so I have to wait for an appointment. I just got the call that someone cancelled their 3 pm appointment, but that's 3 hours away. I hope he hangs on that long, but I'm not hopeful. I think it's his time. I've cancelled all my arrangements for today to just sit with him until he goes. I don't want him to be alone.
 

bpatters

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

You can try putting him on something that vibrates and see if that helps -- vibrating pillow, electric toothbrush, running clothes dryer, etc.

Have you checked to see if his anal sac needs to be cleaned?

Loss of motility in the back legs can be caused by a vitamin C deficiency. What exactly have you been feeding him?
 

hkwalker1

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

I checked the outside, but I’ll try doing more thorough boar inspection. I’ll also try the vibrations.

He’s on the same diet as the rest of the piggies. Oxbow pellets, Oxbow timothy hay, and the occasional Oxbow simple rewards treats. He’s not eating any of this so he’s on the critical care for guinea pigs. I was worried about Vitamin C for my older pig, so everyone received red bell peppers recently.

It’s not so much as he can’t use his back legs, it almost seems like he’s uncomfortable having them where they should be. If I lay him down normally, he pushes his back legs back on purpose.
 

hkwalker1

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

He just bled from his butt again. Something slimy and gellatenous came out as well
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

If you don't have a vibrating pillow or electric toothbrush, being a guy I have found that one of the battery powered razors like Gillette Fusion power or similar will work perfectly if you discard the removable razor head.

Just wanted to offer that as a tip as I have done precisely that, using it underneath a towel.
 

hkwalker1

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

No blockages - in fact there’s nearly nothing in his anal cavity. The vet did a pretty thorough cleaning while I was there since he was covered in poop + blood after what happened.
 

hkwalker1

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

A876AEDB-FDE6-49A0-A1D2-A1659DA79E25.jpg
Any thoughts as to what the hell this is that keeps coming out?
 

bpatters

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

It's mucus, and a sign of severe GI distress. If he were mine, I'd go on to the vet and tell them it's an emergency.
 

hkwalker1

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

I can’t go to the emergency vet, they have no exotic vet on staff. They’d just send me to my regular vet. I already called and tried
 

hkwalker1

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

I’m going to go drop him off and demand he be seen. Especially since I’m so furious at how they chose to treat him. I insisted, MULTIPLE TIMES, that something was wrong with his GI since he was BLEEDING out of his butt. They ignored this and only treated his URI. They gave me no option to test his feces or do any sort of testing.
 

hkwalker1

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

The vet says he recommends euthanasia. I’m at a loss. I don’t know how everything went so wrong so quickly. His GI track is so backed up and inflamed. A culture would take too long. I have the option to try treatment but I don’t know that it’s right to keep him suffering for any longer.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

I have been where you are, and recently. I am so, so sorry that you're faced with this decision. What you need to consider right now is his quality of life.
 

hkwalker1

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Re: Mental Issues? Is it possible?

Last update to this thread. We did decide it was best to put Nugget down. The doctor said even if we had all the money in the world, it was unlikely he was going to make it. I would have done anything for him, I did everything I thought I could do. I don’t want to say I had favorites, but he was my everything. I didn’t know I could love a small creature so much. I hope you’re popcorning and being your normal, cheery self in piggie heaven. The loss I am feeling is so enormous I can’t even explain it
 
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