SeeSpotSit
Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2011
- Messages
- 574
As a very new piggie parent I am so sad to have lost one of my first ones at only 2.5 months old 
It was a completely freak thing and he was gone 12 hours from being a completely normal little man.
We adopted Fat Albert and Alfred about a month and a half ago. We've had so much fun with them! They live in a C & C cage on fleece and get all of the blue/orchard hay they desire in addition to Alfalfa pellets and the right veggies. Alfred definitely ate his "fair share" of the veggies so when I saw a little runny poo (it wasn't dark) I assumed he had eaten too many veggies. But after just a little while I was getting worried so we took him to the vet. He took a look under the microscope at his poo and rated the parasite level as a 4, he said the entire slide was swimming. So, he sent us home with SMZ-TMP antibiotic, Meloxicam for pain, Metronidazole for poo, and Clostridial to help his little intestines. I administered all medications (except Clostridial waiting about an hour as directed) as well as some pellet mashed with water to add hydration and fiber. An hour later he would barely swallow much of the Clostridial and about another hour later I tried again with water/pellet mash and he wouldn't swallow at all. So...off to the emergency vet (just happens to also occupy the space of the exotics vet we saw) where we put him on an IV and they worked to stabilize him until the exotics vet returned in a few hours. At 4 am the vet called, he had stopped breathing and did not respond to CPR
The vet said because of his age, he believes Alfred had a compromised immune system and as the antibodies from his mother wore off, these naturally occurring parasites (found in very small numbers in their intestines) took over. I know I did all that I could to save him, but I hate all of the unknown surrounding the loss of one of our very special furry kids. 12 hours from eating, popcorning, wheeking, and running around he was dying...
Knowing Fat Albert needs a friend is so difficult, he's still a baby and has never been alone but the thought of trying replace Alfred right away breaks my heart. Needless to say for now, the little fatty man is getting more attention from my partner and me than he probably even wants we'll explore the idea of a friend soon.
RIP Alfred, I can't wait to see you again...
(this is such a cute photo of him but I have no idea why it's upside down...)
It was a completely freak thing and he was gone 12 hours from being a completely normal little man.We adopted Fat Albert and Alfred about a month and a half ago. We've had so much fun with them! They live in a C & C cage on fleece and get all of the blue/orchard hay they desire in addition to Alfalfa pellets and the right veggies. Alfred definitely ate his "fair share" of the veggies so when I saw a little runny poo (it wasn't dark) I assumed he had eaten too many veggies. But after just a little while I was getting worried so we took him to the vet. He took a look under the microscope at his poo and rated the parasite level as a 4, he said the entire slide was swimming. So, he sent us home with SMZ-TMP antibiotic, Meloxicam for pain, Metronidazole for poo, and Clostridial to help his little intestines. I administered all medications (except Clostridial waiting about an hour as directed) as well as some pellet mashed with water to add hydration and fiber. An hour later he would barely swallow much of the Clostridial and about another hour later I tried again with water/pellet mash and he wouldn't swallow at all. So...off to the emergency vet (just happens to also occupy the space of the exotics vet we saw) where we put him on an IV and they worked to stabilize him until the exotics vet returned in a few hours. At 4 am the vet called, he had stopped breathing and did not respond to CPR
The vet said because of his age, he believes Alfred had a compromised immune system and as the antibodies from his mother wore off, these naturally occurring parasites (found in very small numbers in their intestines) took over. I know I did all that I could to save him, but I hate all of the unknown surrounding the loss of one of our very special furry kids. 12 hours from eating, popcorning, wheeking, and running around he was dying...
Knowing Fat Albert needs a friend is so difficult, he's still a baby and has never been alone but the thought of trying replace Alfred right away breaks my heart. Needless to say for now, the little fatty man is getting more attention from my partner and me than he probably even wants
we'll explore the idea of a friend soon.RIP Alfred, I can't wait to see you again...
(this is such a cute photo of him but I have no idea why it's upside down...)
