Sick Chico and Amigo's med thread

[4boipigs]

Amigo is trying to act normal but sometimes he has that same sad look in his eyes like Gimbly did when he has GDV and was pts. He is eating decently on his own and drinking. Idk. I'm letting it play out. I got worried about pts and canceled his med orders. Going to see if a local pharmacy can compound them.

Gungnir was sleeping with Amigo when I came home.

 

[4boipigs]

Amigo seems to be feeling a bit better. He is eating more and more active than he was. His poops are looking a bit better. Still small and dry, but they're bigger. Obviously, I'm hoping we still have some time together...

 

[4boipigs]

Amigo's poops continue to look better and he's acting more normal. Poor guy is still super skinny tho. Admittedly, I haven't ordered the other 2 meds still. He has been taking furosemide and I started metacam again. He is hopping with his back legs so I suspect his arthritis is bothering him.

I'll have to make an appt for Gungnir soon - his skin is so dry and his fur is patchy! Supposedly teddies (he is some sort of teddie/sheltie or texel mix) get skin issues. I don't think it is contagious as no one else has it. I've seen two scabby areas on him also.

 

[4boipigs]

I have an appt to take Gungnir to the vet tomorrow. His skin is just pathetic. It is so dry, balding, and he has 3 areas with bloody scabs on his back. I don't ever see them fight, so I don't think Amigo is biting. I did notice Amigo had dry/patchy ears when we originally went to the vet for his heavy breathing, so maybe this is related. Amigo doesn't have any skin issues, only Gungnir. Hopefully an easy problem to solve.

As for Amigo, poor guy is just so thin, but his attitude and appetite are great! I'll ask the doctor for some suggestions and maybe buy some more Critical Care. I have 2 bags in the fridge, but I think they go bad so long after being open. One is from back when Gimbly was ill in March. The other is from Chico in May.

 

[bpatters]

Can you post pictures of his skin?

 

[4boipigs]

As expected, the vet didn't find any mites. I brought Revolution from home to treat both pigs anyway, and we are going to be treating for fungus just to be on the safe side. This doctor prefers topicals over oral meds, so we'll see how that goes. I'm to contact her in 2 weeks if he doesn't improve.

As for Amigo, I finally ordered his pimobendan and theophylline. I ordered it thru Mixlab, and they have free overnight delivery - so it'll be here tomorrow. He lost a bit of weight when the vet weighed him - he's at 760 now. I forget Gungnir's weight, but it was in the 700s also. But he's a small pig. He's actually Little Bear's weight but he's more filled out than Little Bear was.

The pics didn't come out great, but I promise he has a lot of dry skin and the areas are balder than he looks. Poor guy.

 

[CavySpirit]

Have you tried Coconut Oil? (VCO--Virgin, Organic, Cold-pressed)? I'd be rubbing that in twice a day for a while to see if that helps.

 

[bpatters]

A vitamin C supplement might also help. I've had a couple of pigs with patchy hair loss, and it has helped considerably.

 

[4boipigs]

I haven't tried coconut oil and they do get their Oxbow vitamin c every day. I'm going to start using the mousse tomorrow once the Revolution dries on them.

 

[4boipigs]

I got Amigo's meds from Mixlab today. They have free overnight shipping but their prices were higher than other pharmacies. On the plus side, they sent syringes marked with how far I need to give meds which is nice when the amount is .23ml. They had a wide range of flavors too! It was easy to get Amigo to take both. Hopefully adding pimobendan and theophylline will perk him up a little more.

They did include a little treat in his package (they call their shipments care packages), but I have no clue what is in it and may give it to my hamster instead.

 

[4boipigs]

Amigo definitely perked up with the meds. He has been begging for food nonstop. I had Thai food yesterday, and he and Gungnir were getting worked up that I wouldn't give them any (veggie spring rolls). Amigo also got upset the other day when he could smell orange juice (rarely they'll get an orange slice). This morning he's all the over the place asking for food.

As for Gungnir, he had a sudden personality shift. He's coming to the side of the cage to beg for food and isn't running off so soon when I come around.

Sadly for the meds, despite the flavors added, Amigo doesn't like them. The only thing he goes crazy for is the metacam.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

So glad to hear the meds are helping! He deserves to have as long and healthy a life as you can give him.

Hoping to hear more positive news in the coming days. Keep it up, Amigo!

 

[4boipigs]

Amigo's poop is looking way better - almost normal! Hopefully he'll put some weight back on.

 

[4boipigs]

Update on Gungnir since he's part of this thread -

He hasn't developed any more scabs/bloody/bald spots. I can't tell if his hair is growing back but it may be. He doesn't appreciate the mousse but at least it is just a once a day event. This is what the vet gave us. Makes me wonder what his skin condition is...we treated for mites on both pigs with Revolution just in case. No other pigs have skin issues, and I haven't caught anything from Gungnir either.

Amigo is still doing well, just wish I could get more weight on him. He hasn't lost any more weight, but I really don't think there is anything else to lose. He's around 760 grams right now. His healthy weight is around 1200 grams.

 

[4boipigs]

Any tips on how often to do follow ups with the dr? Amigo has been doing great, but at least where I work we like to see CHF dogs every few weeks. Right now I have to deal with my dog needing a neurologist (he's 15) so I have to plan wisely.

As for Gungnir, his skin is clearing up! Everyone seems fine, aside from my dog.

 

[4boipigs]

Amigo's breathing started to get more clicky. Luckily the doctor spoke w/ us over email, so we increased furosemide to .2ml. He is squinting one now also. One eye has been getting cloudy but not bothering him, so I assumed cataracts. The somewhat squinting eye now has some white on the pupil. Obviously I hope it clears up and is just cataracts, but I'll take care of it either way.

 

[bpatters]

Can you post a picture of the eye? There are a couple of conditions that have white on the eye.

 

[4boipigs]

Can you post a picture of the eye? There are a couple of conditions that have white on the eye.

I can't. The dot is very small, like pin size. My phone will never get a good shot. He isn't squinting today. We still have a follow up appt that I made for next week, but it's so hot that idk if I want to keep it. I made the appt for 8am when it isn't 100 degrees out at least.

 

[4boipigs]

I decided to keep Amigo's appt today. It's at 8.30 so we can avoid 110 degrees today. His eyes seem to be fine. He is absolutely ravenous when it comes to food. He will reach up and try to yank the pellet bowl out of my hands.

Sherwood sent me a sample of their recovery food (their version of Critical Care). He tried some last night and he loves it!

I feel bad because he is so skinny and he acts hungry all the time.

He seems to be doing perfectly fine, but I rather just have the doctor check him out, check his eyes, and I'll ask how much longer he may have to live. Won't be doing xrays today,

 

[4boipigs]

So the vet says Amigo is doing well enough. He lost a little weight. The white on his eyes are lipid deposits which may be related to his weight loss. They don't appear to be cataracts, and aren't harmful. He sounds a little worse this visit, but overall we agree his quality of life is decent for now.