OzzyandBruno
Active Member
Cavy Slave
- Joined
- May 8, 2021
- Posts
- 20
- Joined
- May 8, 2021
- Messages
- 20
I feel like this could be quite long so I’m sorry in advance. I wanted to post about Ozzy because there’s been a lot going on with him the past few days.
He had been gradually losing weight for a while but not anything drastic, but then between Sunday 23 January and Friday 28 he lost over 50 grams so I began to wonder if there was something wrong. Then on Sunday 30 January I noticed that he didn’t seem to be pooping as often as normal, and when he did he was making a strange noise as though he was in discomfort. They were also quite squishy and some were clumped together so that’s when I thought it would be best to go to the vet. Also, Bruno had been limping and we found some drops of blood in their cage although I still don’t know who it belonged too, so we booked an emergency vet appointment for the next day (with the specialist exotic vet I use).
The vet basically told us that Ozzy needed an ultrasound and x-ray because they could feel a lump near his kidney. He also was making a clicking/rattling sound when he breathed. So they both stayed overnight at the vets and the vet rang the next day to explain the results. In summary this is what is wrong:
(The major problem) -He only has one kidney as the other one has sort of shrunk because of a growth on it (I don’t really know how to describe it) and doesn’t work anymore. However the kidney that is left has a cyst therefore he is functioning off one bad kidney.
-He has a tumour under his chin which is likely cancerous although the vet says the kidney problem is worse than this
-A chest infection (he has had two in the past so I think this is an ongoing problem)
-Arthritis in his legs, though this currently doesn’t seem to bother him as he is still very active and energetic
He has been given Metacam to help with any pain, Fortekor palatable tablets which I think are for his kidney and Marbocyl for his chest. However this is where I’m a bit confused about what to do. He has to have two 0.5ml doses of metacam each day basically for the rest of his life. But after reading up about it it seems as though metacam isn’t the best for kidneys over a long period of time, and Ozzy sounds as though he’s having quite a high dose. He also really doesn’t appear to be in pain at the minute, he is still active and always wanting to be let out for a long run around which he does several times a day. We are meant to be going back to the vet in about 10 days so I’ll ask the vet then, but I feel as though this much Metacam is doing more harm than good if he isn’t in pain at the moment? I mean of course that could change or maybe he actually is in pain but he honestly seems like his usual self in his personality.
One other thing is his diet. The vet said that we should limit his diet to plenty of hay and just lettuce, with the occasional small piece of fruit. I don’t know if this is because any other vegetables are too high in calcium and too much calcium could have been what caused his kidney problem? But even so, I’ve been searching up calcium levels in vegetables from a chart on guinea lynx, and there’s several other vegetables like pepper or cucumber which are lower in calcium so I’m a bit confused as to why he can’t have those vegetables too. I guess I’ll ask why he can’t have any other vegetables at all when I take him back to the vet in 10 days, maybe it’s something else like sugar levels?? I don’t really know though.
Anyway I’ve just been feeling a bit overwhelmed with this all and it’s happened so suddenly. I guess I was wondering if anyone has any experience or knowledge with kidney problems as I can’t find much to do with kidney cysts online. I hate to think about it but I know at some point Bruno is going to be the only guinea left. He is 5 years old and I guess I’ll have to find him another friend otherwise he’ll be by himself. Although, it’s hard to find any guineas to adopt who are around 5 years old, and I wouldn’t want to adopt a much younger pig at this stage. I probably sound like a bad owner with all these things going on with Ozzy and I hate the fact that he isn’t well. They have brought me so much happiness and I can’t bear to lose either of them
Again I’m sorry it’s so long but if anyone has any advice that would be appreciated.
He had been gradually losing weight for a while but not anything drastic, but then between Sunday 23 January and Friday 28 he lost over 50 grams so I began to wonder if there was something wrong. Then on Sunday 30 January I noticed that he didn’t seem to be pooping as often as normal, and when he did he was making a strange noise as though he was in discomfort. They were also quite squishy and some were clumped together so that’s when I thought it would be best to go to the vet. Also, Bruno had been limping and we found some drops of blood in their cage although I still don’t know who it belonged too, so we booked an emergency vet appointment for the next day (with the specialist exotic vet I use).
The vet basically told us that Ozzy needed an ultrasound and x-ray because they could feel a lump near his kidney. He also was making a clicking/rattling sound when he breathed. So they both stayed overnight at the vets and the vet rang the next day to explain the results. In summary this is what is wrong:
(The major problem) -He only has one kidney as the other one has sort of shrunk because of a growth on it (I don’t really know how to describe it) and doesn’t work anymore. However the kidney that is left has a cyst therefore he is functioning off one bad kidney.
-He has a tumour under his chin which is likely cancerous although the vet says the kidney problem is worse than this
-A chest infection (he has had two in the past so I think this is an ongoing problem)
-Arthritis in his legs, though this currently doesn’t seem to bother him as he is still very active and energetic
He has been given Metacam to help with any pain, Fortekor palatable tablets which I think are for his kidney and Marbocyl for his chest. However this is where I’m a bit confused about what to do. He has to have two 0.5ml doses of metacam each day basically for the rest of his life. But after reading up about it it seems as though metacam isn’t the best for kidneys over a long period of time, and Ozzy sounds as though he’s having quite a high dose. He also really doesn’t appear to be in pain at the minute, he is still active and always wanting to be let out for a long run around which he does several times a day. We are meant to be going back to the vet in about 10 days so I’ll ask the vet then, but I feel as though this much Metacam is doing more harm than good if he isn’t in pain at the moment? I mean of course that could change or maybe he actually is in pain but he honestly seems like his usual self in his personality.
One other thing is his diet. The vet said that we should limit his diet to plenty of hay and just lettuce, with the occasional small piece of fruit. I don’t know if this is because any other vegetables are too high in calcium and too much calcium could have been what caused his kidney problem? But even so, I’ve been searching up calcium levels in vegetables from a chart on guinea lynx, and there’s several other vegetables like pepper or cucumber which are lower in calcium so I’m a bit confused as to why he can’t have those vegetables too. I guess I’ll ask why he can’t have any other vegetables at all when I take him back to the vet in 10 days, maybe it’s something else like sugar levels?? I don’t really know though.
Anyway I’ve just been feeling a bit overwhelmed with this all and it’s happened so suddenly. I guess I was wondering if anyone has any experience or knowledge with kidney problems as I can’t find much to do with kidney cysts online. I hate to think about it but I know at some point Bruno is going to be the only guinea left. He is 5 years old and I guess I’ll have to find him another friend otherwise he’ll be by himself. Although, it’s hard to find any guineas to adopt who are around 5 years old, and I wouldn’t want to adopt a much younger pig at this stage. I probably sound like a bad owner with all these things going on with Ozzy and I hate the fact that he isn’t well. They have brought me so much happiness and I can’t bear to lose either of them
Again I’m sorry it’s so long but if anyone has any advice that would be appreciated.
