OT-not step related, sick pets
Need to vent:
I'm once again worried about my daughter's guinea pigs. The two younger ones had kind of a rough start. They had an upper respiratory infection when they were 3 months old, which the vet had me treat with a tiny amount of antibiotic twice daily. It was like .03 ml or something like that. They were babies though. Now I suspect that Princess Popcorn has another one. She has been coughing and sneezing so I'm having her checked out tomorrow. When they had a URI back in June, I only heard Princess Twerp coughing and sneezing and lo and behold when I took them to be checked, Popcorn had it too, so Twerp is getting checked as well. I think they'll be fine either way. It's not slowing them down, they're still eating, still hyperactive, especially Popcorn. I just hate when the fur babies get sick.
Now Queen Squeaky. I worry about her so much. She had a false alarm last month, which I've dubbed the $90 fart. So glad she was ok but it was $90 to find out she must've farted between the time I called the vet and when I took her there. Now she acts as if she doesn't feel well at all. She actually wants attention, which is unusual for her. She normally wants to be left alone, don't bother me, don't pet me, just feed me and go away. Very spoiled. Her fur is fluffed out and she has diarrhea or borderline diarrhea and she's been losing weight since we lost her cage mate. I also have not seen her cleaning herself lately. I had to give her a bath today. After the bath and some snuggles she cleaned herself so I was happy about that. But she's old and we lost her cage mate who was older than her back in April and I'm scared we're going to lose her soon too. She's spoiled and while she normally doesn't want to be gotten out of her cage much, she is so sweet. She gets demanding for food and i love hearing her loud squeaking. They are cute, entertaining little creatures. Losing her cage mate devastated my daughter and me, I don't think we can take losing her too. I hope the vet can and will help her. She's not just a pet, she's a member of the family. A very loved member of the family.
- PetSpoiler's blog
- Log in or register to post comments
Comments
Sorry. Pets are such a double
Sorry. Pets are such a double-edged sword - they bring so much joy but losing them brings so much pain.
I know this too well too
I know this too well too recently. Just make sure she's happy and comfortable. She's obviously well loved and that's what's important.
Gpig momma here....we had 6 in the herd but are down to 2 now.
Gpigs are so hard they don't show they are sick till they are almost on their death bed. I hope the little thing can kick whatever they have. Losing a cage mate I have learned can be devestating to them.
they are such cute little things with BIG personalities. I love the weeking.... and we had one that was so affectionate he would try to climb the cage for you to pet and hold him. Then we had one that loved to live in a box and was would bite you if you held him. He was so funny with his box.
I took them all to the vet
I took them all to the vet yesterday. $279 later the two Princesses are on an antibiotic twice a day for ten days and they hate it. They will fight me on it but I've figured out how to get them to take it. Then I tell them that wasn't so bad and they're making a big deal out of nothing. They do both have an upper respiratory infection.
The Queen is on an antidiarrheal antibiotic, they gave me an anti inflammatory to give to her as needed, an ointment for some sores on her feet that is due to her losing padding in her feet, and she needs a probiotic. Unfortunately no one has the probiotic locally so I had to order it online and it won't be here until Saturday. With her age, there are multiple things at play here. Possible arthritis which makes her unable to get her natural probiotic from her behind, her body isn't digesting food like it should, because no probiotics, which in turn is causing diarrhea and weight loss. She wasn't badly dehydrated but they gave her some fluids. She's needed her behind cleaned multiple times in the past few days. That's been rough. I need to find a better way to clean her. Putting her in the sink and cleaning her is hard for me and stressful on her. And now she expects a treat twice a day. They get one after their cage gets cleaned out, they get a bath, or they go to the vet or my sister's grooming shop. I'm planning on sweeping out their cage twice a day until Queen gets better. I'm still worried sick about Queen. She is nowhere near out of the woods. The Princesses are doing fine. The infection hasn't gotten into their lungs so they'll be ok.
They do tend to hide their symptoms. That's a lot of the reason we lost Queen's old cage mate. I thought she was just showing her age. I think Queen Squeaky got to the point where she wanted help and I did learn from losing her cage mate, Queen Biter. Hopefully she got help in time. She seems to perk up after I clean her up and snuggle her for a while. I keep telling her I love her, I'm not giving up on her, and to not give up on herself. I've done some crying and praying too. She's still eating and drinking and demanding food. Hopefully that's a good sign.
Glad everything is treatable!
Glad everything is treatable!
Can you use a washcloth and warm bowl of water to clean her up?