|
Post by 3piggles on Nov 15, 2015 22:17:49 GMT
Bad day with Morty His tumor was bleeding badly, and of course, all vets are closed on Sundays. We'll take him in tomorrow and have it checked. He's back in his t-shirt and mad at us for it. He's already gotten one arm out, and will probably get the other one out as soon as we go up to eat dinner. I've changed the bedding, which was deceptively clean. Looking at the back side, the fleece has wicked a lot of blood off the surface. He's still really spunky, eating, demanding treats, talking to his girls, and seeming to enjoy life. All that blood was just really upsetting. More later. We're just worn down from trying to hold him still to wash the wound with the saline, clean it was a cotton ball, and get the shirt on him. Hubby was wonderful, holding Morty while I did the rest.
|
|
Whimsy
Bronze Member
Posts: 400
|
Post by Whimsy on Nov 16, 2015 2:31:20 GMT
I saw Morty on Facebook wearing his t-shirt. I'm sorry to hear about his tumor. I sure hope the vet can help him. Fingers crossed!!
|
|
|
Post by Bean on Nov 16, 2015 9:39:27 GMT
Sorry his tumour's been bleeding again, it must be very disheartening even if he's still acting full of beans. Good luck at the vets - hope they can help and I'm sending lots of love to Morty and to you and hub too. x
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on Nov 16, 2015 17:08:58 GMT
The vet said the tumor is about 50% bigger than last time she checked, still not giving him any pain. He has cataracts, so it's very likely he's running into things and knocking off the scab. We've removed everything that could scratch him, smoothed all the edges of the pigloos, removed his beloved cardboard box house because it was getting very chewed and rough around all the openings, so there isn't much more we can do except add the soft houses once the really cold weather arrives. Since the cataracts mean he sees almost nothing in low light, hubby is installing under cabinet strip lights on the ceiling of their cage, so he doesn't have really low light periods when he could hurt himself. The lights are LED, with high/low settings, so overnight on the low setting, he should still have enough extra light to see outlines of things. Hubby was concerned they would never have darkness for sleeping, but I have always had auxiliary lights in the room so I could check on them without disturbing them. This will be directly in the cage, but they sleep in the houses or under the hay, anyway. I went back through my thread in Meet The Pigs, and found that I adopted Morty on June 1, 2010. He was a big boy even then, weighing in at 5 pounds, so he was an adult pig. Based on the cataracts and other things, the vet thinks he is over 7 years old, which is wonderful for a guinea pig. She said animals have lived for years with tumors such as his, and while she doesn't expect that to be the case with him, she doesn't think he's leaving us any time soon. Still no sign of any other tumors, he's eating, talking, bossing around the girls and knocking them out of the way to be first for treats. In other words, being a normal Morty. We will continue using the t-shirt when necessary. We are also going to try to styptic powder for bleeders when clipping their nails. The vet doesn't think he has any feeling in the tumor, so the powder might stop the bleeding and help it clot and scab faster. We will continue to rinse the tumor with the saline solution. He doesn't like it, but that's mostly because he has to stop doing what he wants to do for a couple of seconds to get rinsed. Otherwise, the vet thinks we're doing everything possible to keep him safe and comfy, so we'll continue to do that. UPDATE: Lights on in Pigloo City. One over the hay/kitchen area, and one over the living area. Much brighter, so hopefully he won't have as many accidents
|
|
|
Post by Bean on Nov 16, 2015 21:24:23 GMT
Hope the new lighting and the removal of any potential edges help. It does sound like the tumour is growing quickly, but it's good it doesn't seem to bother him and these growth spurts can stop just as quickly as they start, so let's hope it's about to take a rest. The quick growth might explain the skin soreness as it might not have had a chance to grow to a decent thickness over where the tumour has grown yet, so be more stretched and delicate if knocked. Hope the vet trip gave you peace of mind you're not missing anything and you can go back to spoiling him.
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on Nov 16, 2015 21:35:13 GMT
The vet did make us feel better, just knowing he isn't in any pain or discomfort, nothing is infected, and when he goes, it will be peacefully. We're resolved to give him the best remainder of his life that we possibly can, and I'm so glad we have the girls to keep him busy. He's not wearing the t-shirt. He only seems to need to wear it overnight, long enough for the wound to coagulate. We're both just really tired, which comes with worrying about a furbaby
|
|
|
Post by Bean on Nov 17, 2015 9:56:55 GMT
I'm sure Morty is very glad he has the girls to keep him busy too! It is tiring having a poorly pet - you don't want to miss anything that you could help with. I'm sure he's enjoying the extra attention and modifications. x
|
|
|
Post by jolovespiggies on Nov 17, 2015 20:37:08 GMT
It sounds as if he is still enjoying his life love and that is the main thing. Also you are doing all you can to make him happy and he certainly seems to love his girls. Please give him a cuddle from his Auntie Jo Jo.
Hugs Jo xx
|
|
|
Post by bazookagoof on Nov 18, 2015 4:01:44 GMT
The vet did make us feel better, just knowing he isn't in any pain or discomfort, nothing is infected, and when he goes, it will be peacefully. We're resolved to give him the best remainder of his life that we possibly can, and I'm so glad we have the girls to keep him busy. He's not wearing the t-shirt. He only seems to need to wear it overnight, long enough for the wound to coagulate. We're both just really tired, which comes with worrying about a furbaby I so know the feeling. I'll keep you in my thoughts.
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on Nov 18, 2015 18:49:16 GMT
Thanks for all the wonderful comments. We're watching him to see if his walking is hampered by the new shirt he's wearing, or if he's really having trouble walking. I'm hoping it's the shirt. He's bleeding a lot. Noodles seems to be after the spot a lot. We have rain moving in tomorrow, so a bit warmer temps, and I'm hoping to be able to give him a bath, really clean the wound, and try the styptic powder on it. I don't know that Noodles is doing the tumor any harm, but it seems to be bleeding a lot more with her attentions than it did without them. Maybe the styptic powder will dissuade her from bothering it. I really need to do piggy nails, so need to call the vet and set up the appointment. Morty is such a drama king when he gets his nails clipped, I'm afraid he might manage to wriggle out of our grasp. Otherwise, I'm just checking on his tumor, watching him, and giving him lots of love.
|
|
|
Post by Bean on Nov 19, 2015 10:36:23 GMT
Aww it's tough finding what the right thing is and balancing it all out. His new pals give him so much pleasure and fun, but they may of course be irritating the wound in some way. The tshirt helps him but he doesn't like wearing it.
Hope you get the warm day so you can get it nice and clean and have a proper look at it.
My lot hate lavender oil, yet it's safe (and even soothing) to use around skin diluted with a carrier oil. Maybe a few drops of that around the area will put Noodles off getting her nose too close? Of course Morty might not appreciate smelling of it either - it's all about the balance!
Give Morty a cuddle from me. x
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on Nov 19, 2015 19:38:23 GMT
I'm going to try the styptic powder, and see if that will also stop the bleeding. That would give me a lot of relief, but if that doesn't work, I'll try the oils. The biggest concern is always them ingesting something that's bad for them. They are all very quiet today, but it's a raining, gloomy day, and they always seem to know when the sun isn't shining.
|
|
|
Post by jolovespiggies on Nov 19, 2015 20:55:52 GMT
That is a good idea Piggles love, I hope it works and you do not have to try anything else.
Hugs Jo xx
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on Nov 20, 2015 15:40:55 GMT
Sun is shining, and the pigs are much more active. It's also much warmer, though the cold air returns later. I'm waiting for hubby to finish a project, so he can help me with the piggies. I'll report the results, later.
|
|
|
Post by jolovespiggies on Nov 20, 2015 20:01:24 GMT
Oh bless them, I hope they enjoyed their time in the sun shine.
Hugs JO xx
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on Nov 20, 2015 20:32:50 GMT
Baths and nails done for all three piggles. I used Gorgeous Guineas shampoo, so they are all clean, and they all smell the same. I used the nail clippers to clip a piece of tumor that had come lose, and was attached by hair, so Morty is free of that. I used the Styptic powder on the one bleeding area of the tumor, and he had no reaction to it at all, so I'll continue using that to keep the bleeding to a minimum. All three piggles are snuggled into the carrier, in two layers of fleece pad and towels. The cage is all clean and ready for them. Not too bad, though the girls were struggling to get out of the kitchen sink. Noodles made it into the small side sink, then onto the counter, before hubby caught her. He through she would stay in the side sink. He'll learn Morty put up no fuss of any kind, not even his drama king performance while getting his nails done. It was kind of sad to see my huge, lovable, drama king so small and not protesting, but he should be feeling a lot better. Piggy laundry being washed. He does have one t-shirt left, but I'm hoping he won't need it with the styptic powder. UPDATE: Saturday, and no bleeding. The tumor looks clean and dry. The styptic powder seems to be working. Morty is so fluffy and soft, and so happy not to have to wear a t-shirt He's definitely moving better without the shirt, so I think that's something I'll have to consider when using the shirts. Make the surface as flat and clear as possible.
|
|
|
Post by jolovespiggies on Nov 21, 2015 20:28:15 GMT
This is great news darling, all those loving vibes seem to have worked. I am glad he is better and his tumour looks clean and dry and thanks you for the updates.
Hugs Jo xx
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on Nov 22, 2015 15:50:15 GMT
Still no bleeding from the tumor, which makes me feel a whole lot better. Just seeing the blood made me worry terribly, bleeding, even if we can't feel it, isn't good. I also didn't know if the girls were bothering the tumor or cleaning it. I'm very relieved. Also, without the shirt, he's been much more stable on his feet, and that's more reason to be relieved
|
|
|
Post by jolovespiggies on Nov 22, 2015 21:06:11 GMT
More good news, this is great hunni, it sounds as if he is making a good recovery.
Hugs Jo xx
|
|
|
Post by Bean on Nov 23, 2015 10:23:37 GMT
Great news, really pleased the bleeding has stopped and he's looking more stable.
|
|