Oodles Not Doing Well

[3piggles]

I've been doing butt dunks on Oodles for the past week. Today I noticed her hind legs don't seem to be working right. She has urine scald, so it's hard to tell if she hurt one leg and is struggling because it's all hay under foot. I've cleaned the hay out of one end of the cage, and put a fleece pad under the loft. I have a water bottle she can access under the loft, and moved the food dish down there.

I put her in there, and she immediately went out into the hay. She can move quickly, sometimes, but other times her end seems anchored in place?

I only have Neosporin, so put that on the urine scald. It seemed to help her calm down, so I will continue to apply it. She can't get to her rear end, so no chance of her licking it. Not sure what else to do. No vets open, and no guinea pig vets I know of in my area. Actually, no guinea pig vets I know of, period. The super expensive one back in Nashua retired, as did the one who saved Dallas from pneumonia. Now, all the exotics vets seem to have taken that one day on rodents, during vet school. I have contacted a Facebook friend who recently moved to NH. She has a rescue, so she might have a trusted vet. I've asked her. Also, there's a rescue near me, the one that took in all the guinea pigs who survived the fire at the Portsmouth, NH guinea pig sanctuary. I know the people at the rescue near me had to treat the burned pigs. I also know they are an abused horse sanctuary, but that's not public information. The point is they are good animal people, so hopefully have a trusted vet they use.

It's upsetting, to say the least. I don't like my babies being sick or injured, and really hope I can find a decent vet, who will examine her before Christmas. If not, it's another week/weekend of trying to keep her clean and comfortable.

[bazookagoof]

I hope Oodles will be okay; I always get a little nervous around the holidays when the vet sends me an e-mail stating they won't be open for a few days. 

[3piggles]

Update: Oodles didn't stay on the fleece pad, but buried herself in the hay. She has pellets and water where she can reach them, but we don't know if she'll try to reach them. I will give her pieces of cuke, just so I know she has water.

She was first at the dinner bowl, but after dinner seemed to flop down, and is breathing heavily. We're drying fleece pieces to make them warm, and putting them over her. Vic's concerned she may not make it through the night. If nothing else, since it gets cold in the house overnight, I will put her in the cloth house a friend made me, so she will be warm. If she chooses to leave the house and go back to the hay, we can't do much about that. I'd rather she die happy than take longer to go, and be unhappy. Noodles is spending time with her, but also going about her own business. It's nice that she's keeping tabs on her sister.

[Bean]

Oh no, I'm really sorry to hear that Oodles isn't doing well. I know you will do an amazing job taking care of her and making sure she has everything she needs to be as comfortable as possible. I'll keep everything crossed that she rallies overnight, please keep us posted. x

[3piggles]

Thanks. She made it through the night, and is apparently tired of cucumber, as she didn't eat the last piece I gave her. She needs a butt dunk, but I'm choosing my battles. I had to pick her up and move her back where their treats bowl always goes, as Noodles ran there an and waited for it. I'm trying not to move her anymore than I have to.

I got the name if a vet in the area. Not near us, but at least not in the next state. I'd really like to get her seen by a vet, so will try to book an appointment tomorrow, for sometime this week. Not sure if that's possible.

I don't think it's a stroke. One leg is definitely really hurting her. Her determination is still there, and she's eating, so vet visit or not, we'll keep her as comfortable as possible.

[Bean]

I'm glad she's still hanging in there. Good luck with getting her seen at the vet as soon as possible, I hope they make space for her if they know she's in pain. It sounds like if nothing else, some pain relief and maybe an anti-inflammatory would help keep her comfortable while you or a vet work out if it's an injury or something else causing her symptoms. It's stressful when our little ones aren't well - I hope you're doing okay too. x

[Seffy]

Fingers crossed. Sending good thoughts your way!

[amber89]

Oh no!! I am so sorry to hear that she is not doing that well.
I hope that you were able to book an appointment rather sooner and that she'll hang in there and get better.
It is distressing and hurting when the little ones are not doing well.

[3piggles]

I finally got Oodles in to an emergency vet clinic, where they do know guinea pigs, at least the basics. The one exotics vet in the area was closed. Apparently someone went in with COVID-19, and infected too many of the staff to stay open. We spent the better part of 3 hours waiting in the parking lot, which is how vets are handling things, now. Just as I got started with the Triage nurse, a critical dog came in, and it was all hands on deck for the dog. Totally understandable, but poor Oodles had an incredibly long afternoon in a small basket, without Noodles, and not feeling at all her best.

The vet agreed with me that Oodles probably injured/bruised her spine or something in the area of her hind legs, as she can move, but it's obviously very painful for her to move. The vet gave me Metacam/Meloxicam at a dose of .8ml every 24 hours. I was given a 1 ml syringe, and that was 8/10s of a whole syringe. I have a call in to make sure it's not .08 instead of .8 mls every 24 hours.

I looked it up online, and .6ml is the highest dose approved for guinea pigs, and that's for end of life pain issues, or very short term directly after surgery. I gave Oodles .2ml until I get confirmation from the vet, but even if I get confirmation, I don't think I'll give Oodles .8ml. I I think it's way too much.

Morty was on an end of life maintenance dose of .25ml. Weights are per K, and I doubt she weighs more than 1K, so I think I'm right to be concerned about the dose.

Otherwise, she's still eating, getting a lot of cukes and bell peppers to keep her hydrated. The vet said Oodles was well hydrated, which is good. I will see how well she manages to get veggies out of the bowl at dinner. I think she's just really tired, right now.

I literally called every exotics and non exotics vet within 20 miles, and no one was seeing new patients, and some weren't exotics vets anymore. Worst part is they all recommended Weare Animal Hospital, which has let too many of my animals die for me to trust them with another life

[Seffy]

That does seem like a lot. What is her weight, and what strength is the Metacam? Is it the standard 1.5 mg/ml, or is it the .5 mg/ml?

[3piggles]

I just got off the phone with the vet. It's a reduced strength of Metacam they use for small furries, which is why the higher dose. Once she explained it, I was okay with it. It's not dog or cat strength Metacam, but a weaker one. Also, the vet felt Oodles has a lot of pain in her hindquarters, so needed to give her as much relief as it was safe to give her. I just hope it helps, and she starts to feel well enough to not stay in one place and literally be living in her own waste. I hate to give her butt dunks, but changing the hay around her doesn't seem to help. She just doesn't move much, at all.

I'm glad I asked for clarification. I would have worried about it, and probably not gotten any sleep thinking I was giving Oodles enough to kill her.

[Seffy]

It should have the concentration on the bottle, I would think.

Glad you were able to get her seen and treated. Everything is more of a challenge during Covid.

[Bean]

I'm glad you got Oodles seen after what must have been a frustrating afternoon, and that the vet agrees it's more likely an injury than anything more sinister. Glad you got the dosage of the meds worked out and I really hope it's helping keep Oodles comfortable while she heals.

Bad news that the clinic that's let you down is still getting lots of recommendations. I'm glad you found anther alternative, but am sorry that some people won't. Let's hope they've improved since you went, not that you'd want to be the one to test that out.

Get well soon Oodles!

[3piggles]

Oodles started to run down about 90 minutes before her latest dose of meds, and since they are 24 hour meds, I don't want to keep giving them to her earlier and earlier. Once she gets the meds, she really perks up, so having the pain controlled is definitely helping. Hopefully, she will heal enough by the time the meds run out, to be able to finish healing without them.

I'm regularly cleaning out the hay where she's been lying, as she stays in one place most of the time. Last place had some diarrhea to clean out. Good thing about having so much hay all throughout the cage, is I can clean out one spot, and just move more over from another spot. Then I put fresh hay in for her to eat, and some for Noodles, too. Poor Noodles is so bored. She and her sister did everything together, so without Oodles, there's really nothing to do. We make sure Noodles gets attention, too, so it's not as if all the treats and attention go to Oodles. Noodles is probably getting a lot more treats than she needs, but if I give one to Oodles so she gets some food and liquid, I have to give something to Noodles, too.

Oodles has fallen in love with golden kiwis. She practically inhales them, so she's been getting small pieces of that for liquid. Doesn't hurt that kiwis are a super food, so she gets lots of nutrients, too.

[Bean]

Oh I'm really glad the meds are doing the trick and perking Oodles up. Like you say, hopefully whatever has happened will heal up on its own. It must be a weight off your mind knowing she's more comfortable.

Has she started getting diarrhoea since she's been on the meds, or since she's not been feeling good? I hope that doesn't last too long, especially if she's not moving around much or keeping herself clean.

Keep on getting better Oodles, Noodles needs her playmate back!

[Seffy]

Ditto! Here's hoping for continued improvement!

[amber89]

I am really glad to hear that the meds are helping her and she perks up a bit.
Fingers crossed that the improvement continues and the injury will heal up before the meds run out

[3piggles]

Happy to say Oodles has been under the loft eating pellets and drinking water, and has moved her rear end enough to get to the food bowl for meals. She's also moving around the cage a bit, though not running or going very far. Noodles is really happy to have her sister back to moving around, even if not playing. Noodles was getting so bored and lonely. We're really pleased with Oodles' progress, and hope to be able to give her a really good bath by the weekend. She really needs it

[Seffy]

Oh, that's some very good news indeed! Sounds like the Metacam is doing its job.

[3piggles]

Oodles is moving around enough for a good bath, tomorrow. It's cage cleaning day, and with family coming tomorrow night, we'll get that done, and put as clean pig in the fresh hay.

No more diarrhea, which is great. She's eating on her own, and demanding treats. She's definitely feeling better 💝