Peekaboo's Medical

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GrannyJu1
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Post   » Sun Oct 25, 2015 12:54 am


Ahh. Ok. The other 3 eat the colored part readily, but don't eat the crunchy pieces. I'll bet it is. I'll keep that in mind next time we have problems finding red or green leaf. Radicchio must be that way, also. Most, if not all, do not eat the white, but love the purple parts.

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GrannyJu1
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Post   » Fri Nov 13, 2015 12:51 pm


Saw Dr W. in Olympia a few days ago. He didn't have a lot of time for us (receptionist scheduled appts too close together), but he said this was more of a chance for us all to become acquainted with each other anyway.

In general he found Peek to be healthy for his quesstimated age. Would also like to see HIS x-rays from AHS in Longview. When I told him about the cough I occasionally hear from Peek, he told me to worry only when it became a trend. He couldn't hear anything "off" in Peek's chest. No lice or skin problems. No lumps or bumps where there shouldn't be any. Agreed that the metacam is a good treatment for Peek's arthritis issues and chided me to be more careful when noting dosages given in his record book (I wrote 0.5 instead of 0.05 once). ;o)

I didn't think to point out the Pea/Fatty eye Peek has and he didn't notice it (we were busy talking - bad momma). Besides, Peek usually really goes bug-eyed when he's scared. This condition will definitely be one of the things we discuss next time.

Will post more once Dr W. has a chance to look at Peek's x-rays.

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Lynx
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Post   » Fri Nov 13, 2015 12:58 pm


Sounds like you found a good vet!

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GrannyJu1
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Post   » Thu Nov 19, 2015 1:45 pm


About 3 minutes ago, Peek suddenly started an almost constant wheek, but it's a very unusual wheek - raspy, wheezy...

I pulled out my stethoscope and listened and I can hear his breathing along with the heartbeat, it sounds kind of wheezy also, but this is the first time I've listened so I don't know what is normal.

Can you tell me what to do? An emergency vet appointment? Stop panicking?

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GrannyJu1
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Post   » Thu Nov 19, 2015 3:25 pm


Panic attack over. I think he just got a pellet stuck in his throat and couldn't breath or wheek properly. It must have taken close to 5 minutes for him to be able to cough it back up/out. Scary 5 minutes for both of us! He seems ok now, but I'm going to stick extra close today.

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Lynx
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Post   » Thu Nov 19, 2015 9:11 pm


Does sound scary! Glad it resolved okay.

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GrannyJu1
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Post   » Mon Dec 14, 2015 12:22 pm


As I've mentioned before, Peek coughs a lot. He's been seen by no less than 3 different vets, none Exotic, but all experienced with guinea pigs, and none ever found a problem. Granted, the last vet only seriously checked problems I could report and this is not one I thought of at the time.

I'm pretty sure I hear him cough at least once a day, and MOST of the time he's eating. The second vet suggested I separate him from the others at meal time so he wouldn't feel rushed. I did and he now coughs a lot less, but how do you separate them when they need hay all the time? (rhetorical question).

To date, the worst episode was when he apparently got a pellet lodged in his throat - that time he could barely breath and it took about 5 minutes and my massaging his throat before he was able to move it.

However, last night while eating in his carrier, he had a coughing spell that worried me enough that I had to run over to check on him. He coughed a couple more times, then mostly stopped.

I've been giving all but Fuzz cherry tomatoes almost every night. They get cucumber several times a week, but not every night (various reasons); last night was a cucumber night. My point being: could the cucumber seeds lodge in his throat easier than tomato seeds?

Is it possible he has something wrong with his throat? Of the 5 pigs I have, if I hear a cough, 99.9% of the time it's him. I know I'd need to take him to a certified Exotics Vet, but what test would they do to check his throat? Since the only time he truly scared me was with the pellet (in 3+ yrs), is this something I need to have checked more in-depth?

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon Dec 14, 2015 1:02 pm


Cucumber seeds shouldn't present any problems for a normal pig. Tomato seeds, either. It's the hard ones you really have to worry about.

That said, we've had a pig on here that had an abnormally small throat opening. I can't remember what happened with it. But yes, you need to see an exotics vet. You're only wasting time and money otherwise.

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GrannyJu1
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Post   » Tue Dec 15, 2015 2:11 am


Thanks, bpatters. As soon as I get back I'll start my search for an Exotics Vet.

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GrannyJu1
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Post   » Mon Jan 04, 2016 2:20 am


ImagePeekaboo 2015 Weight Chart

This concerns me a little bit. We aren't sure of his age, but think he's at least 5, possibly closing in on 6 (counting March, his adoption month, as his birth month). He was definitely an adult when I adopted him in March of 2013. Would the weight loss support our suspicions?

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Wed Jan 06, 2016 10:39 pm


In my experience, definitely yes. Many of our senior males have lost 100-300 grams slowly after hitting 5+ and older, especially if they were big pigs to start with.

Is he otherwise healthy?

Consider an x-ray for heart enlargement and arthritis. If his weight begins to stabilize in the lower range and he's otherwise fine, I'd not worry. If he continues to lose, something else may be going on.

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GrannyJu1
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Post   » Thu Jan 07, 2016 5:09 pm


Thanks, Talishan!

We know he has arthritis (takes Metacam daily) - he had full body x-rays done last Sept., when the vet suspected bloat, along with the arthritis. She DID look at his heart because we'd just discussed possibility of developing heart disease (all the coughing he did, the fatty eye (?), and occasional "hoot" of a sort). She felt it was normal.

I will definitely watch his weight much more closely now that I've seen the downward trend, and will discuss that with our new vet who is looking at the x-rays. He didn't find any obvious problems with Peek, either. I can't believe I didn't see such a steady loss until I made the graph. I do compare weights over time, but just by -looking- at the page in their record books, not giving my full attention to an analysis. I will be doing so now!

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