Sick Pig Questions/Concerns

[misspaige]

Hello everyone! Sorry in advance for the wall of text, tl;dr at the end.

I'm the owner of a beautiful little Peruvian guinea pig who I love dearly. I've owned him for about a year and a half, and he's the first pig I've ever owned. A little over a month ago, I noticed his eye was red and inflamed with a white film over it. I took him to the vet right away and was told that he had at some point developed an infection that festered and caused nerve damage on the right side of his face, and this paralyzed his right eyelid. The ulcer on his eye was just a result of being unable to blink.

As you might imagine, I was absolutely devastated, but we started lots of medicines to help heal the ulcer and get rid of the infection, and lubricant to keep his eye in good condition since he can't blink. For the most part I've come to terms with the fact that there was likely no way I could have known, and that even if I could have I didn't. Since then we've seen massive improvement in his eye, to the point where it looks almost completely normal, and we have another follow-up with the vet next week to confirm that everything is still healing normally.

All this backstory leads to a question: when he first started getting sick, he was tired and less peppy, and this made sense to me. He needed rest to heal, totally within reason. As he healed I'd hoped he would go back to being his old energetic and mischievous self, even though his eyelid is paralyzed, as long as he isn't uncomfortable. Unfortunately, he's still very sleepy and he rumbles at me more than he ever did pre-illness, and while I still cuddle and play with him and do everything I always did, I can't help but worry that there's something further wrong or that he's unhappy or uncomfortable.

I know I need to ask his vet about this, and I plan to call tomorrow once they're open and do so, but I just wanted to see if any of you have been through illnesses with your pigs and can offer insight into how their demeanors did or didn't change afterwards. Any input is greatly appreciated!

tl;dr: Pig gets very sick, goes to vet, gets treated, and heals very well, but is still lethargic. Owner is worried and looking for input regarding what to expect and what is normal.

[Lynx]

I don't have any useful ideas for you. It sounds like he is eating okay? Do you weigh him regularly? Any time you suspect illness, it is a good idea to start weighing daily so you can hand feed if needed. I am glad you will be seeing the vet, who hopefully will have more ideas than I do.