WalterP's Front Teeth Look Bad

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Athena
Notorious P.I.G.

Post   » Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:12 pm


I took him to the vet for an emergency appointment soon after I posted. Dr. Derenzi thinks the tooth is infected. She also saw that his back molars are a bit pointy but she and I both prefer to treat the infection and see how he does. He is 6 years old and I don't want to put him under anesthesia if we don't have to.

I had given him some Metacam around 10AM and while waiting for the doctor he started eating a bit of hay around 11:15AM so I do think he had been in pain. She prescribed trimeth/sulfa for the infection and gave me more metacam.

I'm supposed to make sure he is drinking and if not, give sub-Qs. I have critical care to hand-feed. Yes, his weight is down. He was only 760g :-( ...strange because he has been eating. This morning was the first time he did not eat veggies and my son was the one who noticed late last night that WP's tooth was bloody at the gumline.

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Athena
Notorious P.I.G.

Post   » Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:07 pm


WP Is worse today. His nose is so stuffed and runny and I'm scared. I have Baytril from a previous pig. How much is a dose for a 760g pig? Can I give him both the Baytril and the Sulfa?

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AliceMcmallis
Supporter in '08

Post   » Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:55 pm


Maybe you should get an x-ray done to see if there is an infection that's spread from the tooth? If he's had an infection brewing in there since December, it may have spread significantly inside the bone, etc.

A 10 mg/kg dose of baytril for a 760 gram pig would be 0.76 mg. What is the concentration of the baytril you have?

It might take a little while for the sulfa to take effect though, so I would speak to the vet before giving him anything else.

I'm not sure if you can give both baytril and sulfatrim at the time, sorry.

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AliceMcmallis
Supporter in '08

Post   » Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:57 pm


How much weight has he lost since you saw his tooth originally?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:17 pm


Can you call your vet, Athena? I'm so sorry he is having such difficulties.

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Athena
Notorious P.I.G.

Post   » Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:11 pm


I called the vet and the only cavy vet on call is the least liked around here. But he did call me back and tell me to keep WP's nose clean. I had to go to an appointment so I couldn't take WP in a steamy shower room so I left a humidifier on and a heater on low.

I just got back and he seems even worse. He is now extremely BLOATED. What is up with that!? I'm calling the vet again.

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PinkRufus
Contributor in 2020

Post   » Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:23 pm


He could have swallowed a lot of air trying to breath. This is scary, I hope you can get him into the vet.

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Piggster

Post   » Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:49 pm


Athena, how about Dr Derenzi, Dr Koga, or Dr Jane Johnson? They are the next best as I know Dr Nakamura is off today (Monday). If any of these three are there today they should know what to do. It sounds like he may need to be on oxygen or require lasix.

Thinking good thoughts for WalterP. I hope he'll be OK.

Edited to add I didn't see that part about bloat - I would call Adobe back ASAP.

cutemomomi
Obey My Authority

Post   » Mon Jan 28, 2008 6:04 pm


I have seen both Dr. Koga and Johnson before for URI's to x-ray arthritis reading, I have much confidence in them too.

I am pretty sure Koga is on today, perhaps you can call and see if a walk in is possible.

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Athena
Notorious P.I.G.

Post   » Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:28 pm


WalterP is gone :-(.

It was heinous to see him go that way. He blew up before my eyes. The vet techs were so slow about giving him the medications as shots that he just kept getting bigger and bigger. Even when we first got there they paged the cavy vet THREE times before finally figuring out he was at lunch! My son and I were not slow about getting WP there. I went in my pajamas and no bra! Apparently the lady on the phone I spoke to and I were the only ones who understood the seriousness of bloat.

It took the vet tech forever and a year to prep all the needles and she wouldn't give him a shot each time she got one done, either. She apparently had to get them all done before doing anything. When she finally got them all prepared WP was even bigger and they were arguing about how to go about shooting him so that they wouldn't have to give him so many shots....I told them I didn't care if they shot him with seven needles, jut to get the meds into him. They tried to tell me the meds wouldn't help! Uh, the meds were to get his gut moving, of course they will help... They finally listened to me and shot him up. But it was way too late by then.

The only thing left to do was anesthetize him and tube him to get the air out. But when I got him to the chamber he was already limp and sideways. They tubed him without anesthetizing him and got some air out but then the doctor asked for epinephrine and I knew it was over.

It was a most undignified way to go and I feel terrible about that. WalterP was our first. I fell in love with him from the moment I saw him and he spoke to me through the glass. He taught me how much I love guinea pigs. My poor son is beside himself with grief.

This is just one more thing on top of so much else I am surviving right now going through this awful divorce from my emotionally abusive ex-husband. I don't know if it's possible, because lawyers are involved, but I hope I can put everything on the back burner and just grieve (and sleep?) for the next few days. Of course my daughter came home sick today from pre-school...

cutemomomi
Obey My Authority

Post   » Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:43 pm


I am so sorry Athena, it must had been awfully painful for you to watch WalterP suffer like that.
I am so sorry for your loss, I know nothing we can say can make your hurt go away, but please know we are thinking of you and your family tonight.
God speed little WalterP...

On the other hand, I would definitely file a formal complaint to Adobe.
I know it won't help anything or bring WalterP back, but it should be notified.
When I called and learned noone could have helped Meimei that afternoon, I filed a complaint the very next morning when I brought her in for necropsy.
Although she would never come back, the necropsy was comped and the visit was discounted.

Tracis
Let Sleeping Pigs Lie

Post   » Tue Jan 29, 2008 12:23 am


I'm so terribly sorry for your loss. WalterP was an extra-special guy, and he knew how much he was loved and cherished.

I also share your frustration and anger with the way the vet's office handled this. It just wasn't right.

My heart goes out to your and your family. You and your family did everything right for him; you did not let him down.

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