mites/sore/labored breathing/skinny
- snowflakey
- E's Moriarity
Another of our UK members had a problem with visible mites that came in hay (yuk!), but most mites are microscopic and live under the skin of the pigs. They don't travel in hay or bedding.
Little Patricia
?? - 4/18/05
A victim of greed and ignorance, your days were filled with hunger and pain.
You are in a better place now.
I only wish I could have reached you sooner.
Thank you everyone for trying to help me help this little pig. Especially Katie for posting the emergency message. My vet did call Angel Memorial and consult with the exotics vet on staff there. He said we were doing the right things, and agreed with my vet that her prognosis was less than a 5% chance to survive. They suspected her body was shutting down and she was already in organ failure. She was unable to regulate her temperature at all, so we couldn't keep a constant source of heat or we would risk her temp spiking. But once out of the heat source, her temp fell back down. When I first arrived with her, her temp would not even register on the thermometer. We were able to get it up, but it would fall again, we did this over and over for 3.5 hours before I made the decision to let her go. She was so very, very thin. She was unable to hold her head up. She wouls just flop over on her side while I was taking hertemp and I had to pllace her upright only to have her fall over again. She was taking those deep gasping breaths my vet said something about how they are the body's way of doing CPR.
Oh, as I am writing this, the remaining girls are racing a popcorning around their cage. I believe they may have just been visited by an angel pig.
All the remaining pigs, while thin, are not nearly as thin as Patricia was. [If only I had realized she was so much thinner yesterday, perhaps I could have helped her better.] They are all eating their veggies and hay and pellets. All are fiesty when I catch them to give them their vitamin C and eye drops.
Thanks again for the help and support.
- salana
- GL is Just Peachy
I'm very sorry, LER. When I put Doom to sleep, the vet said that his falling to the side was from small seizures brought on by liver enzymes out of whack. His liver was enormous because he hadn't been able to eat enough. He also was skin and bones by the time he started having the seizures.
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- I Love Lucy
That sounds a lot like what happened to Poppy, sans the diarrhea. Poppy's temp was so low, and hard to regulate, and she couldn't even hold her head, muchless herself, up. Gasping breaths as well. It's such a very sad thing. :( I feel so sorry for little Patricia. May she rest in peace and find more happiness than she found in life.
Thank you both. Hearing your similar experiences helps. There are two little baby girls. I am going to name them Pattycake and Poppyseed in honor of out departed babies. Now I just need a name for the other girl. Salana, would you like to name her?
I forgot to add, about the boys, the guy with the wound has to wear something to keep him from biting/licking at his sore. I have a piece of x-ray film to try and fashion a cape like thing for him. I didn't get a chance to do it yet, though. The other bigger male needs to go back in for a recheck in a couple of days, possibly sooner, and may need chest x-rays due to his wheezing. They also appear to have serious eye problems and we are looking at possible surgery depending on how things look once they are healthier.
I forgot to add, about the boys, the guy with the wound has to wear something to keep him from biting/licking at his sore. I have a piece of x-ray film to try and fashion a cape like thing for him. I didn't get a chance to do it yet, though. The other bigger male needs to go back in for a recheck in a couple of days, possibly sooner, and may need chest x-rays due to his wheezing. They also appear to have serious eye problems and we are looking at possible surgery depending on how things look once they are healthier.
I'm sad that poor Paticia wasn't able to have a better time on earth. She reminded me of my late Chloe, with her fur all over the place like a poof ball. It's nice to think that they're up in guinea pig heaven munching on some hay and veggies (or Chloe's favorite, dandelions). I'm glad I was able to contribute to the fight for her life, even if one result is that we knew nothing more could be done, and it was her time to go.
Thanks everyone.
I made Fuzzy Lumpkins his "cape" today, to keep him from biting at his sore, so it can heal. Not sure how it will hold up overnight but we'll see if this works.
A few more pics here http://photobucket.com/albums/v429/LERPhotos/MassPigs/
I made Fuzzy Lumpkins his "cape" today, to keep him from biting at his sore, so it can heal. Not sure how it will hold up overnight but we'll see if this works.
A few more pics here http://photobucket.com/albums/v429/LERPhotos/MassPigs/