Thread for Melvin

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Oct 30, 2021 9:22 am


I think with apples, what is valued is storage life and crispness. I notice so many of the new varieties are so much crisper than the old ones. And they also take old names and put them on new apples which aren't at all like they used to be. Golden Delicious was a great storing apple and had patches of "gold" on it. That variety in stores has disappeared though they have misappropriated the name and claim they sell them (we had them in our garden 60+ years ago).

Good that you use organic. Just so you know, they can still use pesticides of some sort but they have to be pesticide free for a specific amount of time. Apples are very susceptible to molds, worms, dieases, etc. I was used to worms in our apples.

daj

Post   » Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:44 pm


Yeah, on the mold and worm issues, nice apples are something of a miracle. I've never seem a nicely producing local tree. But I do remember going apple picking growing up in NJ, and they were the real thing, giant farmer's market apples. I recall eating 5 of them in a row. I hate to think about the pesticides though.

daj

Post   » Sun Mar 06, 2022 11:12 pm


Yesterday I noticed Melvin seems to be impacted. He had a dry poop stuck like glue down there, so I used Q-tips and mineral oil and got it off. But I am not sure how successful I am being with the rest. I tried again tonight and also used a soapy paper towel. He doesn't seem to have a large mass in his pocket. It was really hardened like dried tar around the opening though. I did work some out of the pocket, but not a whole lot. My question is how clean is it possible to get him? Should it all be removed, maybe by working at it some each night? I can't really tell if there's more in there or not. And is this typical? I never imagined it would be so hard to remove. I would have thought the oil would loosen it all right up.It's like a dark mess down there, and I can't tell what is what, and I don't want to hurt him or stress him out.

I also wonder about potential complications? I suspect a contributing factor in this is that I have been without a furnace for over a week. It's 47 degrees in the house in the morning. I've had to keep them covered most of the day, and they are all hunkering down in their apartments, on their beds. It's a cozy high 70s in there, but they are not getting much exercise. We were supposed to have heat back last Fri. but the gas valve in the new furnace is bad. I will find out tomorrow, how much longer it will be. I'm also trying some diet changes, one of which is adding psylium back to to his wet food and trying things like pepper and the fibrous portions of the lettuce leaf, both of which he hasn't had in, maybe close to a year, because they seemed to be causing him pain.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Mon Mar 07, 2022 4:17 pm


I'm not too sure what to suggest. Normally I'd say you could try giving him a butt bath, but if the house is that cold, I'm not sure I would want his bottom wet right now. Soaking the area might be the best way to loosen that up, though. Most of the gunk is outside his anal sac area? Any chance you could post a picture?

Usually an impacted boar will feel "heavy" around his bottom. Do you have anyone who can gently hold him while you explore the inside of his anal sac and see if you spot anything stuck up in there?

daj

Post   » Mon Mar 07, 2022 7:42 pm


I di do a bath this afternoon, and it seemed to help. We did it when the house was warmest, I only let him stand in it, and I had a radiant heater on him. Things looked much better down there, but I will continue to monitor him. I also need to rouse them from their beds every now and then. I work the rest of the week though, so they will be sedentary for large portions of the day. Still no word on the furnace fix. I'm just hoping it comes soon.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Mar 07, 2022 10:20 pm


47 is definitely nippy. I've been foregoing fires multiple nights these days. Am temps have been high 50's or low 60's. If the cage during the day is in front of a sunny window, that will help warm them up.

Hope your gentle persistence will pay off and you can get him cleaned up. If you have a radiant heater to provide localized heat and can fully dry him, soaking his butt in warm water may really help.

daj

Post   » Tue Mar 15, 2022 9:26 am


I've given Melvin 2 baths, and his problem seems not so much an impaction at this point. But, his pocket opening seems puckered outward, and the outside is tending to be encrusted with dried poop. All else seems fine with him though. Recently I did try getting him back on half pellets (OB GS) and half wet mix, but his pain came back. My furnace is due to be installed this Thurs. I am wondering if I should take him in or just try keeping him oiled? I'm sure it's not good for his opening to not be normal like the other guys.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:14 am


Interesting. Inverted anal sac?

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Mar 15, 2022 1:09 pm


What are OB GS pellets?

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Tue Mar 15, 2022 3:39 pm


I think Oxbow Garden Select. ;)

daj

Post   » Tue Mar 15, 2022 8:50 pm


Yes, Oxbow GS. I don't know if his anatomy was always this way or if it is recently developed, but I wonder if it's a concern...

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Mar 16, 2022 9:13 am


Sounds like an evaluation by a very knowledgeable veterinarian who works with lots of guinea pigs might answer some of your questions.

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