Bonnie - ovarian cyst w/ no symptoms
Checking in with an update on Bonnie!
She has adapted well to her new reality of loss of use of her bag legs. Initially she was not eating her cecotropes but that issues has largely resolved. She seems to know that she has to scoot around to eat them when she makes them. She is on gabapenten and tolerates that just fine. We do some daily weight bearing exercises, but her back legs are still pretty atrophied. I ordered extra fleece liners in her area and she scoots around just fine to get to her hay, water, and hideys. When treats are served, she is right there begging!
She has adapted well to her new reality of loss of use of her bag legs. Initially she was not eating her cecotropes but that issues has largely resolved. She seems to know that she has to scoot around to eat them when she makes them. She is on gabapenten and tolerates that just fine. We do some daily weight bearing exercises, but her back legs are still pretty atrophied. I ordered extra fleece liners in her area and she scoots around just fine to get to her hay, water, and hideys. When treats are served, she is right there begging!
I updated on Louise in the other thread and wanted to share about Bonnie. Shortly before Louise had her surgery, Bonnie had a mild case of disinterest in food. I took her in as a preemptive measure and she was bright and alert in the exam, with no temperature. They gave her some pain meds and antinausea meds and on the ride home she seemed out of it. I called the vet and they said the pain med may make her sleepy. By the time we arrived home, she was awake but unable to move much. We immediately went back to the vet. She had a very high temperature and had to be cooled down. We had her hospitalized and she showed a little improvement but kept doing this weird head jerking motion. We don't know if she suffered a stroke or a reaction to one of the medications. Given all of her other issues, we decided to say goodbye. I was able to hold her and it was a peaceful passing. She was so spirited and such a fighter - she is in my heart always!
- Sef
- I dissent.
I am so sorry to hear of the loss of Bonnie, as well as Louise. Goodness, you have had more than your fair share of heartbreak lately. :(
That sounds very odd, and I too wonder if it was a reaction of some sort to the medication or a complication around where it was injected. I've had guinea pigs react similarly (twitching/head jerking) when I have given a Ringers subcue injection in the wrong spot and hit a nerve, but they never had a fever with it or were lethargic. I'd be interested to know what she was given.
Godspeed to both Bonnie and Louise.
Sending you a gentle hug,
Sef
That sounds very odd, and I too wonder if it was a reaction of some sort to the medication or a complication around where it was injected. I've had guinea pigs react similarly (twitching/head jerking) when I have given a Ringers subcue injection in the wrong spot and hit a nerve, but they never had a fever with it or were lethargic. I'd be interested to know what she was given.
Godspeed to both Bonnie and Louise.
Sending you a gentle hug,
Sef
I've put two females through hormone treatment (one was 6, and the other was 9). Both of their cysts went away with just three shots. The 9-year-old regrew all her hair and regained 150g within a few months of treatment, and her cyst was large enough to see/feel without an ultrasound. The 6-year-old had other issues going on, so she temporarily regained some weight and then lost it again. I highly recommend the shots based on my experiences.
Thank you Sef and Lynx - it was a rough summer with sudden losses.
I believe the meds were cerenia and buprenorphine (I'm less certain on the bup but I know cerenia was one).
It was a hot Texas summers day when this happened, so when we left the vet after the injection, we were in the warm car but the AC kicked on pretty quickly. The vet didn't think that would cause the high fever we saw but I still kick myself for not letting the car cool down first before bringing her out. I believe her blood work showed an elevated white cell count and she was in because she was showing disinterest in food, so something was going on. It just seemed like perhaps with her various issues, this was just a perfect storm of bad luck for us.
Leia - the hormone shots did seem to do a great job for Bonnie and our other pig Louise. No issues with the shots or side effects, so I would do that again for other pigs too.
I believe the meds were cerenia and buprenorphine (I'm less certain on the bup but I know cerenia was one).
It was a hot Texas summers day when this happened, so when we left the vet after the injection, we were in the warm car but the AC kicked on pretty quickly. The vet didn't think that would cause the high fever we saw but I still kick myself for not letting the car cool down first before bringing her out. I believe her blood work showed an elevated white cell count and she was in because she was showing disinterest in food, so something was going on. It just seemed like perhaps with her various issues, this was just a perfect storm of bad luck for us.
Leia - the hormone shots did seem to do a great job for Bonnie and our other pig Louise. No issues with the shots or side effects, so I would do that again for other pigs too.