Am i being cruel?

[Quavers]

my Guinea pig roo has a deformed mouth putting it nicely and needs regular dentals and needs seringe fed for the rest of his life, hes also developed mouth ulcers which is resulting him to choke on his food and water for teh past 4 weeks i feel ive had to force feed him as he seems to be spitting it out the other side of his mouth but although hes going off his food he still seems happy popcorns around my bedroom all the time. the vet has told me that its time i start to think of the 'kindest thing' as she feels he is now suffering with his mouth which i do agree with as hes loosing weight refusing to eat etc. but when i watch him popcorning around my bedroom part of me thinks hes not ready to go

do you think hes suffering with his mouth? should i be considering the 'kindest thing'?

 

[MemberY]

I remember you posting about Quavers before. I dont know hun, only you know when it is time. As for mouth ulcers, gorgeousguineas do a neem toothpaste which may help with that. Maybe email Chrissy for advice? www.gorgeousguineas.com
Mine havent had toothy problems as yet but I dont personally see it as a reason to pts, especially if he seems happy :-\

 

[maryh]

I have known piggies maintained on syringe feeding for 3 years.If the piggy is otherwise happy I would not consider pts just yet.Is the vet you saw competent with dentals?,whereabouts are you? I have a sow who has twisted inscissors and a while ago she had to be syringe fed because of a nasty mouth ulcer.I tried various products but it would not heal.I spoke to Chrissie at GG and she recommended I try a Neem based toothpaste that she sells.It worked wonders.Got the sore healed in days,and it has not come back.Poppy is now able to eat by herself ,but we have to cut the inscissors sometimes.

 

[Pumpkinpiggie]

Try the neem first then access it again. I am in the same position as you and fully understand how you feel. There is no way on this earth I would hand feed any animal for three years. Only you can make the choice about weather pts at the end of the day its you who has to do all the cares and sometimes we have to do things for the best. take care here if you need a chat

 

[karenrgpr]

I am not in a position to hand feed for that long either so don't feel bad about the decision you need to make. Make sure you saw a good guinea pig vet, you will know if/when he's ready to go and it seems that its not yet. Think quality of life

A guineas favourite pastime is eating so 'force feeding' isn't something I enjoy. Though there are times I do it when I know that the guinea will recover/has a good chance of recovering. A friend of mine had a pig that needed regular dentals and she needed to top him up with syringe feeds for a couple of years, but was able to take him into work (I could not!) and has no family/other commitments. The main thing is that guinea is not in pain and you are happy with the decision that you make- no one can do it for you.

The Neem that GG supply is good and I would recommend it too

 

[piggybaker]

I think this is a sad decision you have to make, i wish you all the best in making it, try not to let your heart rule your head though

 

[Quavers]

well at the moment i dont feel hes ready :-\ i think if i was to make a decision now to pts i think i would regret it :-\ I'm deffinatly going to try the neem toothpaste stuff I'm hoping it will work

 

[spudnik]

lets hope it improves his health O0

good luck!

 

[MemberY]

Let us know how you get on with it Best of luck :smitten:

 

[roninnorfolk]

at the end of the day as long as you feel you have tried all you can for him (which sounds like you are O0 ) then any thouhts of pts should be made with a clear concionus and made with all the facts
Good luck with the little squeek and {{{Hugs}}} from me
Ron