kissthecook74
New Born Pup
Hi everyone! First let me say thank to everyone on this forum. It has helped me find answers to some of my concerns. I adopted Chipper from the SPCA two years ago. They estimated his age to be about 2. He was extremely malnourished and neglected by his previous owner. He is nice and plump now. He is a sweet cuddly boy who suckered me into taking him home by putting his paws up on the cage and insisting I rub his chin and nose. He loves his parsley and inhales it like a wood chipper chews up a sapling (hence the name.) His demeanor is generally chipper too. The only time it isn't is when he doesn't feel well. Unbeknownst to me, zoological streptococcus is rampant in the Guinea pig population in Rhode Island. I have had a long struggle to keep him as healthy and comfortable as possible. I am hoping I can get some feedback on a couple of concerns. He is on Metacam twice a day to keep the lymph nodes from swelling which leads to coughing and wheezing. The infection was bad in his jaw and in the skull behind his ear but the Metacam seems to do the trick most of the time. The infection was pushing up on his teeth but a little shaving down did the trick as well as some experimental subdural antibiotic beads. Last year the vet inserted antibiotic beads under his skin twice. I thought I was going to lose him before that first time but the beads did their job and he rallied. About 6 months ago he started to whimper a little when he pooped and recently a lot more. The vet said that the antibiotics may still have affected his digestion even though they were placed sub-dermally and that may be the cause of the discomfort. I wasn't satisfied by that answer. He already gets a little probiotic in a clementine section every night. He loves anything in the orange family. There are many discussions on the forum about crying when pooping. He does not have any urinary tract problems as far as I can tell. He drinks and pees a ton and there is no blood or calcification in the urine. He has no fecal impaction and I have cleaned him out a couple of times to make sure hay, fur or secretion build up isn't present. He cries when the Q-tip touches the left side (with his back against me). The next couple of days after cleaning he cries more. I don't know if I am helping or hurting at this point. I don't know what else to look for or consider. Any suggestions would be appreciated. It is clear on certain days he doesn't feel great but on the whole he is happy, eats lots of hay, wants love, begs for parsley and runs and popcorns. He runs less now because he breathes very hard and fast from the streptococcus and his little lungs and heart have been affected. I have not seen any lethargy or reduced eating or drinking. His quality of life has actually been pretty good believe it or not up until recently. I don't want him to suffer and the crying when pooping breaks my heart. This is definitely a quality of life concern for me. If there's anything else someone can think of to help, please share. Thank you, Sabrina
