lettucebefriends
New Born Pup
Hello, this is my first post. It is very long, I apologize, but I would appreciate anyone who would be willing to read and offer some wisdom/advice on my situation.
Background: I rescued both of my guinea pigs a year and a half ago. Pumpkin was a baby at the time and Poppy was an adult, we were unsure of her age probably around 3 years old. I feed them timothy hay, pellets, and lots of fresh veggies (mainly romaine lettuce, bell peppers, cucumbers-- carrots, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro in small amounts/occasionally). When Pumpkin was about 2 months old she had a respiratory infection and some bloating, the vets were not sure which led to the other but after her being on 3 different medications, some I administered 4 times a day, she got better (this was over a year ago).
A few weeks ago I noticed unusual behavior between my guineas, as Pumpkin, the submissive one was mounting Poppy and although I thought it was her being in heat at first, it did not go away. I observed that Poppy was drinking excessive amounts of water and so my instinct told me it could be something wrong with her kidneys. She was eating, peeing, and pooping normally. I waited another week until I visited my mom for the holidays so I could take Poppy to her normal vet. The day I got to my mom's, I could tell she was very skinny and it concerned me because she is usually around 1,100 g. She was down to 940g despite eating and did an ultrasound revealing calcium crystals in her bladder and I also requested a urinalysis. The urinalysis showed no signs of bacteria, although there was a little blood but they said that could have been from drawing the urine. They gave me antibiotics and an herb used to dissolve the crystals.
I got progressively more concerned, and knew in my gut for over a week at this point that something was very wrong with her, before I took her to the vet and a while before she started showing physical symptoms. I felt she had lost even more weight and seemed more lethargic so I took her in again two days later and they did an x-ray, and said her lungs and heart were good, and she had a belly full of food. She went down to 920g. They were vague and said something along the lines of "it could be a couple different things, we aren't really sure but getting blood from guineas is hard and anesthesia is kinda dangerous, plus if something came back about her kidneys we couldn't really do anything". They gave her fluids and sent me back home with her.
Three days later on Christmas I picked Poppy up and she was very bloated. My heart sank and I immediately took her to the emergency center. Although this vet is not an exotics expert, I felt immediately more confident in her. She gave Poppy fluids, pain medication, and reached out to her colleagues. She did an x-ray which broke my heart to see. She was extremely bloated, as I knew, and had a build up of secal matter in her intestines. Obviously, and I felt my other vet should have at least brought this up, was that her GI tract was shutting down (explains the weight loss). She was stabilized overnight until I could bring her to her normal vet, where she sadly passed away after only about an hour of being there.
it's 6 days later, and Pumpkin is left without her companion. I noticed she was drinking less water. I marked her water and she hasn't drank any in 2 days. She is eating like normal, but today I saw no urine in her bedding, and she is bloated (today was the only day I could tell for sure that she is).
If it wasn't clear already, I take extreme care to make sure my guinea pigs are okay. I rescued them to give them a better life, not have them get ill and pass away before their time.
I already made a vet appointment for tomorrow, but I do not feel confident that this vet takes these symptoms as seriously as I do (even though they are said to be the best one in my county). Although these vet visits are expensive, it would be more than worth it for me if it ensured my guinea was in the best hands possible.
If they do not see Pumpkin's symptoms as very serious and potentially life-threatening, should I go to a different vet? I feel not enough was done on Poppy's behalf, and she ended up passing away.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
Your fellow guinea pig lover
Background: I rescued both of my guinea pigs a year and a half ago. Pumpkin was a baby at the time and Poppy was an adult, we were unsure of her age probably around 3 years old. I feed them timothy hay, pellets, and lots of fresh veggies (mainly romaine lettuce, bell peppers, cucumbers-- carrots, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro in small amounts/occasionally). When Pumpkin was about 2 months old she had a respiratory infection and some bloating, the vets were not sure which led to the other but after her being on 3 different medications, some I administered 4 times a day, she got better (this was over a year ago).
A few weeks ago I noticed unusual behavior between my guineas, as Pumpkin, the submissive one was mounting Poppy and although I thought it was her being in heat at first, it did not go away. I observed that Poppy was drinking excessive amounts of water and so my instinct told me it could be something wrong with her kidneys. She was eating, peeing, and pooping normally. I waited another week until I visited my mom for the holidays so I could take Poppy to her normal vet. The day I got to my mom's, I could tell she was very skinny and it concerned me because she is usually around 1,100 g. She was down to 940g despite eating and did an ultrasound revealing calcium crystals in her bladder and I also requested a urinalysis. The urinalysis showed no signs of bacteria, although there was a little blood but they said that could have been from drawing the urine. They gave me antibiotics and an herb used to dissolve the crystals.
I got progressively more concerned, and knew in my gut for over a week at this point that something was very wrong with her, before I took her to the vet and a while before she started showing physical symptoms. I felt she had lost even more weight and seemed more lethargic so I took her in again two days later and they did an x-ray, and said her lungs and heart were good, and she had a belly full of food. She went down to 920g. They were vague and said something along the lines of "it could be a couple different things, we aren't really sure but getting blood from guineas is hard and anesthesia is kinda dangerous, plus if something came back about her kidneys we couldn't really do anything". They gave her fluids and sent me back home with her.
Three days later on Christmas I picked Poppy up and she was very bloated. My heart sank and I immediately took her to the emergency center. Although this vet is not an exotics expert, I felt immediately more confident in her. She gave Poppy fluids, pain medication, and reached out to her colleagues. She did an x-ray which broke my heart to see. She was extremely bloated, as I knew, and had a build up of secal matter in her intestines. Obviously, and I felt my other vet should have at least brought this up, was that her GI tract was shutting down (explains the weight loss). She was stabilized overnight until I could bring her to her normal vet, where she sadly passed away after only about an hour of being there.
it's 6 days later, and Pumpkin is left without her companion. I noticed she was drinking less water. I marked her water and she hasn't drank any in 2 days. She is eating like normal, but today I saw no urine in her bedding, and she is bloated (today was the only day I could tell for sure that she is).
If it wasn't clear already, I take extreme care to make sure my guinea pigs are okay. I rescued them to give them a better life, not have them get ill and pass away before their time.
I already made a vet appointment for tomorrow, but I do not feel confident that this vet takes these symptoms as seriously as I do (even though they are said to be the best one in my county). Although these vet visits are expensive, it would be more than worth it for me if it ensured my guinea was in the best hands possible.
If they do not see Pumpkin's symptoms as very serious and potentially life-threatening, should I go to a different vet? I feel not enough was done on Poppy's behalf, and she ended up passing away.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
Your fellow guinea pig lover
