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Steroid Injection To Help Weight Gain? Also Anesthetic For Dental?

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Elgifu321

Elgifu321

Junior Guinea Pig
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Ive posted before about Oswyn (said: Oz-win) my 4 yo piggy. Hes having issues with his teeth- or at least suspected issues inc drooling and severe weight loss and my usual vet didn't seem very confident so I switched vets to one recommended on here.. I went to rose cottage vets in Runcorn today with him and saw Ken Robinson.

He checked Oswyn over and noticed that he was squirming when his gums were touched from the outside of his cheeks- he prescribed metacam for pain relief. He was able to view Oswyns teeth and noticed that although they appeared a little sharp at the edges there were no spurs which was a little baffling. Hes hoping that if I can encourage Oswyn to chew a little, he wont need an op. Oswyn is on critical care at the minute as he weighs only 720g and is struggling to eat solid food. Ken also Oswyn a shot of the metacam and a shot of anabolic steroids (Laurabolin) to help him to gain weight before we left.

Personally I have not heard of steroids being used for this purpose in a guinea and although I was a bit hesitant, I figured that the vet probably knew best but am now wondering if anybody else has had experience with this as I'm quite dubious... I also spoke to Ken about how his teeth would be trimmed/ burred if they needed to be. He said that he would probably use anaesthetic as he feels he can do a better job this way. I guess that makes sense but I thought that experienced vets usually do dental treatments without due to the high risk. Have I been misinformed? Does anyone have experience with this?
 
Elgifu321 said:
Ive posted before about Oswyn (said: Oz-win) my 4 yo piggy. Hes having issues with his teeth- or at least suspected issues inc drooling and severe weight loss and my usual vet didn't seem very confident so I switched vets to one recommended on here.. I went to rose cottage vets in Runcorn today with him and saw Ken Robinson.

He checked Oswyn over and noticed that he was squirming when his gums were touched from the outside of his cheeks- he prescribed metacam for pain relief. He was able to view Oswyns teeth and noticed that although they appeared a little sharp at the edges there were no spurs which was a little baffling. Hes hoping that if I can encourage Oswyn to chew a little, he wont need an op. Oswyn is on critical care at the minute as he weighs only 720g and is struggling to eat solid food. Ken also Oswyn a shot of the metacam and a shot of anabolic steroids (Laurabolin) to help him to gain weight before we left.

Personally I have not heard of steroids being used for this purpose in a guinea and although I was a bit hesitant, I figured that the vet probably knew best but am now wondering if anybody else has had experience with this as I'm quite dubious... I also spoke to Ken about how his teeth would be trimmed/ burred if they needed to be. He said that he would probably use anaesthetic as he feels he can do a better job this way. I guess that makes sense but I thought that experienced vets usually do dental treatments without due to the high risk. Have I been misinformed? Does anyone have experience with this?
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Hi! here is our forum stance on the use of steroids in guinea pigs (from the top of this section): The Problems With Steroids And Why They Shouldn't Be Used.

We also have got a recommended vet locator on the top bar.
Most vets will insist on full GA for dentals. If you are doubtful about guinea pig dentals (which most vets are not experienced in and which they can make worse instead of better), please consider travelling down to Northampton. The Cat&Rabbit Care Clinic is seeing dental guinea pigs from all over the country on a near daily basis and have all the experience on how to best deal with a frail and low weight piggy. They will only use a full GA when really necessary. You will find that it is really worth the travel. They are a general vet practice, but one that treats only cats and small furries.
 
Thank you I will definitely look into that practice. I already read the thread on steroids but it appeared to only be on oral steroids with little information on topical ones- these ones were injected?
 
Elgifu321 said:
Thank you I will definitely look into that practice. I already read the thread on steroids but it appeared to only be on oral steroids with little information on topical ones- these ones were injected?
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Topical (i.e. "on the spot") treatments are only used on the surface, they also include medicated baths, creams and spot-on insecticidal products. Topical steroid products can be found as medical creams or as eye drops for severe eye infections. Opinions are currently divided on the advisability of the use of topical steroids. They don't get into the body itself, unlike an injection. We very definitely do not recommend steroid injection for any rodents.

Here is the link to the Cat&Rabbit Care Clinic. They have saved the lives of several forum piggies after local vets were not able to cope, including most recently my old gent hywel and his dental root abscess saga.
The Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic
 
Wiebke said:
Topical (i.e. "on the spot") treatments are only used on the surface, they also include medicated baths, creams and spot-on insecticidal products. Topical steroid products can be found as medical creams or as eye drops for severe eye infections. Opinions are devided on the advisability of the use of topical steroids. They don't get into the body itself, unlike an injection. We very definitely do not recommend steroid injection for any rodents.

Here is the link to the Cat&Rabbit Care Clinic. They have saved the lives of several forum piggies after local vets were not able to cope, including most recently my old gent hywel and his dental root abscess saga.
The Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic
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Thank you. Ill definitely take a look, i probably will go there if he definitely needs the surgery. Do you happen to know of anywhere with information on injected steroids?
 
Elgifu321 said:
Thank you. Ill definitely take a look, i probably will go there if he definitely needs the surgery. Do you happen to know of anywhere with information on injected steroids?
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Injected steroids tend to slow down organs in rodents, which can be fatal when dealing with a failing or a very frail organ. Hopefully your girl will pull through.

Please continue to syringe feed and water, if necessary little but often round the clock; you care is as important as any vet care at the moment.
Our syringe feeding guide has also got chapters on what to with very ill and how to care for dental guinea pigs. Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

@Abi_nurse @Adelle
 
Oswyn is a boy. Thank you for the support but unfortunately it isn't looking good. Oswyn is now very bloated so looks like its a trip to the emergency vet tonight for him :(
 
Oswyn stayed at the emergency vets last night and I just received a phone all to say that he passed away. I'm now incredibly heartbroken
 
So sorry to hear this... Sleep tight Oswyn x
 
Thank you. It's always so hard when they leave us :( I couldn't bring myself to pick him up by 7.45 so I'll have to collect him tonight I really don't know how I'll manage the drive home afterwards, I'm in floods of tears already </3

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He was such a gorgeous little piggy, and you tried your best to help him pull through and you could have done nothing more.
Popcorn free on the rainbow bridge beautiful little Oswyn.
Big hugs to you.Xx:hug:
 
I am so sorry you lost him..

Sleep tight handsome boy x
 
Thank you everyone... He's now at rest in a piggy pot as we're hoping to move house soon and I'd hate to leave him behind :-( His cage mate Rupert isn't doing to well... He's definitely acting depressed already, eating and drinking much less than usual and hiding in his tunnel all day... Keeping a close eye on him and his weight and going to take him piggy dating next week :-/ Don't like the feeling of replacing my beautiful boy so quickly but I know it's best for Rupert and his needs come first </3 <3
 
Elgifu321 said:
Thank you everyone... He's now at rest in a piggy pot as we're hoping to move house soon and I'd hate to leave him behind :-( His cage mate Rupert isn't doing to well... He's definitely acting depressed already, eating and drinking much less than usual and hiding in his tunnel all day... Keeping a close eye on him and his weight and going to take him piggy dating next week :-/ Don't like the feeling of replacing my beautiful boy so quickly but I know it's best for Rupert and his needs come first </3 <3
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It's very hard, I had to do the same about 2 months ago when I lost sam( in my avatar).His cage mate Georgie was not himself and just sitting around all day not seeming interested in much.Once I got him a new friend though I could see such a difference in Georgie and I knew I wasn't replacing Sam, I was just doing what was best for Georgie xx
 
Gem789 said:
It's very hard, I had to do the same about 2 months ago when I lost sam( in my avatar).His cage mate Georgie was not himself and just sitting around all day not seeming interested in much.Once I got him a new friend though I could see such a difference in Georgie and I knew I wasn't replacing Sam, I was just doing what was best for Georgie xx
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I think this is the best thing to do. Do what you think you should do for Rupert. I'm so sorry about Owsyn... My eyes are starting to water because hes the cutest little piggie ever! Popcorn free little one!
 
Thank you for the kind messages everybody... I'm still in shock but I've been a mess today. I know Oswyn wasn't well and was quite underweight but he was making such good progress up until Wednesday night. The thought that he might not be here today hadn't even crossed my mind until I saw him deteriorating. It happened so fast! Trying to do what's best for Rupert though as he's my only pig now x

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Here's a pic of them in the carrier wednesday afternoon about 5hrs before he went downhill... You can see a huge difference in Oswyn compared to the pic above but he was still okay in himself... You can see how close they were here :-(

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