New here.. help.. my baby pigs URI won't clear

PandorasPiggies

Post   » Mon Jul 09, 2018 12:58 pm


Hi

Hes been on Enroflaxcin And doxycycline.. but prior to me getting him when he was ar Petco he had 2 rounds of antibiotics there as well.. but I do not know what they were.

Hes also had baytril ear drops.

I thought the same thing about the breathing being some kind of obstruction.. but what I dont know.

The CT scan could help identify what exactly is going on.. but other than knowledge I dont know as he said if its nerve damage we can't fo anything about it... it could help to see if there's still an infection lingering..

He doesnt have a runny nose or sneezing.. but he still seems to have pain in the affected ear... as massaging it makes him very unhappy

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Mon Jul 09, 2018 1:29 pm


Inner ear infections are very hard to treat, as there's really no good way to get antibiotics into the ear.

I've never heard of anyone trying to drain a guinea pig's ear, although that's essentially what's being done when a kid has ear tubes put in.

PandorasPiggies

Post   » Mon Jul 09, 2018 7:50 pm


Bpatters thank you

I've read that they're really challenging to treat. Dr said in order to drain an infection surgery would need done which would be approx $3K.. in addition to the tests to identify the problem.

Hes been on lots of antibiotics. Dr did tell me once that he may need them for the remainder of his life.. but he isn't on them now..

Other than the pain at touch and the strange paralysis of his face he seems ok. He runs around.. eats well. Tries to assert his dominance (lol)

I've been feeding him alfalfa hay away from the other pigs too..he isn't losing weight but my others are very porky in comparison. I can't even catch them with 1 hand. They're told chunky.

PandorasPiggies

Post   » Tue Jul 17, 2018 12:51 am


Hi everyone!

Thor is hanging in there and is doing decently right now. Still has his forever runny eye and his nostril that doesnt work..

But I think I've come to a conclusion that his issues most likely are from maloccousion or elongated roots in his back teeth on the left side. Or maybe spurs?

Please tell me if I'm way off base..

Here is why I have this theory... the pain at his ear from his ear infection seems to be gone but when he had pain it seemed to be near his eye too.. still seems that way.. but hes either adapted to the pain or is desensitized to it to some degree.

His nostril on the side doesn't work.. it seems swollen and blocked.. though I'm not sure if his face is terribly swollen.. but his nostril cannot be seen into.

His eye doesn't bulge on that side, so this is where I'm not sure.. if anything it seems recessed and the flesh around his eye is swollen and makes the eye look small. Some days this is worse than others. .. just as his head tilt is absent some days and super obviously prevalent other days.

He sometimes gets parsley and such 'stuck' on this side of his mouth and he tries to get it out.. he is successful but it's odd to watch... I give him carrots once in awhile, but seems like he has crumbs that fall out and he has carrot bits left behind

When I refill foods at night I give small scoops of pellets in 3 dishes (I have 4 pigs) and lots of hay and fresh veggies.. he tends to go for the pellets. I feed him some parsley or red lettuce when I clean his eye so hes getting some veggies.

Hes not really losing weight but isn't gaining either. I've fed him separately due to this issue. He has gained small amounts but not much, so I'm still trying to feed him. Also bought him some alfalfa hay for feeding separately.. he isn't terribly interested

He DOES eat, though... and doesnt squeak when eating. But I feel like he should be gaining more. Hes now smaller than Mr. Magoo who is a bit younger than him.

I tried to look in his mouth to see if I could see anything.. I cant. Too much chubbles of his inner cheeks to see the back. His front teeth seem ok and healthy..

But when I did this he drooled some.. the next day he had drool on his cheek and chin too.. I cleaned it up and he doesnt seem to be drooling anymore..

This all just seems like it might be a tooth issue..

My vet hasn't done xrays and I dont know if they do GP dental work. He often mentions referring me to the vet teaching hospital at UC Davis for treatment. But since that's a couple hours from me and its unknown .. and I cant drive back and forth bunches .. I dont know.

I suppose I should see if I can get him to do an xray.. at at $100 a visit to just see the Dr plus meds etc.. well.. I have to be contentious as I have kids and my husband has missed work due to his own health issues.. so I want to proceed and have a step to solution.. since he has been seen at least 6 times since I got him in March.. and I feel like I'm pretty much in the same spot with no answers.

There's another vet who recently started to see exotics.. I made an appt.. it's in a week and a half. The cost is only $50 vs the $100 I have been paying.. but this concerns me too. But the practice is much smaller.. so maybe his care will be better.. I just dont know. The dr at the main vet hospital in town I've been going to seems to remember us when we come in and such.. but I am sure hes trying to save me money on tests etc since I've already spent so much time and money on his health. Petco has paid a lot in the beginning.. but I have been paying for a bit now.

Does this seem like a reasonable or logical hypothesis on what ails poor Thor?

Thank you all again

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Tue Jul 17, 2018 1:35 am


I'd definitely want dental x-rays, and sooner rather than later if I could manage it.

PandorasPiggies

Post   » Tue Jul 17, 2018 2:06 am


That is my request.. the soonest appt the new vet has is a week and a half. I'm on a cancellation list to be seen. I explained to the receptionist on the phone my suspicion. I will also keep trying to get ahold of the regular ver we have been seeing. I'll pay the $100 to take him if they will actually listen to my theory for him. Hopefully I'll chat with the vet tomorrow if he calls back.. otherwise I'll leave another message

I looked at Thor's mouth a little more closely.. it doesnt seem as though hes closing it all the way on that side. I do hope this is something they can correct for him and it solves at least a couple of his problems.

Explains why he eats the flowery part of parsley but not the stem even though he used to much the stem first.

They have plenty of wood chews, hanging wood chews, chewable house, and hay is refreshed in the morning and at night and midday by my family if its low.

I would stop giving him pellets but I think that will make him stop eating altogether and I definitely do not want that.

It's kinda sad as I wonder if they had done an xray sooner if he could have been treated and be healthier now. Hes still a love. Still runs around. Hes jealous if I'm holding other pigs when I have him out too lol.

I feel like I should change my title of my post to Thor's medical saga..

What started as a suspected uri possibly wasnt (he never had runny nose or sneezing.. just the eye water)

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:24 pm


I wonder if there is a weakness in the muscles on the side of his face too. Does the jaw close symmetrically?

Read over everything in the teeth area too.
www.guinealynx.info/teeth.html

PandorasPiggies

Post   » Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:06 pm


I imagine its possibly part of it. His jaw used to close symmetrical it doesn't seem to now.. that side of his face seems a bit slack. I can take a photo. He seems to almost grind his teeth or something. Almost like teeth chatter but it's not. And it's more quiet

Researching down the rabbit hole about all of this has definitely led to this theory. I dont know if this theory holds water or not.. but it seems a somewhat likely culprit. It is in ways like this having ADHD can help.. but also consume me

I read the link you posted many times and looked through qs much info as I can find on the subject. In some ways I hope this is the answer to the problem..then at least we would have ground to work from! in other ways I dont know what other challenges that brings.. especially if it cant be treated locally and it has to possibly be addressed monthly..

Thank you again and again for your advice, support, and information. I cannot begin to fully convey how much its appreciated

PandorasPiggies

Post   » Fri Jul 27, 2018 10:51 pm


Alrightie here is an update on Thor.

Vet does not think he has a tooth issue, he feels it is ear infection issue. Reluctantly agreed to look but of course that comes with sedation. Keeps pushing a CT scan but as they're several hundred dollars it isnt in my cards. He said even xrays will be around $300.

I found another vet who sees exotics. So I took him there for a second opinion and discuss his teeth.

I loved loved loved the new vet. She spent quite a long time examining him and talking to me in detail about her findings.

Thor is such a good pig.. she decided to go ahead and try and look in his mouth at his back teeth.

She was able to see reasonably well, and said that on the right side hes exactly normal with normal wear.

On the left side, which is his problem side, his teeth are growing a bit sideways instead of up and down. Right now they're not having issue and his mouth closed properly

Thor does not seem to be in any kind of pain..

Also.. he has a diagnosis. Horner's syndrome. His whole left side of his face seems paralyzed. He cannot blink his eye, but he can see. He has corneal scarring from not being able to blink (I knew this already).. his eyelid on that side droops.. his ear seems a bit drooped. His mouth on that side drooped some as well. He also does not breathe from that side of his nose.

He has no respiratory distress or infections..

She said the issue was likely caused from nerve damage from his ear infection that he had.

He does have a lot of wax in each ear.. so I am to resume his baytril ear drops for a week to see if it improves the wax buildup.

She says he was the sweetest and best behaved guinea shes ever seen lol. He was quite cooperative.. except the part where she took him away to look at his teeth.. he didn't like that... but resumed being his sweet chatty self afterwards.

She did grind his front bottom teeth slightly .. as they were ok but getting a little long.. all in all he did quite well..

I was much happier with the answers and her exam of him.

I feel more at ease now that hes been checked more thoroughly..

He will have to continue to have eye ointment at least twice daily (more if we can do it.. but he is doing fine with the amount we are doing now.. I'll need to pick up some human artificial tear ointment for him)

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri Jul 27, 2018 10:58 pm


I'm so glad you found a more reasonable vet.

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mmeadow
Supporter 2004-2022

Post   » Fri Jul 27, 2018 11:25 pm


Poor little guy! Good that you found some answers to his problems.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Jul 28, 2018 9:23 am


Otoclens is really good at dissolving the wax in pets' ears. I think if they were cleaned carefully and well (not sticking anything in), the baytril ear drops might possibly work better (I don't know if they include any kind of cleaning ingredients).

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