eddie piggy - *kidney disease* *he's gone*

it's scary how quickly things happen. noticed he didn't seem himself. weighed him and he was down 170g he had a thorough check over at the vets and his lower teeth have over-grown slightly. so he's had a dental and is back home now resting. he's coped really well today and of course had mollie by his side for comfort

he's already eaten a bit of cucumber, grass and dandelion so that's really good. he's on metacam 2x a day for 5days (0.7ml) so fingers crossed he's back to his usual self soon.

eta: i forgot to mention that he had a build up of 'gunk' on the end of his penis aswell which was probably making him feel uncomfortable. they cleaned that up for him whilst he was asleep.

I'm sure you and Eddie are both glad it's over - sending lots of vibes for the little chap xxx

Get well soon Eddie Xx

Roly Poly said:

I'm sure you and Eddie are both glad it's over - sending lots of vibes for the little chap xxx

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i'm exhausted! but so glad it's done and they're back home again. x

yay, he's nibbling hay aswell

Aww...lots of swift recovery vibes for Eddie...though I'm guessing he's already most of the way there. xxxxx

MimzMum said:

Aww...lots of swift recovery vibes for Eddie...though I'm guessing he's already most of the way there. xxxxx

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he's doing alot better than i thought he would actually. it's a long day for them so i'm pleased so far. he loves metacam so that part is easy. he's just had his tea and ate that well. and he's nibbling the odd bit of hay aswell. i can't remember if i told you but one of his nicknames is itty bitty bear now after you said it on another thread :lol:

eddie had us worried yesterday as he seemed tired and didn't want to move from his box. he also started to eat less so we had to start topping him up with syringe feeds. he seemed scared almost to try eating his normal hay and pellets. but thankfully we are now back on track and although he hasn't eaten pellets yet, he has realised that eating soft hay is fine so hopefully now he should gradually start to increase his hay eating again. he will eat his veg and also grass, dandelions and some dried herbs. and he has to be towel wrapped for syringe feeding as he's a wriggler! but doing much better with each feed.

he also seemed a bit uncomfortable yesterday when urinating and because the vet mentioned the possibility that the teeth could be a secondary symptom, i panicked thinking he had a uti and this was the 'real' issue causing him to eat less and need a dental. but happy to report that he seems fine with that today and the vet thought he could just be a little tender from when they cleaned his penis, which appears to be the case.

weight wise, he dropped a little more after the dental unsurprisingly but is now stable and we will adjust his feeds accordingly, depending on what he's eating and what his weight is each day. he's on pain relief anyway and today has been alot brighter than yesterday so fingers crossed we are back on track again now. x

wondering if anyone can offer any advice. eddie seems better in some ways - moving around more, talking to mollie, nibbling food by himself, maintaining a normal temperature - but he's still not eating enough and won't eat much hay and no pellets at all, even mashed.

he's lost a bit of weight again today so obviously isn't getting enough food still. we are struggling with syringe feeding because he hates it. it's taking us about 45-60mins each feed just to get 4-5ml into him. this is with him wrapped up. he has such a small mouth and so getting the syringe into the gap is a bit of a struggle compared to what i remember it being with ches and maisie in the past. he also prefers small mouthfuls aswell so it's going very slowly. we feel like we're upsetting him but then straight after he seems fine and we offer him a plate of different things and he has some of that. he also seems quite content afterwards with cuddles. but he just really doesn't like the feeds. straight after the dental he loved the recovery food. we tried pellets aswell but he didn't like that at all. we hate stressing him out but obviously he isn't eating enough by himself yet but at the same time, we do think overall he is improving.

he's also drinking from the bottle now aswell which is good and he comes over for breakfast and tea and he eats anything leafy/herbs really well, but still hs to have cucumber and pepper cut up into small pieces. he seems to want more veg but obviously he can't just have that all day.

just looking for some reassurance really and any tips or advice anyone can give. thanks x

Oh bless him

I am so sorry that I can't add any advice but couldn't read and not send of get well wishes for little Eddie xxxxx

Rabcat said:

Oh bless him

I am so sorry that I can't add any advice but couldn't read and not send of get well wishes for little Eddie xxxxx

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appreciate that thank you. just about to have a major melt-down here

we've just had a break-through and he will take oxbow cavy cuisine pellets made into a mush. but i can't get it to stay the same consistency to get through the syringe. we're currently crushing up the pellets as best we can to try again, but it only seems to work for the first two syringes and then thickens again and more water doesn't help.

least we have found that he wants this one though and he manages bigger mouthfuls. if i could get it right, we'd be done really quickly and beable to get more in. i know it's just mush but i'm getting upset that i'm letting him down.

we can't do it. can't get the consistency right to work with the syringe.

will have to give him recovery food again which he hates

Poor Eddie could something have gone wrong with the dental? Does he appear to have some kind of pain in his mouth still?
I find when the bunnies are going more for their veggies than hay that there is residual discomfort in their mouths. Things like veggies give that cooling sensation that helps ease that pain.
Sending (((((((mega healing and eating vibes))))))))) for Eddie and (((((hugs)))))) for you. xxxx

MimzMum said:

Poor Eddie could something have gone wrong with the dental? Does he appear to have some kind of pain in his mouth still?
I find when the bunnies are going more for their veggies than hay that there is residual discomfort in their mouths. Things like veggies give that cooling sensation that helps ease that pain.
Sending (((((((mega healing and eating vibes))))))))) for Eddie and (((((hugs)))))) for you. xxxx

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he doesn't seem to be in pain, but then if he's not eating, he must be in some discomfort? but then he's on metacam so i'd be surprised if he was. he seems more tentative maybe about eating hay and pellets.

just done another feed. had to use the recovery food again. he was worse than ever. to the point where we thought he was going to hurt himself. we're concerned with the stress aswell setting him back. i don't know if it's possible, but we thought maybe the syringe being pushed in is uncomfortable for him? his mouth is so tiny. i feel like the syringe is rubbing against him. i tried lifting his mouth slightly to make the gap bigger, but he hates it so much. i tried the syringe without the end cut off and that went in better but obviously that blocked up aswell.

he takes the water fine but noticed some dribbles back out (or he spits it)

i've made an order with hayexperts and got a few different varieties of hay to try, and also some critical care to try him with instead. hoping he will prefer it. that order won't come until next week though. o/h asked the local vet if they had any critical care but they don't.

the only positive we noticed today was that he attempted to nibble the stalkier hay a few times, which he hasn't done yet. but not much. the other thing he did was come out into the run part of the cage to sleep in his little bed. he has been staying more in the hay area inside his box most of the time so thought it was good he actually wanted to move around and settle somewhere else.

i wish we could get the oxbow pellets right because he loved them and had no problem being syringe fed that. his little face actually brightened up aswell. then just now when he realised it was recovery again, he got really upset.


after syringing, we offer him a plate of cut up hay, softened pellets and bits of veg and herbs and he eats the veg and herbs but then just nibbles the other bits slightly but doesn't really eat them.

i was probably being naive, but i really didn't expect this. i thought he would recover really well. now i'm worried we have a long road ahead.

happy to report that our latest feed went alot smoother. managed to get the excel pellets into a good consistency so he took that alot better than the recovery food and we managed 5ml in 30mins which is brilliant for him. he definitely seems to need smaller amounts at a time, and he prefers having alot more water rinses aswell. i would prefer to use the oxbow (which i will attempt soaking for longer next time) but he was sooooo much better with the excel. he didn't seem stressed or struggle much at all.

is it me or do feed times come around so quickly! :roll: i don't mind really. just makes me upset when he is. and he's usually always at the hay eating sooooooooooooooooooo much. we had a feeling his small mouth might cause him issues at some stage. hope that isn't the case but he's only two and a half and that seems young to have a first dental.

eddie is doing really well on the excel mush. he can manage 6ml in 20mins now which is a massive improvement.

he's also maintained his weight from yesterday which is good. he is pooping but not enough. no vet available to discuss this with today but have an appointment early next week for his check-up and will discuss the gut meds then.

he's eaten his veg breakfast, a dandelion leaf but nothing else apart from that. he is trying though. so we're keeping him topped up with feeds. i would prefer it was the recovery food or the oxbow pellets, but at the moment i'm just glad he will take something easily, even though excel isn't the best.

.

think we've cracked it now with the feeds. he doesn't need the towel around him now. o/h just places his hands either side of eds body and i syringe. i can even lift his mouth up slightly now to allow a bigger gap and he's fine with it. i think the max he can manage is 6ml per 20mins. he seems comfortable with that amount.

and even better, we seem to have more movement from the back now aswell :lol: he did some poops for us and one was the best and biggest one so far. i think his tummy is starting to move more quickly again. :thumb:

I'm glad Eddie's doing better Keep being a good boy for your mummy Eddie and do lots of nice big poops for her!

Sounds like he's turned a corner. I don't know beans about piggies but I would guess they have a lot of the same troubles as bunnies after dentals and during stasis events. And yeah, those wee mouths of theirs...I don't know how you manage, I find even a water syringe in any of my bunnies mouths is like sticking a jumbo tongue depressor in there. Not exactly something they were designed to have to eat from.
I was going to suggest grass from the garden if Eddie could eat that but not certain they can have it or if there was any suitable this time of year. Do you know if they can eat wheat grass? You can usually find that in the organics section of the produce aisle here. Or you used to anyway. That's kind of like having a little lawn on you kitchen counter that you can just clip from. I used to keep one onhand for my cats to chew.

Hoping that "itty bitty bear" continues to improve and you all can get a break from the stress. I'd also definitely share your concerns on his recovery with the vet in depth, poor little guy just seems to have had a rough go of it. ((((((((((Vibes)))))))))) xxxx

Lucy-Lou said:

I'm glad Eddie's doing better Keep being a good boy for your mummy Eddie and do lots of nice big poops for her!

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aw thank you. yes, the more poops the better :lol:

MimzMum said:

Sounds like he's turned a corner. I don't know beans about piggies but I would guess they have a lot of the same troubles as bunnies after dentals and during stasis events. And yeah, those wee mouths of theirs...I don't know how you manage, I find even a water syringe in any of my bunnies mouths is like sticking a jumbo tongue depressor in there. Not exactly something they were designed to have to eat from.
I was going to suggest grass from the garden if Eddie could eat that but not certain they can have it or if there was any suitable this time of year. Do you know if they can eat wheat grass? You can usually find that in the organics section of the produce aisle here. Or you used to anyway. That's kind of like having a little lawn on you kitchen counter that you can just clip from. I used to keep one onhand for my cats to chew.

Hoping that "itty bitty bear" continues to improve and you all can get a break from the stress. I'd also definitely share your concerns on his recovery with the vet in depth, poor little guy just seems to have had a rough go of it. ((((((((((Vibes)))))))))) xxxx

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before i say anything else... when he was spitting out the recovery and water we were calling him itty spitty bear! :lol::lol::lol: i don't know why but it really amused me

anyway, yes we have grass so when it's been dry i've been picking some for him. he didn't want it this morning which concerned me, but he ate some dandelions so that's good. will keep offering it to him whenever i can though.

it's the same kind of issues as with rabbits really. they have a tough time of it really don't they.

will definitely mention everything to the vet when we go.

i'm feeling alot happier now with how things are going. i think he's turned a corner now we finally have the syringe feed times right. now we just need him to gradually eat more hay so his teeth don't overgrow again. x