Our last 2 years in a (very large) nutshell!!!

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Mon Aug 22, 2016 1:01 pm


Glad you're doing well & the boys are still chugging along. Thanks for taking the time for posting. I'll bet you have little free time with your residency.

SkittleandTwix
Supporter in '11

Post   » Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:06 pm


I'm sorry I didn't see this sooner. Welcome (belatedly) to Michigan. I volunteer and foster with Rabbit and Small Animal Rescue in Westland. One of our volunteers in Livonia boards piggies. Let me know if you are interested. Also, if you need a vet or have a vet in AA you like, let me know. We are always interested in vet recommendations.

Pimpinpuji

Post   » Wed Sep 14, 2016 6:28 am


Hi, SkittleandTwix! Thank you for the welcome, we love it so far! Also, thank you for the information on boarding, I will definitely be interested this coming December and also March. I'll send you an email!

Before leaving California, Dr. Kanfer made some recommendations of vets that she trusted, mostly in Detroit from my recollection. I believe I may have an email from her that I can forward to you, in case you are interested?

About the rescue: Is it RASA or Tiny Paws? If so, I've been stalking your Facebook page!

Pimpinpuji

Post   » Sun Jul 21, 2019 4:21 pm


UPDATES!

Dear Lovely Lynxers,
It's that time again, where I pop in to give you all updates and let you know how our past few years have been, and remind you that you are always in my thoughts despite my lack of posting. <3

On a personal note: Residency has finished, and I've been working as a Hospitalist with the University of Michigan for the past year. My husband finished his residency last month! Late last year, we decided that it was time to move back home to California, to be with our parents. We both have signed contracts with the Loma Linda University Health System in Southern California. He moved back about a month ago, and I'll be leaving at the end of August. We have absolutely LOVED Ann Arbor, and are very very sad to leave it. I doubt any city could be as amazing and perfect for us, but it's worth it to know that we are moving back home to be with family.

SkittleandTwix, we have a vet that we adore! Her name is Dr. Fisher, and she works at the Animal Kingdom Veterinary Hospital in Ann Arbor. There is another exotics vet there, Dr. Lake, who is also good. Bonus, the veterinary hospital is attached to an Animal Sanctuary, so you always get to see some fun animals.

Onto the Piggly updates:
When we moved here, we had Peanut and Sugar. As a reminder, Peanut came back to the US with me from India. Sugar was adopted from OCCH in Orange County, California. We lost Peanut about a year and a half ago. To be honest, I'm not sure what happened. Just prior to his death, he had broken a tooth, and was requiring syringe feeding. The night before he died, he ate and drank well, and seemed in good spirits. When I woke in the morning, he was on his side in the cage, completely floppy, eyes glazed over, with labored breathing. We rushed him to the emergency vet hospital, where he was given high flow oxygen, with little improvement. The decision was made to allow him to pass pain-free. So, we gave him pain medications to help with air hunger and physical pain, and stayed with him until he passed (which was shortly after).

Sugar was not himself for the first few days (keep in mind that at this point, he was 6.5 years old and had been with Peanut most of his life), and so we decided to get another pig. Deepak (husband) and I wanted an elderly boar, because we had been stuck in this loop of lose-a-pig-get-a-pig for a while, and didn't want it to continue. At the time, only female guinea pigs were available, so we sent out feelers and continued to stalk the internet for elderly boars. Within a week, Sugar made a significant turn around and seemed to enjoy his space. He was relaxed, had a good appetite, and seemed to enjoy being the Alpha. When we dropped him off at the pigsitter's, he was more interested in the cat than the other pigs. So, we decided to keep him as a single pig who got more lap time. Since then, he's been roomed with other pigs on multiple occasions, and seems happiest when he is left alone.

Currently, Sugar has ongoing dental issues, and goes for weekly trims, which has helped to keep his weight steady. Other ongoing medical issues are fecal impaction (we use warm water for weekly cleanouts), possible bumblefoot (we do epsom salt soaks), and possible arthritis (he gets an oxbow supplement for joint-support). He's sweet as ever, but spends more time lounging around and sleeping than before. We shred his carrots and really thinly slice his veggies, since he has difficulty with biting/tearing his foods. He eats his orchard grass just fine. He's turning 8 this year!! Because of his age-related cataracts and arthritis, we've removed the ramps, so he now has a 6x2 CC single level cage.
Initially, we were not sure if he'd survive long enough to move back to California with us, but things are looking optimistic, and I do believe he'll make it. Our next challenge will be the flight and finding a new vet in Redlands, CA that will do weekly trims for him.

I hope that everyone out there in Piggy-Land is well, and thank you again for your support.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sun Jul 21, 2019 4:28 pm


Welcome back! I was wondering about you not long ago. I'm glad to hear that things are going well, and hope that your move with Sugar works out.

Do drop in more often -- we love the updates.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:17 pm


Thanks for the update! It sounds like you do a remarkable job of taking care of his issues. You are lucky to have each other!

I hope the move goes well and you find a great vet. For what it's worth, I would see if your current vet who is doing the trims could provide some guidelines to the new vet. Before and after pics for the trim could be helpful. Every vet has a different technique and if what this vet is doing works, that is great. Some guinea pigs are in considerable pain after a trim and require hand feeding for a while afterwards. It sounds like he can eat right away and they are small trims?

Pimpinpuji

Post   » Sun Jul 21, 2019 11:15 pm


Bpatters, I always feel happy when I come around to the forums (even if I'm lurking) and this is such a great group of supporters. I direct every Piggy Parent I meet to this site, I really should follow that example and drop in with updates more often!

Lynx, great idea to take before and after trim pictures. I should probably even take a video of the trim. It took about 8 months of tweaking Sugar's trim schedule and trim length to find a sweet spot where Sugar didn't stop eating before or after the trims. Initially, I would let him go until he was not eating well, but this always led to discomfort and weight loss that we would spend the next weeks trying to catch up on. It also would lead to more extreme trims that he was uncomfortable with. So, finally we started trimming frequently and minimally. Our goal is to have his teeth even and short enough only so that they are not grinding against each other or poking him. I do give him a dose of meloxicam before the trims, just in case.

I've thought about learning how to trim his teeth myself, but I don't think I have the guts to do it.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Mon Jul 22, 2019 6:40 am


Best of luck on the move! Might you consider sharing your video with others here? If so, some might benefit from making it available to their own vet, from the standpoint of general technique and equipment used (even though the specific amount trimmed would be specific to Sugar). Just a thought.

Pimpinpuji

Post   » Mon Jul 22, 2019 7:40 am


Hi, Sef! Good idea! We're due for a trim next week, I'll grab video and pics at that time. I believe I also owe pics from Sugar's tumor that was removed in 2015.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Jul 22, 2019 7:55 am


Oh yes, sharing details any details (pics, videos, etc.) with us that could be useful for other posters would be super. I am so glad you have come up with a method that works for him.

Pimpinpuji

Post   » Wed Jul 31, 2019 3:22 pm


Sef, of course!! We are due for a trim this week, so I'll make sure to grab a video.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Wed Jul 31, 2019 7:12 pm


Great!

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