Harrison's Medical Thread
- Sef
- I dissent.
Right on the heels of losing Amos, we now have another guy with issues. Harrison is 6 years old with no history of health problems. Yesterday, he wasn't interested in his pellets and was sitting fluffed up in the corner of the cage he shares with 1.5 year old Jeremy. Examined him but couldn't really find anything obvious going on other than a slight rough/sharp spot on one of his incisors so I filed it, gave him a dose of Metacam, and this morning he seemed back to normal.
This evening, he's back to sitting in the corner of their cage, not interested in hay or pellets but still eating veggies. I'm not thrilled about another vet visit so soon after our ordeal last week, but I need to see if something is going on internally. I did notice this odd abrasion over his right eye:
It doesn't appear to be sore to the touch and I can't really see any swelling but it's a little hard to tell. Being so close to the eye I'm a little uncertain as to what I should put on it. First thought was maybe Terramycin. Any other suggestions?
This evening, he's back to sitting in the corner of their cage, not interested in hay or pellets but still eating veggies. I'm not thrilled about another vet visit so soon after our ordeal last week, but I need to see if something is going on internally. I did notice this odd abrasion over his right eye:
It doesn't appear to be sore to the touch and I can't really see any swelling but it's a little hard to tell. Being so close to the eye I'm a little uncertain as to what I should put on it. First thought was maybe Terramycin. Any other suggestions?
Could it be an injury from Jeremy; a nip or something? Is there anything in his cage that could have jabbed or poked him? I don't know of any parasite that would cause a sore like that. It looks more like a small abrasion than a puncture wound. He might have scratched himself the wrong way too.
He's awful cute. Hope he's going to be ok.
He's awful cute. Hope he's going to be ok.
- Sef
- I dissent.
The sore could be from his cage mate. I have been putting a small amount of Terramycin on it and it looks a little less irritated.
He is still not eating pellets on his own and seems 'off.' I made the decision this evening to separate him from Jeremy in order to monitor intake and output, and can see that his poops are perfectly formed but extremely tiny, even though I'm pushing Critical Care and Metoclopramide and he's eating a decent amount of hay now and veggies. He's also getting Metacam and Bactrim, since I originally suspected a UTI. When I look at his penis, I notice that a small amount of urine seems to dribble from it constantly and it looks very slightly prolapsed. There's no apparent blockage, though; his urine output seems otherwise normal. No discernable blood and he's not crying when he urinates.
With nothing else obvious to go on, I'm taking him in tomorrow afternoon for x-rays.
He is still not eating pellets on his own and seems 'off.' I made the decision this evening to separate him from Jeremy in order to monitor intake and output, and can see that his poops are perfectly formed but extremely tiny, even though I'm pushing Critical Care and Metoclopramide and he's eating a decent amount of hay now and veggies. He's also getting Metacam and Bactrim, since I originally suspected a UTI. When I look at his penis, I notice that a small amount of urine seems to dribble from it constantly and it looks very slightly prolapsed. There's no apparent blockage, though; his urine output seems otherwise normal. No discernable blood and he's not crying when he urinates.
With nothing else obvious to go on, I'm taking him in tomorrow afternoon for x-rays.
- Sef
- I dissent.
It was an enormous bladder stone. Rather than put him through the hell that I put Amos through with surgery and a painful, traumatic post-op that ended in death, anyway, I made the decision to go ahead and have him PTS. Second loss in a week.
I'm done. His buddy is going back to the rescue where she can pair him with someone else and find him a good home, and I'll keep the senior but he'll be the end of the line for me.
I'm done. His buddy is going back to the rescue where she can pair him with someone else and find him a good home, and I'll keep the senior but he'll be the end of the line for me.