The Legend of Barry Jenkins

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Mon Feb 01, 2021 10:54 pm


It was suggested to me but as I am in Summer it wouldn't work. If you use a clothes drier perhaps put BJ on top of that. He would get the warmth from it and the vibrations from that to help him with his tummy. Hoping he gets better soon.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Tue Feb 02, 2021 6:19 am


Final dose of metoclopramide given. BJ's droppings are returning to normal. Still a little mushy, but more firm than they were yesterday. He's eating more pellets and drinking his water. Not eating hay like I want him to, but he's been picking at it here and there. Got him some wheat grass. I wound up going to Whole Foods and paying $6 for a small container of it. I don't mind the expense because he's more than worth it, but I was disappointed that he only ate a couple of blades of it. Scruffy and Mr Bubbles both ate it when they were sick, but BJ doesn't seem to be overly interested in it. It won't go to waste though.

I've noticed that BJ is quite a bit more perky when I feed him. He's curious about the syringes and bowls that I use. I use one for the critical care and the other has extra water to give him, for rinsing the critical care off the end of the syringe and for adding to the critical care if it gets too thick. I use the extra syringe for that. He also sniffs around and nibbles on them. Once, he even managed to nudge the bowl of water onto the floor!

Other things he does is give me guinea pig kisses. Now, I have gotten adept at getting the critical care into his mouth without making a mess on his face, but there's always that little bit on his chin. He doesn't mind sharing that with me when he's giving kisses, so I end up having to wash it out of my beard. I don't mind, though. He sniffs and nibbles on my shirt, hands, arms and and other part of me he can get to. I'm glad he's starting to turn the corner. I won't go as far as to say he's out of the woods, but today was encouraging. Mr Bubbles did his best eating once his last dose of metoclopramide syrup was administered. Let's hope BJ does the same.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Feb 02, 2021 9:33 am


Sounds encouraging!

And how smart of him to ensconce food stuffs in your beard!

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Tue Feb 02, 2021 9:04 pm


No appetite yet. Continuing to hand feed critical care. Still having mushy stools and he's eating them. It's been 18 hours since his final dose of metoclopramide, so I'm giving him some more time. I can hand feed him for as long as it takes. He's gotten to where he doesn't mind that. I rather enjoy the one on one time with him, although I'm not not a big fan of having to put that syringe in his mouth. I just think of the critical care in my beard as BJ's revenge for having to do this. On a side note; his weight is at 3.2 pounds.

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Wed Feb 03, 2021 11:43 am


Well, after all, he is the Big Guy! Nice of him to share.

His readily accepting the cc is great.

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Wed Feb 03, 2021 6:16 pm


Is there any place you can get corn husks? Even the dried ones can be soaked in water. That’s the one thing that kept Lacey eating when she was sick from Baytril. It took about a week for her to start eating significant hay, but I think the fiber in the corn husks kept her digestion going. I hope his appetite perks up.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Wed Feb 03, 2021 6:38 pm


I'll have to check Whole Foods for that. I've never tried him on corn husks, but the Farmer's brand pellets he likes has corn husk in them, so he might eat that. He eats some carrot and wheat grass, but not nearly enough. It's the critical care that's sustaining him right now.

I've had a bad headache for the second day in a row now. I get them since the concussion I got from the car wreck I was in a few years ago. BJ and I are suffering together.

Image

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Thu Feb 04, 2021 12:12 pm


He's' got a beautiful, soft-looking coat.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Thu Feb 04, 2021 7:02 pm


The vet called me back today, but I've been down with this headache all day and I missed the call. I talked to the reception and they're going to have her call again. His eating is still lacking. It looks like he ate some hay, but not much. He eats some carrot greens, a little bit of wheat grass, a few pellets and some of the carrot. Mostly what is sustaining him is critical care.

I looked at Whole Foods for corn husks but they were out of them. The ones they sell at WinCo have acetic acid as a preservative and that's not good for guinea pigs, especially one that is already struggling. I can check Sprouts for them I guess. Fresh corn is out of season and hard to come by. If I have to skip them, it's ok.

I'm going to discuss the possibility of something being wrong with his teeth with the vet. He's not completely uninterested in any of his food. He gets excited when I put food in his cage. Whether it hay, veggies, pellets or anything else, he sniffs them out and acts like he is going to eat, but doesn't or just nibbles on it. He also acts hungry when I hand feed him and takes most of the critical care. It doesn't look like he's in any pain or that he has trouble chewing. He's not showing any of the classic symptoms, although once in awhile, it looks like he has something stuck under his tounge or in his cheek which he is having trouble getting out.

I hope it's not his teeth because that gets pretty expensive.

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Thu Feb 04, 2021 11:57 pm


Concussions are the pits. I worked with two women who had concussions, one from a car accident and one who fell when she was ill with the flu. I hope you get your headache under control and are able to find out what the deal is with sweet little BJ so he can start eating more. If he’s excited about food and take the CC then it really does sound like mouth or teeth.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Fri Feb 05, 2021 5:16 am


I get headaches from time to time. Various things trigger them; mostly the weather. They last anywhere from a couple of hours to a week or longer. This one is on its 3rd day. Advil helps, but it upsets my stomach. The headache usually just has to run its course. That's ok. The suffering toughens me up and builds character. What a conundrum.

Anyway, this isn't about me. It's about BJ. I spoke with the vet today. Turns out that she did take a full x-ray with 2 views; one full body and one of his teeth. She couldn't see anything wrong with them. They're actually in pretty good shape. Perfect alignment and not overgrown. No cavities or anything out of place to explain a reluctance to chew and eat. As I said before, he did have a small amount of gas, but nothing else to explain loss of appetite.

He could still have enough gastric distress to disrupt his appetite or it could be just a matter of his age catching up with him. We're going to give him the motility medication twice a day through the weekend to help him pass any remaining gas from his bowels. We're also going to hand feed him, but not on schedule. We're going to make him wait 1-2 hours past his normal feeding and give him a chance to get hungry enough to eat on his own. I'm supposed to check back with the vet on Monday and we'll go from there.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Thu Feb 11, 2021 5:39 am


Still having trouble getting BJ to eat on his own. He eats a little bit of carrot and cucumber. Won't touch lettuce, parsley or wheat grass. What kind of guinea pig doesn't eat wheat grass? Guys, I really think this is getting serious. Even in his worst condition, Scruffy still ate wheat grass. He's eating little bits of hay and a pellet here and there but not much else on his own. The thing that makes this so confusing is that he'll take between 10 and 15 ml of critical care per feeding. I don't have to force it. He takes the syringe totally on his own. In fact, he reaches out for it the same way guinea pigs do for hand fed treats. Is it just laziness? Has he gotten to the point where I have to hand feed him for the rest of his life? I don't mind doing that and I'll keep it up for as long as he needs. Just wondering if any of you have had a guinea pig like this.

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