Abby's guinea pig Snickers has been under the weather for over a week now. First, his food consumption decreased noticeably. Then, not surprisingly, he was pooping less. And his overall demeanor was off. He's usually a happy, sociable little guy who likes to chew on the bars of his cage. (It sounds like he's banging away on an old fashioned typewriter.) And he has a cute little piggy mouth that seems to be smiling most of the time. Charming fellow, that Snickers.
Well, being that I was busy playing Florence Nightingale to my better half and had more important things to deal with, I didn't make too much out of Snickers self-imposed diet and lack of interest in us. Figured maybe the Funkapotomus had paid a visit to him too. But over the weekend, our piggy gave us more cause for concern:
- General lethargy; he just laid there and looked at us with sad, crusty eyes
- Sneezing and coughing
- Heavy breathing (particularly noticeable while we were all sleeping as one big cozy family in the basement during Irene)
Two hours (1.5 of which were spent in the waiting room), a massive allergy attack, and $115 later, I'm here with a hopefully recovering Snickers who endured a force feeding of baby food, a thermometer you-know-where, a front teeth trimming (?), a nail clipping, and a fluid injection into his side. I came home equipped with a small mammal pharmacy, including:
- Antibiotics and a dropper to dispense it
- Yogurt (with dropper) to feed him after the antibiotics so he doesn't get diarrhea
- Jars of carrot baby food and a dropper to use for feedings every six hours
- A tube of nutrient gel to mix into the carrots
- Eye drops
- Broccoli (which he'll have to share with us)
Let's just say this is more than I would do for most of my family members people I know.
The bottom line is this. If in a few short days Snickers is not recovered, chances are slim that he will get well. And to be honest, I'd really miss him. And more than that, I hate to see Abby cry. So let's all say a prayer for the little guy, okay?
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| Our friend, Snickers, pretending to eat for the camera |
4 comments:
couldn't resist reading this tale. Snickers is a handsome lad, er, pig. When I was young, I insisted on taking my small dime-store turtle to the vet. It didn't save him, as I recall. But due diligence was done.
I went through the same kind of thing with one of kara's guinnea pigs (spending a lot at the vet for a rescue pet) and hers did recover ( although we may have gone sooner than you). I remember that we were talking about It at thanksgiving dinner and an uncle was giving her a hard time for spending so much money on a pet that cost very little. She responded with something like "just because something doesn't cost a lot doesn't mean it isn't worth a lot". We were very proud of her!
You are a good soul. I don't think I want to know how one force feeds a guinea pig but if any one can do it -- you can! I will say a prayer for Snickers. And for you.
Make sure you get some photos of yourself feeding him baby food with a dropper...that's sure to be a classic! Truly, though, you are a sweet, sweet Mom to take this care for Abby's dear guinea pig.
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