The past 24 hours haven't been great

heddylamar
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The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby heddylamar » Tue Aug 20, 2019 5:40 am

Late Sunday night/early this morning, our sweet, elderly guinea pig passed away :( We'd been expecting she'd leave us soon ... but I was not ready. And my husband wasn't here to say goodbye to his piggy girl.

Then, this morning my BO called. She never calls unless something is very wrong.

Maia came in with swollen, sore teats. By the time I got to the barn, they were oozing, and she was running a 104.3 fever. Like the rest of the US, it's stupid hot here right now, so that's not helping anything.

Called the vet, then cold hosed for 30 minutes. By the time the vet arrived Maia's temp had reached 105. Yay. Vet administered IV banamine and IM antibiotics, and I followed up with an ice bath a few hours later. Managed to get her temp down to a reasonable 100, but fully expect it will spike again as the banamine wears off, so I've got fresh paste on hand. Vet will run bloodwork tomorrow.

Maia's a maiden mare, so mastitis isn't the most likely culprit. She does have a history of crazy high fevers -- spiked at 106 when she had pneumonia as a 2 month old -- and does not handle heat well. So, more ice baths throughout the next few days, plus I added another fan to her stall.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Flight » Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:22 am

So sorry to hear that your guinea pig passed away :(

Hope Maia is ok, I wonder why she has an infection in her teats? Hope the ABs do their job and she feels better soon.

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musical comedy
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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby musical comedy » Tue Aug 20, 2019 9:50 am

Oh I'm really sorry to hear this and wonder what the heck it could be. Yes, the heat here in NJ is horrible and I know where you are is even worse. My friend's horse ran a high fever about a month ago and ended up in the clinic for that and some other thing. They never did find out the cause of the fever. He was in that clinic for a week on antibiotics. My old gelding spiked a fever of 105 two years ago, also with no diagnosed reason. He also ended up on antibiotics with the vet having to come every day to give it IV and it costs me a ton of money. His Amyloid A test was over 1,000.

Did the vet take blood? Could it be that an insect caused an opening in the skin and she developed a bacterial infection? The big worry with high fever is laminitis, as I'm sure you know.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Tsavo » Tue Aug 20, 2019 10:53 am

Oh I am so sorry about your baby girl pig. Huge loss. I have pigs. I adopt as many as I have room for from a rodent rescue. They live for years and it is so bad to lose them.

Good luck with your mare. I hope she recovers quickly.
Last edited by Tsavo on Wed Aug 21, 2019 3:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby PaulaO » Tue Aug 20, 2019 11:21 am

I’m sorry about your piggie. They leave such a hole in your heart. Sending positive vibes to Maia.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Chisamba » Tue Aug 20, 2019 11:50 am

My piggie sends love to you on the loss of yours. I am sorry for your loss.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Sunshine2Me » Tue Aug 20, 2019 1:25 pm

I'm so sorry for the loss of your piggy. I've had several over the years. Their little noises are so cheerful.

Sending good vibes for Maia. I hope she turns around quickly and it okay.

Sending you hugs for all you are going through right now.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby StraightForward » Tue Aug 20, 2019 1:50 pm

Jingles for Maia that she is feeling better and you figure out the cause of this sudden fever.

So sorry about your g-pig too. :(
Keep calm and canter on.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Josette » Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:24 pm

Wishing a speedy recovery for Maia. I'm so sorry you lost piggy.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Sue B » Tue Aug 20, 2019 3:34 pm

Jingles for poor Maia and so sorry about your piggy. Also jingling this stupid heat finally breaks!

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby KathyK » Tue Aug 20, 2019 4:03 pm

I'm so sorry you've lost your sweet guinea pig. Sending my jingles and positive vibes with everyone else's for a quick recovery for Maia.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby AmityBee » Tue Aug 20, 2019 4:10 pm

So sorry about the pig! I have had many over the years and have a little group of four right now. It's always so sad when they leave us.

Healing vibes for you mare and a quick recovery.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby piedmontfields » Tue Aug 20, 2019 4:11 pm

Maia, please get better soon! jingles to your lovely girl.

I'm so sorry about your pig loss, too.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby heddylamar » Tue Aug 20, 2019 6:32 pm

Fingers crossed, but we seem to be out of the danger zone. Maia's temp had dropped to 100 by midnight, 99 by breakfast, then creeped back to 99.4 by 10 (3 hours in a stall by then). The swelling is nearly gone on one side, and reduced on the other, so she's moving a touch more comfortably. And all of the in/out systems seem to be operating as normal :roll:

She's been fantastic about soaking her feet in an ice bath, and was quite happy to have me sponge her undercarriage with ice water this morning. I'll repeat in a few hours.

No results yet from the blood tests.

The little piggy girl has left a huge hole. The boys have been sitting near her favorite napping spot since Sunday night :(

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Koolkat » Tue Aug 20, 2019 6:41 pm

Such good news for Maia and you!

And so sorry about your little piggy. :cry:

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby piedmontfields » Wed Aug 21, 2019 12:10 am

More jingles for Maia. Glad for the update.

Hope the little piggy boys are hanging in.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Srhorselady » Wed Aug 21, 2019 12:13 am

Oh so so sorry. I hope M is improving.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby heddylamar » Wed Aug 21, 2019 4:36 pm

Bloodwork is good, and Maia seems better. She laid down yesterday afternoon (her normal nap-time routine), after allowing me to give her teats a icy sponge bath. And temps are hovering in the safe range (99.3-100), no more fever spiking.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby khall » Wed Aug 21, 2019 9:36 pm

So sorry about your piggy:(

Glad Maia seems to be on the mend. High fevers scare the crap out of me!

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Abby Kogler » Thu Aug 22, 2019 3:03 pm

Im so relieved that Maia is on the upswing. And sorry about your little microswine. The littlest pets still leave such big holes.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Hayburner » Thu Aug 22, 2019 7:37 pm

Sorry your lost your sweet piggie.

Were he tweets filled with pus? My mare, not maiden will occasionally get swelling in hers for no reason and no temp. A few times she's come in with the slobbers from clover and her tweets are swollen too. Could just be a coincidence or the clover could have caused the swelling.

Mares!

Glad to hear your girl is in the mend. So scary when you don't know what it is.

heddylamar
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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby heddylamar » Fri Aug 23, 2019 12:45 am

We're now worrying about colic. Fever is down. Swelling is down. And she's drinking water (plus grain and hay) as normal. But poop is dry and small. Oy.

Since we had a good handle on water intake (normal), BO and I decided to put her out with the herd so she'd move around. That didn't help gut motility enough. So, now, we're adding probiotics per the vet's okay (yay for vets who text in between visits <3).

Teats were pussy on Monday, and have given off clear liquid the past two days (now that we can touch them!) Not much clover right now -- it's too hot and dry.

Vet will be back on Saturday.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Moutaineer » Fri Aug 23, 2019 1:13 am

Ugh, Heddy. Following along with my fingers crossed for you all.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby StraightForward » Fri Aug 23, 2019 3:23 am

Jingles that this passes and she keeps improving!
Keep calm and canter on.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Koolkat » Fri Aug 23, 2019 6:10 am

Can you soak her hay for a couple of days?

Jingling!

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Linden » Fri Aug 23, 2019 8:45 am

Instead of cold hosing, dunk a baby diaper fully in cold water, (or multiple diapers) and put them in the freezer until they're good and frozen. then hold them against her swollen bits. it wastes less water, isn't as messy, won't attract bees, and wont soak her hooves. Sorry you're having a tough time :(
"Fix things going forward." LR

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Josette » Fri Aug 23, 2019 10:42 am

For what it's worth - my guy had a mild colic a few weeks back in this extreme heat. Besides the vet addressing the colic with medications - we also gave him some oral paste electrolytes which really increased his water intake. I give now on occasion after a very hot sweaty ride as a precaution. I realize you are dealing with the mastitis issue but this may address any colic concerns. Wishing a speedy recovery. These illnesses cause so much stress to horse and owner.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Hayburner » Fri Aug 23, 2019 4:04 pm

When my mare had mastitis after her goal was weaned. I had to be care not to over drain or pump the teets as it could start the milk production again. Her mastitis came 4 months after weaning...

I'll say it again. MARES.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby heddylamar » Sat Aug 24, 2019 2:59 am

I had a long response typed. Suffice to say, we've done paste electrolytes, skipped soaking hay (baby Maia said "WTF?" to wet hay last time we were in this situation and refused to eat), always feed wet grain (history of choke), water consumption is at/above normal, and I've added additional fans. Once the fever dropped, I quit with the vet-ordered ice bath for the feet PLUS icy sponge bath, and moved to strictly an icy sponge bath -- all ice, bit of water, sponge, repeat.

Maia burst from the the barn this evening with her normal vim and vigor -- slammed into her mama at full speed, bounced off the fence, into two other horses ..... she was feeling good!

The piggy balance has recovered. My husband returned, and the boys are talking again at mealtime. I've decided he was the linchpin, since they weren't even purring at me. We're still all raw, but it's a bit better.

tl;dr: mare still improving; vet tomorrow.

heddylamar
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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby heddylamar » Wed Aug 28, 2019 12:25 am

It looks like we're in the clear!

As of today, nothing has shown up in either the blood culture or teat fluid culture, fever is gone, and most of the swelling is gone. Since Maia is maiden, and there's no other obvious cause, the vet is guessing a false pregnancy caused the mastitis.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby Tsavo » Wed Aug 28, 2019 2:14 am

Great news! Glad to hear it.

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby StraightForward » Wed Aug 28, 2019 6:46 pm

That must be a relief, so glad she is doing well!
Keep calm and canter on.

heddylamar
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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby heddylamar » Thu Aug 29, 2019 12:23 am

StraightForward wrote:That must be a relief, so glad she is doing well!


I'll be getting back on her tomorrow. Keep me in your thoughts. She is feeling better :shock: :lol:

She nearly flattened the BO's HUGE Friesian/draft mare on her way out to the pasture tonight!

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Re: The past 24 hours haven't been great

Postby KathyK » Thu Aug 29, 2019 1:40 am

Great news! Great!


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