I get so stressed. I got my tax returns back and took a few animals into my exotics vet. They have a practice so it’s 2 doctors. My usual one wasn’t available. I have used the partner other times without that gut feeling nagging me.

We’re doing nothing with Cori’s pear shape. Her disposition has never changed in the last 6 months even with weight drop. Emerson’s incision coming open a bit has no worries by my regular vet. Coco(4yrs old) came with a few interesting things:

With the vet’s partner, he wanted to do surgery and gave me no other options. We had the visit while he had an intern with me and I had brought Cori and my conure, Jak, along. Coco was running a higher temp than normal. She’d lost at least 200 grams since last visit. She was very soft bodied. He found a cyst in her gut and some light spikes on her teeth with no ulcerations inside her mouth. We did an ultrasound to confirm and then in my pig’s condition, he wanted to put her under general anesthesia this week and do her teeth and a spay.

He told me to force a bunch of Critical Care into her and then the knife basically.

I didn’t feel good about this. After two days on the Critical Care she wasn’t really bouncing back. I called and talked to my other veterinarian on Sunday. He said we have other options, though he was exhausted from emergency surgeries that day he said he’d email me. I didn’t expect to get the email so it was no surprise when it never came. I called the front desk yesterday and got Coco back in for a recheck easily.

Horrendous. My baby had a bladder stone that had made it all the way down the urinary tract to the urethra and was stuck in there pretty good. Ultimately we ended up with pricks of lidocaine in her No Nos. OUCH. He tried to just drizzle it over the area but he was having issue with her and the pain and the small hooped implement he was trying to get around and behind the stone up her No Nos.
They later featured her stone on their Facebook page
As for the cyst, it drained into her. He tried to poke it and drain it but she wiggled and he didn’t get it, but palpated the area and didn’t find it. I asked what sort of side effects would this have and was advised that if there is an adverse reaction it would typically appear in 10-15 minutes as an allergic reaction. Example: labored breathing

Her plan of action now is still the Critical Care and up the vitamin C.
I LOVE MY MORTAR AND PESTLE!
She’s also on an a sulfa antibiotic because of the bladder stone and metacam for the pain. As far as the cyst we can tell in a few weeks on a recheck if it refills and if it does we can do injections into it to shrink it. I don’t have my report card with me with the name handy. It’s $90 a shot and the course starts with at least 3 spaced out. $270. Peachy. The surgery that was probably going to kill her was going to be about $3-400.
Here’s something I like about my vet:
When it came to the cyst we decided to poke it first to make sure it was drainable or to find out if it were solid and end up being a tumor instead. Tumor=surgery. That would trigger a serious decision about euthanasia.

I feel like I’m blathering on. My mind seems to vacate the premises when things like this happen. I was high tension all weekend about talking to my usual vet and Coco’s well-being. My boyfriend told me I need to spend time with her, which as history has it this means that she’s going to die soon.
This morning we did the 2 drugs and the feeding with the vitamin c crushed in. Her temperature seems to have lowered when I felt her ears over. As this point I’m blessed if she makes it through the month. I’m not used to having piggies that bounce back.
Not everyone can be like Emerson:

Oxbow was looking for pets to feature in their newsletters so I submitted this to them:
Emerson was an owner surrender and has been my best little man out of my entire herd. They all get Cavy Cuisine and hay daily.
He’s been through a few procedures:
Staples over his throat for a fight from another male I have
Abdominal neuter
Double mastectomy for tumors
Another surgery for tumor removal recurred on his abdomen
Then a more gentle procedure; going under to have his teeth done.

He’s such a trooper. You can always walk by the pen and ruffle his head without him running. He’s been a strong guinea pig and an absolute joy.

I can’t publish the exact reply from marketing but they are interested in featuring him soon in a newsletter.