[Gpdd] HEALTH: Our vet visit (Silky and Sooty)

[bwk]

Okay, I'm sorry this is so long. But you all are the only ones who can
understand. And I want people with experience to tell me if this stuff
sounds correct.

Today was not the best for the girls. Let me preface by saying I adopted
them after someone had dumped them at a store. And after a lot of
gentleness and love, neither of them ever wants to be caught, and don't
really enjoy being held at all.. By the most familiar of hands. So, with
that said...

They did not have a good time at the vet, and I didn't either. The vet I
usually see in the other state, when you go you are there for, like,
hours, and they explain everything and do everything really slowly, and
allow the vet students to double check what the doctors do so they can
learn. I've gotten frustrated with how long it takes before. Like, pack
a lunch long. But I will not be frustrated anymore!

Here was fastfastfast. The vet is pretty nice, and one of the only ones
who knows anything about exotics in this area. I know, because I did a
phone "poll" when I had a bunny to be neutered, and asked 'test
questions' to many, many vets, and they all failed but this one. And he
has a large bird, cat and dog clientele too, and a giant parrot bird
living in his reception area that is very LOUD and annoying (to me,
anyway). To top it off I had some problems with my head this morning
(I'm in the middle of changing some wicked medicines), and then what I
found out was not especially great news.

Okay. So Silky was checked, she has hair loss and a swollen tummy. I was
concerned because she has tiny white specks on her skin, which is quite
pink. He checked her and he said she might have Cushing's Disease. He
gave her a shot of Furosemide to help her get rid of extra fluid in her
abdomen. He didn't suggest any X-rays.  She screamed and screamed the
whole time. I'm trying to find out more about this disease in gps. I
haven't had much luck. He said it is more common in ferrets. I've heard
about it in dogs, but gps are so different. I am to give her 2.5 mg of
oral furosemide per day for a week and let him check her this coming
Saturday. She weighed one and three-fourths pounds. She is an avid water
drinker. By tonight, her abdomen is already smaller.

Anyone with any info on Cushing's in gps please email me and let me know
what could be in store for us, or what else this might be.

Sooty, who also screamed and screamed throughout her entire checkup, has
a rash on her behind, but no hair loss. He said it was a little
non-contagious infection where the natural things on her skin like
staph(!) or strep got under the skin and caused a problem, like a 'hot
spot' on a dog. She is to get the ointment Bactoderm (mupirocin 2%)
rubbed on her rash, twice a day. She is also an avid water drinker. She
weighed 2 and a half pounds... and that was even after a big pee puddle
came out -- my little bowling ball. But, she will be losing weight,
because she runs like a screaming Olympic athlete when I try to catch
her, and their cage is over 4 and a half feet by 2 and a half feet, so
she will be doing some exercising in the days to come.

By the way, they changed Precious' pain medicine to Butorphanol -- only
comes in tablets. I've been disolving it in bottled water with some
sugar and syringing it... is there a better way to get a pill into a
pig? I think it is finally helping her a little, and she doesn't seem
sedated at all.

Thanks for reading this far...

Bethany and the troubled trio of
Precious, Silky, and the soon-to-be-slimmer Sooty
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bwk  *  http://home.hiwaay.net/~keiper  *  http://www.arkinc.org/
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