[Gpdd] [Health] Wallie not eating

[Dr Kay Dudman]

Dear Ginger

Sorry to hear Wallie is having trouble eating and drinking...it's good
he's having critical care and SubQ fluids.  It is very important that
Wallie can still pee...if not, that can be a build up of toxins on the
blood if the stone moves into a position where it is blocking the flow of
urine.  It's easier to deal with stones in girl piggies as they can be
manipulated out without surgery because the urethra is so much shorter
than for a boy piggy, so Wallie might have to have surgery.

What I would advise, if surgery is necessary, is to ask for isoflurane
with O2 as anaesthetic - don't go for domitor and ketamine as these can
cause gastro-intestinal stasis, which means than the gut becomes
"paralysed" and doesn't work properly...then you have another problem as
well as the original one.  There are some good pages on the Guinea Lynx
website about calcium/phosphorus balance in the diet.  You don't want too
much calcium in the diet as this can lead to additional calcium forming
stones, but on the other hand don't go to the other extreme of not having
enough calcium as what can happen then is that the body draws the calcium
it needs out of the bones, which demineralise and become weaker.  A good
balanced diet should help keep the problem in check; Wallie can have
regular X-rays (say every 3 - 6 months) without an anaesthetic in order to
check that no further stones are forming.  Keep his fluid intake up in
order to flush things through and keep the bladder and kidneys working
(Leah does a Brownie Bear Power Hour that you will see in past copies of
the digest - extra drinking water by syringe).  It might be a good idea to
avoid spinach (high in oxalates which can make the problem worse).

Our prayers are with you and Wallie.

Best wishes

Kay
and piggies Bess, Pearl, Patchouli, Elliott, Miles, Vernon and William