Post by Scott on Jan 6, 2022 16:15:19 GMT -8
Well, it never ends. I brought the little guy in to an exotic pet vet weeks ago with a bloody ear; it turned out to be a growth that he'd been scratching at. She also noticed a growth in his groin. So, an NSAID for the pain and an antibiotic. Giving it to him by syringe was traumatic (for both of us) so I squirted the liquid (separately) into a bowl and mixed in some crushed whole wheat cereal (sugar- and sodium-free) into a mash; he ate it off my finger.
Followup: ear improved, growth in groin still there. Too large to consider surgery; x-ray didn't reveal anything. Went home with a different antibiotic and steroids, administered the same way. As per the vet I removed all his bedding and replaced it with a thick white cloth so I could monitor if there was any blood in his urine (there wasn't). I did notice that he wasn't chewing anything, not even formerly-favored willow balls; worse, he refused in-shell seeds. In addition to the wheat-mash medicine I gave him hulled pumpkin seeds.
Second followup: ear much better, groin growth smaller; vet did not think surgery wise. I mentioned about him not gnawing, etc.; she found he had a broken tooth. His weight was down, so she supplied what was labeled "Critical Care" on the bottle, a green powder I can only assume is Oxbow Critical Care Pet Supplement, though at about 50x the cost of a bag via Amazon.
So I've started him on the Oxbow, and he's still taking the hulled pumpkin seeds. Now, maybe this is more for my own sake than his, but I was wondering if I should be trying to give him more of a selection (his weight has been dropping). From what I've been reading here, for soft foods people have been doing scrambled egg, crushed (and wetted) rice cereal. I did try one of the food pellets in his mix (Higgins Sunburst for gerbils) crushed with some water, and he was lukewarm (nibbled, did not finish). I do have a concern that all that mashed wheat cereal (mixed with his meds) is making his diet too fiber-rich, so I wondered how to balance that.
Followup: ear improved, growth in groin still there. Too large to consider surgery; x-ray didn't reveal anything. Went home with a different antibiotic and steroids, administered the same way. As per the vet I removed all his bedding and replaced it with a thick white cloth so I could monitor if there was any blood in his urine (there wasn't). I did notice that he wasn't chewing anything, not even formerly-favored willow balls; worse, he refused in-shell seeds. In addition to the wheat-mash medicine I gave him hulled pumpkin seeds.
Second followup: ear much better, groin growth smaller; vet did not think surgery wise. I mentioned about him not gnawing, etc.; she found he had a broken tooth. His weight was down, so she supplied what was labeled "Critical Care" on the bottle, a green powder I can only assume is Oxbow Critical Care Pet Supplement, though at about 50x the cost of a bag via Amazon.
So I've started him on the Oxbow, and he's still taking the hulled pumpkin seeds. Now, maybe this is more for my own sake than his, but I was wondering if I should be trying to give him more of a selection (his weight has been dropping). From what I've been reading here, for soft foods people have been doing scrambled egg, crushed (and wetted) rice cereal. I did try one of the food pellets in his mix (Higgins Sunburst for gerbils) crushed with some water, and he was lukewarm (nibbled, did not finish). I do have a concern that all that mashed wheat cereal (mixed with his meds) is making his diet too fiber-rich, so I wondered how to balance that.
), late 70s
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