Jasmine: A Rescued Guinea Pig
March 26, 2005 ... has mites, a head tilt, malnutrition, and is pregnant. The most recent photos are at the beginning of the album and the remainder are in chronological order. Jasmine was picked up from a possible backyard breeder and brought directly to a vet for assessment. She is very thin and her bones stick out and her fur is missing in places and very short and sparse. The vet said that she is pregnant and that she might be due in a week. She also said that the she had nothing to eat (it was around 8pm when I saw the vet). She treated her for mites and told me to give her raspberry-flavored Baytril once daily for her head tilt and also 50ml of Vitamin C daily. The vet isn't sure what caused Jasmine's head tilt. She did not see an outer–ear infection or eardrum rupture. She checked and said that Baytril would do the least amount of damage to the babies. A probiotic is being given to counteract any problems that the antibiotic might create. Her weight is 690 grams/1.52 pounds (due to severe malnutrition) and according to the breeder, she is about a year old and has had a litter before.
UPDATE: Once at home, she ate food and drank water but she did not eat the alfalfa hay or alfalfa pellets. At one point she was given two separate doses of a calcium supplement, NeoCalgucon: 0.5ml/cc. One week later she gave birth to three live babies; all three had to be put down since they were dying. The two smaller babies weighed 35grams/1-1/2 ounces and the larger baby weighed 50grams/1-3/4 ounces. The following day she delivered a mummified fetus and an injection of oxytocin was given to see if there were any other babies left (there were none).
UPDATE 4-10-05: Jasmine is currently being fed Oxbow’s Critical Care to supplement her food intake of vegetables and hay (she currently will not eat pellets). She is fed 30-45cc of CC per day which she eats from a spoon and loves. She has gained some weight but is still extremely thin. She now weighs 670 grams. She's still scratching and being treated for mites and she still has the head tilt.
UPDATE 5-3-05:Jasmine had her one-month checkup and came through with flying colors. She now weighs 804 grams so the Gerty Guinea mix will be eliminated. She will be given Oxbow's timothy-based pellets and grass hays along with her veggies and daily Vitamin C. The month-long course of antibiotics will be stopped but the Critcal Care is to continue. The Ivermectin will be given every two weeks for two more treatments. A fecal float was done to rule out any parasites.
UPDATE: Worked on bonding Jasmine with Pippi and Izzy, however, the bonding did not work out. Jasmine started to lose weight and Pippi kept stalking her and Izzy was not in the mood for another cage mate. She was then tried separately with two six-week-old females but neither bonding attempt was successful. She did, however, like her stuffed toy tiger. Her new neighbors are Lily and Daisy aka Bijou, two exbreeders who needed a new home. Lily is older and has possible mild cataracts and was underweight and had aborted her last litter but she seems to be doing fine now.
UPDATE 10-2-05: Jasmine is currently being treated for a tooth and gum problem. She is receiving an antibiotic, pain medicine, vitamin C, and Oxbow's Critical Care. She is in a smaller cage and may be viewed on the Guinea Pig Fun web cam.
EDIT 1-6-07: Jasmine was put to sleep today.
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Date(s): March 27, 2005. Album by Guinea Pig Fun. Photos by Kathy. 1 - 12 of 302 Total. |
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