Max (aka Pua) w/mites
These photos show a guinea pig who was left behind after the occupants moved out of an apartment in the mountains of Los Angeles. The guinea pig was found in a bird cage among the bags of trash. The landlords took in the pig and cared for him in the best way that they could. They discovered that his skin was quite flakey and had open sores on it. A topical-pain reliever provided some relief for the pig, however, their daughter had allergies and so they could not keep him. The guinea pig needed immediate medical care and a request for help was posted on a guinea-pig forum. After various attempts to try to transport the guinea pig to the San Francisco Bay Area, a person was asked if he might have any suggestions on how to get him transported. The person offered the use of a (new) car and to pay for the gas for the trip. The offer was accepted and a person in the LA area drove to meet the people who had been caring for Pua (his name was later changed to Max when it was discovered that he was a male). The tranport person, who had never driven more than an 1-1/2 hour's distance, drove down to Gorman (north of LA) to meet the people who had the guinea pig. The drive back also included the transport of two other male guinea pigs, one of whom had been abandoned in a park. They also both had a (very mild) case of mites. The drive to and from LA was done as a turnaround trip and took a total of 12 hours. This album will contain photos that show the healing progress which will be the result of treating Max with Ivermectin and baths. It appears that Max may be a Satin.UPDATE: 7-17-04 An update on Max ... his hair is growing in and he looks so much better now. There is still flakey skin so he still will need a couple more Ivermectin treatments and baths. One thing that was noted during his last photo shoot is that he had a weird way of breathing. I took him ot the vet and he was put on oxygen and then they referred me to the ER vet for overnight oxygen and x-rays. When he was at the ER vet, they said that the oxygen seemed to make him worse so they sent him home. He's currently being treated twice a day with antibiotics and will go back to the vet for oxygen and an x-ray if his breathing worsens. He has no other symptoms such as discharge from his eyes or nose and no sneezing. He was housed on kiln-dried-pine shavings for a week since I had run out of Carefresh. At the moment he seems to be improving (the first vet wasn't sure if he would survive without being on oxygen all night).
UPDATE: 7-18-04 Max's x-rays today showed that he has fluid in his lungs and chest area. He was given and injection of furosemide/lasix and sent home with the same ... to be given twice a day.
UPDATE: 7-30-04 Max is no longer on the lasix but will continue his antibiotics for two weeks and then have another x-ray taken to see if his lungs are clear. [His next x-ray showed one clear lung and his meds were stopped and he is to be monitored.]
UPDATE: 10-31-04 Max started breathing with difficulty again so he was taken to the vet where another x-ray was taken. The diagnois was heart disease and his treatment will include lasix and a bronchodilator. However, the vet called back to say that she can not find any information on the dilators so they will not be presribed. So far, Max has been seen by four vets, including one at an emergency clinic.
UPDATE: 12-15-04 Max was seen by another exotics vet recently and it was discovered that he was being treated for the wrong ilness and with the wrong medicine. He has persistent pneumonia and the vets did not get back to me with the results of the last two x-rays that were taken on two occasions. He is now being treated with a high dose of Baytril and may need to be on it for the rest of his life.
UPDATE 6-22-05: Max died today. His fifth x-ray showed that his lungs were collapsed due to the scar tissue from his ongoing pneumonia that he had for nearly a year.
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Date(s): April 26, 2004. Album by Guinea Pig Fun. Photos by Kathy. 1 - 12 of 36 Total. |
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