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Serenity Dove posted:Oh my gosh so cute! :3 It's really sad, but unfortunately hamsters are not naturally long-lived creatures, and if you think that Jack's quality of life is not sustainable then my personal advice would be to let him go. IMO it would be better to let him die peacefully then try to make him hang on in pain. EDIT: This is a depressing post to start a page on. Here's a picture of my cat and Princess Lotus Blossom. 
tentawesome fucked around with this message at 00:32 on Feb 7, 2016 |
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Feb 7, 2016 00:29
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| # ? Jun 8, 2024 22:41 |
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One of my chinchillas sleeps in alarming-looking positions and he gets SO MAD when I interrupt his nap to make sure he's ok. i'm sorry but when you're full out on your side out in the open I'm gonna get a bit worried and give you a poke.
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Feb 7, 2016 00:37
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That means he trusts you... not to wake him when he's sleeping  .
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Feb 7, 2016 01:00
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:One of my chinchillas sleeps in alarming-looking positions and he gets SO MAD when I interrupt his nap to make sure he's ok. i'm sorry but when you're full out on your side out in the open I'm gonna get a bit worried and give you a poke. My wife and I call this "dead chinchilla position", and yeah, it really concerned us at first.
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Feb 7, 2016 01:07
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^^our pigs occasionally frighten us by sleeping in the open on their side, we're all 'what the hell, you're a prey animal' and poke them to check for life, which earns us some really filthy looks! Just need to go argh, came home and checked on the pigs, noticed dio has a swollen wattle, picked him up and prodded it, but it's quite hard. It wasn't there a few days ago...he seems to be eating and moving around like normal and is the heavier of the two pigs (though he has lost weight, about 200g over the last 6 months which we put down to stress (moving them to a new room, dog, us working on the house. ) but now I'm wondering if it was something festering (except Oz also lost weight and has no lumps). They're both at least 7 years old too. I'll ring the vet when it opens (given that it's not even 5am right now) but goddamnit having geriatric pets is scary sometimes. Kluliss fucked around with this message at 05:53 on Feb 8, 2016 |
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Feb 8, 2016 05:49
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Kluliss posted:^^our pigs occasionally frighten us by sleeping in the open on their side, we're all 'what the hell, you're a prey animal' and poke them to check for life, which earns us some really filthy looks! And well deserved they are too. Squiggle dozed off by her water bottle the other day. She's getting older, but she's not clapped out yet - she got an outing in the Ratmobile while I was out yesterday evening, but it didn't stop her trying to contact me into giving her another when I got home.
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Feb 8, 2016 10:47
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Kluliss posted:^^our pigs occasionally frighten us by sleeping in the open on their side, we're all 'what the hell, you're a prey animal' and poke them to check for life, which earns us some really filthy looks! Yup, and with their eyes open too. Given how quickly her sister went from a pig to an ex pig and the fact that she's 6 which is ancient in pig years I poke her every time
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Feb 8, 2016 18:34
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Adult Sword Owner posted:Yup, and with their eyes open too. Given how quickly her sister went from a pig to an ex pig and the fact that she's 6 which is ancient in pig years I poke her every time yeah the open eyes (but unseeing) is the bit that makes us ask them if they're alive pigs or not  Is 6 ancient? Ours are both over 7 years old, and up until discovering the huge hard lump under Dio's chin, (and Ozzie needing a cyst removed last year) they've been disgustingly healthy...I didn't realise this wasn't normal!
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Feb 8, 2016 19:32
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7 is the death age from my experience. 
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Feb 8, 2016 20:15
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Xoidanor posted:7 is the death age from my experience. I guess we'll see They have both lost weight the past 6 months (and put a little back on with us adding Dual Care pellets to their diet) so we figured they were ageing. I had hoped we'd be able to get them to at least 8 though, given how healthy and hardy they've been...Not looking forward to tomorrow's appointment
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Feb 8, 2016 22:00
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My last boar lived to almost 9 and was spry until the last couple of weeks despite some weight loss. Don't despair yet Kluliss!
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Feb 8, 2016 22:53
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Instant Jellyfish posted:My last boar lived to almost 9 and was spry until the last couple of weeks despite some weight loss. Don't despair yet Kluliss! Thanks! I'm hoping we can get him through this, just worried as the growth appeared very quickly and isn't squishy (the way Ozzie's cyst was last year). We'll see. Will post after vet with a pic of the little monster and his overgrown chin.
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Feb 8, 2016 22:57
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Instant Jellyfish posted:My last boar lived to almost 9 and was spry until the last couple of weeks despite some weight loss. Don't despair yet Kluliss! My bestest pig made it to 8 1/2yrs and was doing pretty good until about a week before she died. She may or may not have had cancer (it was being 'treated' with some supplements), but overall had great quality of life up until the end.
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Feb 9, 2016 00:42
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I'm getting a pretty generous tax return so I'm going to be doing some guinea pig cage shopping soon. He only has about 5.5 square feet right now so I'm looking to almost double that. I haven't decided if I'm going to buy a cage that's all one unit or go with one of the customizable cube setups with a loft. I had decided on that one green cage that a lot of people have, but now I'm seeing some really cool things (for a lot more $$$).
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Feb 9, 2016 02:23
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Good to know that pigs can live longer than ours have so far! Been to the vet and they're 99% sure it's a tumour. He has no other lumps on him, thankfully, but that doesn't rule out this being the sort of thing which will spread. The peeg in question:   As you can see, the lump is hanging low enough that it brushes the ground as he moves - I'm just going to have to clean it daily so he doesn't have horribleness on his fur. Please scuse kitchen work surface but it's the only flat place away from the dog. (also my phone's sudden inability to focus, it's normally a pretty good camera but today, apparently not!) One pic of me holding onto the lump in his neck - it's about the size of a smallish egg at this point.  We're going to give it a couple of days to see if it grows more/changes, as he's currently not bothered by it at all (even though I am!) - he's eating, weeing, pooping, wheeking, scolding me for not bringing veggies, all as he normally would. Even the vet was fine with that (as she's busy the next couple of days anyway) so it's waiting time, and working out where we go from here.
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Feb 9, 2016 13:57
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That's a big one, poor little love! if it's not bothering him though that's the important thing. Fingers crossed for him that he stays a happy wee peeg 
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Feb 9, 2016 14:06
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Poor piggie  . Give the little guy plenty of hugs. And veggies, mostly veggies.
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Feb 9, 2016 14:14
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Yeah it's huge, and appeared in a very short amount of time which is why we're concerned but as long as it doesn't interfere with him being himself, I'm reluctant to run the risk of surgery (obv if it even vaguely grows bigger or changes, we'll be discussing getting it whipped out)Neddy Seagoon posted:Poor piggie He's been given extra carrot and I'm going to see if the mint in the back garden's started growing again yet....
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Feb 9, 2016 14:21
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Got a tiny 7-week-old mosaic chin on Sunday, and he's been adapting remarkably after a rocky 36 hours or so: Our grey adult chin (not pictured) is a little more of a bully, but even he was grooming our new baby a little bit today. 
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Feb 10, 2016 19:48
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pksage posted:Got a tiny 7-week-old mosaic chin on Sunday, and he's been adapting remarkably after a rocky 36 hours or so: No picture of cute chin baby
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Feb 10, 2016 19:51
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Just out of curiosity, is that a normal age to wean them off their mom and send them off? I thought chinchilla babies were still tiny around that age?
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Feb 11, 2016 04:15
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Neddy Seagoon posted:Just out of curiosity, is that a normal age to wean them off their mom and send them off? I thought chinchilla babies were still tiny around that age? Some breeders say you shouldn't send them until 9-10 weeks of age. My wife and I generally send them to their new homes at 8 weeks, but then ours seem to grow and mature a lot quicker than other breeders because we don't follow the "You have to have a completely bare cage when babies are born" and they get a lot more activity and stimulation if there is still stuff in their cages(and they can climb up walls to get to a shelf mom is on within 24 hours of being born). Ours could probably be weaned at 7 weeks, but we would probably only do that with someone who is used to raising chinchillas.
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Feb 11, 2016 06:50
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If it's not one pig it's the other, just had to empty the bum of the other guinea-pig. He was looking really hangdog and basically lay on his side in the sink without complaining whilst I cleaned him up. I am not hopeful about how much longer he's got damnit, pigs. Updated rather than make a new post. Ozzy, the thinnest pig, you can feel all down his spine and hips, there's just nothing left of him even his breathing's slower and shallower, so I am not sure how long he has left:  He's half the width of Dio. Dio's always been a fatty but still:  Please excuse the room...it's the pig/junk room  Dio seems to be doing fine right now, as far as I can tell the tumour's no bigger, he's eating and whatnot (unlike Ozzy, who took a carrot peeling and half ate it, then ignored it. Suspect his insides aren't working any more.) so I'm less worried about him than Oz. Unusually, when I took Ozzy out of the cage first and left Dio in there, he was calling for him and only quietened once I picked him out and popped him on my knee with his bro. I guess he knows there's something wrong too
Kluliss fucked around with this message at 12:46 on Feb 12, 2016 |
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Feb 11, 2016 15:17
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Khisanth Magus posted:No picture of cute chin baby He's the white (mosaic) one in that picture!
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Feb 12, 2016 02:59
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pksage posted:He's the white (mosaic) one in that picture! The picture's not showing up for us is what Khisanth means. Try using imgur instead.
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Feb 12, 2016 03:05
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 This is going to become my guinea pig's new cage at some point next week. It says three feet by four feet, but it's actually 3x4 units with each unit being 14"x14" so that would be 16.3 square feet. I won't be using all the grids to divide it into cubes so I could make it even bigger than that, or make it smaller if I don't have enough room. I use washable dog training pads and blankets as bedding so having a wire floor isn't anything to worry about. I already have two pigloos, two beds, an obscene amount of toys, tons of hay and food, and more fresh vegetables than one guinea pig could ever eat, so now with this massive cage on the way it seems like it would make sense to get a second pig. Just have to convince the boyfriend that it's a good idea.
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Feb 13, 2016 08:58
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Kluliss posted:Please excuse the room...it's the pig/junk room He looks so tired.
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Feb 13, 2016 09:33
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My sweet Syrian hamster died today. She was two and a half and I didn't notice anything odd about her so I think she just died of old age. I'm super sad though... Might not get another one, I can't deal with the short life span...
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Feb 13, 2016 16:22
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That is the way with rodents, sadly. After a time, you tend to come to terms with it, and accept that, and spend your time with them as you can. I recently read a manga series about a dog-based pet shop(Inubaka, if curious) that had a very poignant "ten promises to my dog" scene:   Many don't really apply to rodents since they're not as smart as dogs(full promise scene if you'd like), but the last two, well, I think they're very relevant to any pet owner, not just dogs. Enjoy every moment with your pet. And try to be there with them at the end. It is sad, but that is life. If you enjoy having them, I don't think you should stop getting them just because they are relatively short-lived, you might also get a long-lived one, for example, the mama and three of her babies that I posted about years ago, I still have them. They're about 3 years old now, I think? And they're still healthy as can be. I cherish my time with them, and you should too with yours, but just understand they don't live very long.
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Feb 13, 2016 16:48
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WindowLiquor posted:My sweet Syrian hamster died today. She was two and a half and I didn't notice anything odd about her so I think she just died of old age. I'm super sad though... Might not get another one, I can't deal with the short life span... Heavy Petting > Hamsters, Chinchillas & Other Rodents Thread: Syrian Refugees Welcome
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Feb 13, 2016 16:55
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I'm sorry WindowLiquor two and a half is a good age for a ham though, you can't ask for much more than to pass peacefully in your sleep at the end of a nice life. I like to think of it like their short lifespans mean you can give a good home and a happy life to more little ones, especially since not many hams have a good life, so many are "just children's pets" and they end up left in a tiny cage and ignored. That comic got my throat all tight 
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Feb 13, 2016 17:08
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republicant posted:
You might want to pick up some sheets of coroplast from home depot or something for the floor. I don't think I've seen anyone using cubes without some sort of solid layer for the floor. You might also want to pick up a bunch of zip ties to secure it better than the little connectors. I'm constantly popping those off when I nudge it too much during cleaning and it drives me crazy. Two pigs are always better than one. And then you go "well maybe I'll expand the cage and give them more room" and then you realize that there's enough room for even more pigs and you end up with a 4 of them somehow. My piggins are also benefiting from tax season. They're all terrible, awful bar chewers and it drives me nuts so I'm making them something like this with plexi instead of bars. I'm going to raise it up on feet instead of having the storage area. My current C&C cage is just a little too low to clean up without killing my back. 
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Feb 13, 2016 21:16
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This may be over cautious of me (see also the "no romaine" thing) but see about using polycarbonate instead of acrylic. Acrylic (polymethyl methacrylate) is susceptible to attack by ammonia, which is found in peeg urine.
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Feb 13, 2016 23:51
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Instant Jellyfish posted:You might want to pick up some sheets of coroplast from home depot or something for the floor. I don't think I've seen anyone using cubes without some sort of solid layer for the floor. You might also want to pick up a bunch of zip ties to secure it better than the little connectors. I'm constantly popping those off when I nudge it too much during cleaning and it drives me crazy. Yeah I like Home Depot's prices for coroplast much better than the guinea pig cage website I was looking at. All the coroplast bases on the cage site were $50+ themselves and it looks like Home Depot has 6' x 3' coroplast sheets for $13.86. At that price there's really no reason not to have a solid floor for the cage so I'm going to order one. And I bought a 100-pack of zip ties for $1 so that cage is going to be solid. I've been trying to find male guinea pigs in need of a home in my area (Birmingham AL) but there aren't any. The only things I've found were a pregnant female and a couple males about a 2 hour drive away, which isn't doable. It sucks because the adoption fee for a guinea pig from the local humane society would only be $10 but there just aren't any there, but I guess it's a good thing that people aren't abandoning their guinea pigs around here. I'm going to have to just buy one from a pet store, and Petco happens to have guinea pigs on sale for 20% off this month so it works out. Most pet stores around here only have one or two guinea pigs in stock at a time so I hope it will be easy to find a young male with a pleasant personality. When I first brought Hamlet home he wasn't particularly friendly, seemed like a really lame unsocial pet and my boyfriend was scared of him so that didn't help things. Now we've both really come to love him. He's not a cat or a dog and he's never going to be okay with being handled, but he's fun to watch, runs to us when we call him (by making kissing sounds), and when he occasionally lets me rub his nose for a full 10 seconds without running away it makes my day. His cage is right next to my bed and I love wearing perfume or eating an orange and looking over to see the pig looking at me with his snout poking through the bars and his mouth gaping open, trying to figure out what the smell is and if it's something he can eat. Basically like this:   I finally got a bag of Oxbow Cavy Cuisine and I'm transitioning him to it. The food I've been feeding him is the best that Petco sells but I wanted The Best, and Oxbow seems to be it. I got some Oxbow supplements too - vitamin C, digestive support (fiber), and a multivitamin. I'm sure he doesn't need them, but they were marked down cheap and shouldn't be harmful to give him occasionally. Kaytee, Vitakraft, etc sell treats and vitamin drops and whatnot for guinea pigs that are actively harmful, but I trust Oxbow a bit more since they seem to be highly regarded among guinea pig owners. republicant fucked around with this message at 13:40 on Feb 14, 2016 |
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Feb 14, 2016 13:37
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republicant posted:I'm going to have to just buy one from a pet store, and Petco happens to have guinea pigs on sale for 20% off this month so it works out. Most pet stores around here only have one or two guinea pigs in stock at a time so I hope it will be easy to find a young male with a pleasant personality. Wow, really? I work at a Petsmart and we generally have 4-6 pigs in stock out on the floor and who knows how many in back (except so far this month because our supplier hasn't shipped any yet).
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Feb 14, 2016 21:40
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You might want to look on craigslist or see if your area has a buy/sell/trade facebook group or something but I've had petsmart pigs before and they were perfectly fine pigs. At least they only get one sex and the pigs generally look pretty ok unlike the terrible mom and pop stores near me that have piles of unsexed guinea pigs in with rabbits. So many ear mites and bite wounds 
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Feb 14, 2016 21:47
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There's a pet store near me that keeps chinchillas and rabbits and guinea pigs housed together in wire bottom cages, and also sells horrible sickly puppy mill "designer dogs". They're the only other store besides Petsmart that sells Oxbow and our local Petsmart only has maybe half an aisle of small animal stuff so I buy most of my chinchillas supplies online.
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Feb 15, 2016 00:22
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Captain Invictus posted:That is the way with rodents, sadly. After a time, you tend to come to terms with it, and accept that, and spend your time with them as you can. Some videos of her and her babies When I gave her a new house https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j74Cg5Cf24o Being a good mama https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E0Om4sBLhs Grabbing onto and attacking the camera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIURekRjLog Bye, Little Mama.
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Feb 15, 2016 15:48
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Guinea-pig question: Just how light can a pig be? I weighed Ozzy and he's down to 635g, he was over 800 less than a month ago and just over a kilo a month or so before that. In the last few days he's started being unable to poop so we're having to clean him out, he managed to eat a bit last night after I gave him painkillers, but it was a very tiny amount (a couple of slivers of celery, a piece of carrot peel, attempted to nibble a piece of hay but didn't actually eat it). He's also making very rattly noises when he breathes, is mostly laying there and not moving all that much apart from the occasional heroic effort to see if my hand is edible, or how much of the tea-towel he can nibble before I stop him. I did try to take a video of the noise he's making now, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYZ53ESafVI sorry for poor quality/clarity and rattling at the end. I'm pretty sure his issue isn't a respiratory infection, other than the sort of thing that might happen at end of life anyway. To be fair, he's always been the grunty pig rather than the whistley pig, especially when he's being grumpy at you. I also had to do something I found quite hard; I called the vets to find out what the cost would be if we had to put him down. We won't if we don't have to, but he's barely eating, not really drinking, can't move much on his own and I can't help but wonder if it would be kinder to send him to the big sleep.
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Feb 15, 2016 15:56
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| # ? Jun 8, 2024 22:41 |
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He's definitely got some fluid in his lungs, so you're looking at URI or something heart-related. If he can't really even move on his own then it might be more of a kindness to have him put down than let him linger.
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Feb 15, 2016 16:02
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