Tag: vets

Ludo and Locksley

I’m Fine and Locksley’s Grown

On By geordieroscoeIn Health4 Comments

Way-aye, Roscoe here again.

I went to see Dr Mark last week. He checked me all over, personal like, and concluded I was fine. Just getting a bit older. And he let Mam know what the new maximum dose of Metacam is. I started getting 0.3 whatevers a few weeks ago, because Mam thought I needed it. According to Dr Mark I can have up to 0.5 whatevers a day. So Mam’s doing it right. Some days I feel more in need of it than others. Mam says she has the same problem but she gets Ibuprofen sometimes, not Metacam.

So that’s us. Now for the update on Locksley and Ludo.

First off, Locksley’s grown. Well, you know he’s growing, because he’s a baby and that’s what babies do. But he’s now a young guinea pig, not a baby guinea pig. It’s quite a difference. He’s hit the 600 gms mark on the scales, which means him and Ludo together now weigh more than me. For weeks they weighed less than me. I’ve stayed the same. Ludo’s put on a little weight, Locksley’s more than doubled.

But he’s also doubled in size. Look at this!

  • October 5th
  • November 5th

I know it’s not easy to see him, but he has a white thumb-like mark on his right shoulder, so you can get your bearings okay. Locksley’s not far off being the same size as Ludo!

Mam says she has a lot of trouble seeing him, even when he’s in the run. He’s like a shadow, she says. And he’s got very fluffy hair, not really like a Rex, like Biggles. She says it’s more like the soft hair Victor had on his back. Maybe he’s going to be an Abby? He’s probably old enough to show longer hair if he was going to be like Neville, though. Mam had a look back at Dylan and Dougall’s baby pics and theirs was already sticking up above their ears when they were three months.

He’s turning into an attractive young man, and he’s quite well mannered, considering. Mam took the second panel away from our run yesterday, because he’s too big to poke his head through now. It was clever what she did, just attached another panel with wire on our side, so we didn’t chew it like they might have done. But it’s wired to the other panel on the left, to offset it, and make the bar come between the other two bars on the one behind. Oh, this photo will probably explain it all much better.

Double panel to reduce risk to Locksley

So, that’s gone and we’re back to normal now. I can have better chats to Locksley and give him proper Uncle Guidance. Ludo seems to be quite willing to say hello, but never has anything else to say for himself. I think he’s been through a very bad experience, with no-one to keep him company. Nev and I had each other, of course.

Mam says he enjoys his cuddles, and is quite relaxed when he’s with her. He’s just nuts about hiding from her if he’s in the run. He’s beginning to get used to Mam sitting next to him and reading, but he shoots for cover any time she moves.

None of us had any trouble with the firework things this week though. They happened every night from last weekend to this, starting around 5 pm, and mostly stopping around 10.30. But it’s not as noisy as the builders. We can cope, Mam 🙂

Have a good week

love

Roscoe xxxxx

Neville and Roscoe post-bath

Neville went to the vet

On By geordieroscoeIn Health3 Comments

Way-aye, Roscoe here.

Yes, our Nev went to the vet yesterday. The local vet, to check his teeth, that is.

Mam says his back teeth definitely meet at the front because she can feel them. Nev says she put her finger in his mouth and he was so surprised he closed it. He hopes he didn’t hurt her. I think she’d have said something if you did, mate.

She said Ow.

Oh well, maybe you hurt her a little bit, but at least she knows where your teeth have got to.

Anyway, the vet looked at Nev’s mouth but said he had too much food in it. He hadn’t had anything for four hours and was starving! Maybe he ate some tasty poos in desperation. Mam talked to her about washing out techniques, but the vet was worried about things going down the wrong way, or something.

Anyway, we’re hoping to hear about going to another vet today, the one in Andover, because our local vet is happy to refer Neville to the expert there.

Not that Nev is in desperate need. He is managing very well with the new smaller pellets Mam is giving him (the ones baby Locksley needs). Mam’s also cutting his veg up nice and neat in sticks which are easy for him to eat. Easy for me too, so she’s given up and all our food comes served that way — ‘julienne’ is the technical term.

Nev was losing weight about two weeks ago, but he’s back to normal with the different pellets and food sticks.

Locksley is not back to normal – he’s nearly doubled in size! Ludo has also put on weight, and Mam says he’s feeling podgy. He may still do some growing, but she’s going to watch his food intake, all the same. He’s still as scared as ever, although Mam is very patient with him. He’s taking more time to look at us through the cage bars, though he still doesn’t say anything. I think he’s getting a bit more settled, though.

Mam says the fireworks season is nearly upon us. And judging from New Year, this area is very noisy with its fireworks. Sigh. People.

More news next week

Roscoe xxxxx

V is for Vets, who are Very Nice

On By bertie bootsIn a to z challenge2 Comments

2019 A to Z badge
Blogging from A to Z

Bertie here!  I’m feeling fine now, thank you for your nice messages. I finished my medicine yesterday, but Mummy says I can still have some of Hugo’s Brew if I want it.

Today I’m doing letter V in our A to Z Challenge.  Not long to go now!  Kevin did V for Vets in 2017, too.  You can see what he said here.

I had to go and see the VET the week before last.  I had a horrid crackly breathing problem which Dr David said was pneumonia (Mummy spelled that out for me).

Dr David with a cat or a puppyHe held me tight and made a funny feeling in my back, which hurt a little, but only for a second. Mummy says it was an injection of the medicine she then gave me twice a day after that.  It doesn’t taste at all nice.  It’s called Enrocare, and it’s the replacement for Baytril, which tastes even worse, according to Mummy. I had it from a tube mixed with apple juice, which was okay till the apple ran out and the medicine was all that was left.  I had to take it for ages. And then I had Hugo’s Brew afterwards which taasted nice, once I got used to it.

We have nice Vets.  They are hugely knowledgeable people about all sorts of illness and problems for all sorts of animals.  Ours specialise in ‘exotic animals’ which includes guinea pigs.  Sometimes when Mummy goes to the vets she sees other things.  Cats and dogs and birds are the most usual.  Also rabbits, lizards, bearded dragons, snakes, and one day she met a penguin. Auntie Vikki met an emu there once! I’d be scared stiff to meet an emu.  And Mummy took a kestrel there, one that Uncle Michael had rescued. Dr Louise looked at it and kept it in their special place for birds until it recovered, then let it free where he’d found it.

When Mummy first took George there, it was quite small, just Dr Louise and Dr Sally and Uncle Stuart on Reception. There were the same consulting rooms and just one room for operations and xrays, and a bay for sick animals next to the staff kitchen.  Now they have a huge area behind the consulting rooms, with special rooms for xrays, scans and operations. Each set of animals has its own room to recover in, so one for dogs, one for cats, one for reptiles, one for guinea pigs and rabbits, and one for birds!  Mummy says they also have lots of vets working there, and there’s a picture of some of them and the nurses above on their tenth anniversary.

Dr Sally
Dr Sally and baby, with Dr David at the back

Roscoe saw Dr Helen in January; she put him on a diet! She’s now working in Cambridge, but Dr Sally is back at work after having a baby.  We like Dr Sally. We see her most often.  Dr David is very very nice, though.  I liked him, even if he did stick a needle in me. I’m feeling a lot better now.

So that’s V for Vets, and next week Roscoe has W.  I wonder what he’s going to do? Oh—I get X the week after. Any suggestions?

Love

Bertie  xxx

Percy pig in the hay box

My Grand Day Out

On By PercyIn Health9 Comments

PercyPercy here. With lump.

Mummy took me out for the day in the car on Friday. We went a very long way, then we stopped for a short while and then Mummy came back and had a cup of coffee.  Then we went on to see Dr Simon in Northampton at the Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic (but they like guinea pigs too).  The was a cat in Reception when we arrived, and a rabbit came out of the vet’s room before we went in to see him.

Dr Simon was very nice. He gave me a cuddle, called me ‘sweetie’ and examined my lump and my teeth. He moved my bottom jaw around to see if I could line my incisors up, which I can, but it takes work, so I leave it a bit sideways if I’m not actually eating something.  He and Mummy talked about my lump while he did that.

Then he took me into another room and wrapped me up to give me a tooth checkover, just like Uncle Barry does.  He told me my teeth were good, he just had to smooth off the outsides of the top ones as a bit of a preventative.  Then we went back to Mummy and he told her what he had done.  Mummy asked lots of questions about eating and stuff.  She seemed content with his answers.  I went back into my box to rest again while they talked.

Then I came home again, and it was still a long way.  We stopped again.  Oh I forgot to say, I think Mummy has a friend in the car but I never saw her.  She started saying things to Mummy after the first stop, when we were on our way to Dr Simon.  Then she stopped talking when we got near Kings Lynn on the way home.  I ignored her at first, but then I discovered she mainly said odd things like “Enter the roundabout and take the second exit.”  When she said that the car would do one of those triple sways, so I started to get used to the warning and the sways. I don’t know where she went after Kings Lynn.  I don’t remember Mummy stopping again to let her out. I spent most of the journey underneath my bed, because that made the noise quieter.

Mummy’s giving me Metacam twice a day now, but otherwise nothing’s changed. Dr Simon told her that Metacam seems to have an inhibiting effect on sarcomas. I’m sure that’s what he said, because I was listening hard, in case Mummy didn’t remember.  But she obviously did because she gave me some Metacam as soon as I got home, along with another slice of cucumber.

I must admit, although I was tired after my day out, I felt good on Saturday.  Until the evening.  Then I started feeling really weird and my body starting twitching.  Mummy was worried about me, and took me out for a cuddle, which felt good and I relaxed, but then the twitching started again. It went on half the night, and I was very tired in the morning, but Mummy was pleased to see I was okay, sort of.  She thinks I might have had a funny turn, probably linked to my lump – which seems to have grown AGAIN.  He’s a picture of me on Sunday morning.  My lower jaw is even further over, and I’m drooping a bit.  That lump is getting heavy.

In fact, I’m not feeling too well this morning. I hope you’re okay today.

Update on Roscoe: he’s doing okay.  His scar is a bit swollen at each end, but Mummy’s treating it just like Dr Sally said. Otherwise he looks fine, and the hair’s growing back.

Percy

Update on my lump – I’m fine

On By PercyIn Health6 Comments

You remember I went to the vet doctor and had a snooze so that Dr Sally could check out my lump?  I told you about that here…

Percy

Well, I went back to be checked up on Wednesday last week.  Dr Sally told Mummy what the lab had said, which was it probably wasn’t an abscess, although it might be, and it didn’t seem to be anything else from what she’d sent them.  So after a long discussion (they took a-g-e-s) they agreed to do nothing.

I’m really glad.  I don’t need any medicine, and I’m fine with it.  It doesn’t hurt or get in the way and although Mummy feels it from the outside with her fingers, I reckon it’s just the same.  It appeared.  It might disappear.  Who knows?

While I was there Mummy put me on the floor so I could show Dr Sally I wasn’t moving properly.  It was fun down there, although there was a shiny box which seemed to have a black guinea pig on the other side of it.  I couldn’t smell or hear him, so I went away, and he did too.  I think they decided I was walking okay, because Dr Sally bent down to pick me up, so I ran away, and Mummy put my snugglesac down and I went into it.  Dr Sally laughed but I don’t know why.

Oscar went to be checked up as well.  He has a heart that skips a beat every now and then.  They had a long talk about whether this was what was making him lose weight.  Finally they decided to check out his poos to see if they had something odd in them.  They don’t have to send him to sleep to get those, Mummy just filled the little bottle with them the next morning.

So we’re both fine, and Mummy is just being Mummy.  She’s fine too.

We’ve been going out for a while most evenings this week, after Mummy gets back from golf.  She does a lot of that at the moment.