Now it's the guinea pig

MyBrownEyedBoy wrote: Wow, a few weeks ago I was worried about our ferret Oatmeal. Now, when I went to give PeanutButter the Pig a carrot this morning, I noticed that his face looked lopsided. Long story short, PeanutButter is now at the vet's office having oral surgery. He has an abscessed tooth. The vet says she can lance the abscess and clean it out, but she doesn't have the correct dental tools to extract rodent teeth. So we'll try antibiotics for a week and if that doesn't make the difference, we have two options. Take him to Salt Lake City to a rodent specialist to remove the tooth or put him to sleep. And I can't even tell my family because they will think I'm nuts for even doing the lance/clean surgery. All I'll get is "He's a guinea pig, you spent $15 on him." Financially they're right, but it sure doesn't feel right to not even try. Please tell me I'm not a complete loon. I know I am going to spend about $120 on a rodent, but he's a favorite pet, cuddly and calm around Logan and I love that squeak, squeak when I open the fridge. And we can afford it, it won't mean shorting the family on any necessities. I guess when pet troubles rain, they pour.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: Awww I completely understand! Whether it be a dog, cat, hamster, goldfish, guinea pig, hamster or any other pet, those decissions are the hardest to make!

AlexsPajamaMama replied: I say go for it! Pets are certainly family members too!
I kwym about family thinking you are just crazy for spending money like that on a pet, my dad is the same way! You dont need to tell!

gr33n3y3z replied: Your not a loon hun you just love your pets and like you I would do any and everything I can for them.

I hope this works for PeanutButter
Little prayers for PB

mckayleesmom replied: Regardless of how much he origionally cost...he is a family member and if it can be fixed...then fix it.

MyBrownEyedBoy replied: He's home from the vet now. She said as far as she can tell, there was no tooth involved. She said if she had to guess, he just got something stuck in his cheek in the back where it meets the jaw and it burrowed in and got infected. So, I hope that this is the last of the surgeries on this little guy. A year ago we paid for him to have a mastectomy. Yes, that is the correct term, he had a "lump" and we opted to just remove the darn thing completely rather than nickel and dime it. I did tell my sister, I knew she'd understand. She has a cat that has had 3 exploratory surgeries because he'll eat anything.

MyBrownEyedBoy replied:
Thanks, Brianne. That is how I feel about it too.

kimberley replied: aww that sucks. i hope he gets better soon. KUP.

MyBrownEyedBoy replied:
I updated above, he's sitting quietly in his cage now looking rather dazed. But who can blame him for that?

kimberley replied: guess i should have read all the replies. i am glad Peanut Butter is okay and wish him a quick recovery. do you have any pics?

and i totally agree with the others, you can't put a price on the love of a family friend.

Jackie012007 replied: I don't blame you... we are crazy animal people here too. My parents have a dog that they saved from being euthanized at the shelter my mom works at, she has a lot of intestinal problems and can't eat dog food, they have to mix her up a digestable meal every night... and she can't be potty trained because when it happens, it just happens the irony is she will eat ANYTHING... and then she gets deathly sick... and my parents still put up with it and have shelled out probably about $1500 for different treatments she needed. The other day my dad was stacking wood for the wood stove and she ate tree bark she's dumb as dirt but they love her

coasterqueen replied: I'm sorry you have to make this decision and the pig is sick.

You are not a loon. Dh spent $75 to try to 'fix' our hamster that was attacked by our siamese Zuki. It was my fault Zuki got Maxwell. I felt so bad. The doc said he couldn't be saved, but he'd try if we wanted him to. Dh told them to try. Dh took off the next day from work to bury Max.

MyBrownEyedBoy replied: Here are two pictures of PeanutButter. The first we took the day after we got him, the second is him now. The surgery site is on the other side of his face and I didn't want to stress him out by moving him. Maybe tomorrow I can show you his shaved jaw.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: I hope Peanut Butter recovers soon and has no more problems. I love guinea pigs and was just thinking about getting one for the kids.

kimberley replied: aww he's so cute. he looks so happy in that grass. get better soon PeanutButter!

MyBrownEyedBoy replied: Aimee, I think they mostly make great pets. PB is great with Logan, very calm and sweet and kind. He even puts up with "hugs" where Logan lays his fave on him. However, I did have one in college that earned a "Land Shark" warning at the vet's office. He was a biter and kind of mean. I still liked him, I thought he had personality, so did the vet, but she did put the warning in his chart.

punkeemunkee'smom replied: Hi Kelly! Been missing you! I am glad Peanut Butter is doing better! I have heard of that happening (sunflower seeds are supposed to be really bad) You are NOT a loon! I would do the same thing for Floppy the sumo-guinea! They really are awesome pets for our kiddos and I have to admit I love that chirping too!!! I hope PB heals up very quickly!

gr33n3y3z replied: Awww he is so cute

redchief replied: ~~~~Quick Healing Vibes~~~~ for PeanutButter.

luvmykids replied: Aw, I'm glad to hear it was fairly simple to treat and hope he feels better soon. You're not a loon, I would do it too. I feel if we're going to take on the responsibility for these animals then it means doing it 100%.

Maddie&EthansMom replied:
I wonder if you get one young and hold it a lot if that will help. Because the kids are gonna wanna play with it a lot. I'm going to the pet store today to look at them. Scotty and I talked about it last night and he wants one, too. He had one when he was little.

I asked him about a hamster and he said "NO WAY" He said they can get out of their cage and you can't find them. Plus, the children would squish a hamster, I'm sure. They are so fragile.

punkeemunkee'smom replied:
Hey Aimee! When we got Floppy,we asked to hold each of the babies they had and he was the one who cuddled into her and started 'talking' to her right away! You can usually see their personalities shine through. I hope you find one as great for the kids as he has been with Tay!