Wolfgang - Full Write-Up
Wolfy was one of our permanent resident guinea pigs who cohabited with Wilfred. The pair of them were inseparable, despite the big age-gap. We've had so many amazing memories with Wolfy, and he was one of our most-loved residents. For that reason, we decided to write a post about his arrival, life with us, and his passing.
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Arrival:
On the day Walter passed away from acute renal failure, Wolfy was advertised by the incredible micro-rescue - Tiny Paws MCR. Personally, I don't really believe in fate, but this felt as close to that as can be.
Wolfy - originally George - was an elderly guinea pig in need of a special home due to chronic health complications. He'd require daily nursing and medicinal care. Wolfy also needed a boar companion - as did Wilfy.
We knew we could offer a guinea pig in need a permanent home for however long, so we applied to adopt him.
Our adoption application was accepted, and we arranged to meet with Tiny Paws MCR at their property. Tiny Paws MCR wanted to observe a neutral ground bonding session to ensure Wolfy and Wilfy would get along.
Fortunately, they really hit it off! That day, we took Wolfy home with Wilfy.
Wolfgang and Wilfred:
Wolfgang had osteoarthritis of his lower-vertebrae and of one of his hind-legs. To manage his pain levels, Wolfy was prescribed 1mg:1kg Metacam/Meloxicam (NSAID) BID.
Due to his osteoarthritis, he subsequently suffered from perineal sac impactions. To keep Wolfy as clean and comfortable as possible, we had to manually empty and clean his anal sac BID.
On top of that, Wolfgang also suffered from chronic respiratory disease (CRD). When he developed upper-respiratory infections, he required nebulising twice a day with F10. He also required a 30-day course of Baytril/Enrofloxacin (fluoroquinolone antimicrobial agent) and Ronaxan/Doxycycline (tetracycline antimicrobial agent). Intensive therapy helped resolve his infections.
Chronic respiratory diseases are common amongst pet rodents - particularly mice, rats, and guinea pigs.
Firstly, the word "chronic" literally means persistent long term, or constantly reoccurring. It does not suggest the severity of the disease. In mice and rats, mycoplasma pulmonis is ubiquitous and is by far the most important infectious agent. In guinea pigs, mycoplasma is isolated but without clinical disease. Pathogens (bacteria, virus, or other microorganisms that can cause disease) such as Bordatella bronchiseptica, Streptococcus pneumonia (zoonotic?), Streptococcus Zooepidermicus, Pasteurella pneumotropica, and Chlamydophilla Caviae are most common in guinea pigs. Adenovirus can also cause disease, but this is mainly in lab animals.
Untreated upper-respiratory infections (URIs) in guinea pigs are nearly always fatal. Prompt intervention is vital as guinea pigs can go downhill extremely quickly.
Wolfy was probably one of the easiest patients we've ever encountered. He was incredibly patient and seemed to genuinely understand that we wanted to help him.
He was also incredibly patient with Wilfy. Wilfy was and is a very testing guinea pig, however, he really is all bark (or rumbling, in this case) and no bite. Wolfy always knew to pretty much ignore Wilfy whenever he mouthed-off.
He had an enormous appetite and really could put away his food. It's difficult to say what his favourite food was - all food was his favourite food!
Pulmonary Neoplasia:
Wolfy's passing happened very suddenly.
As we have mentioned, Wolfy could eat - a lot. We usually had to replace all the food within their enclosure every day. One night, Wolfy had eaten all his herbs and pellets but had eaten probably 3/4 the amount of hay he usually would. Reduction in appetite can be an indication of underlying health issues.
We reweighed Wolfy and he'd lost 180g since being weighed 10-days prior. When auscultated from all angles (posterior, anterior, and lateral), his airways sounded clear. Despite that, Wolfy had episodes of dyspnea/laboured breathing (using the abdominal muscles to breath). Guinea pigs are obligate nasal breathers, using the abdominal muscles to breathe is a serious sign that something is wrong. Wolfy also had cyanosis of the scrotum which is usually a sign of insufficient oxygen levels. We also noticed that Wolfy's hind-limbs were weak and this could've been heightened due to pre-existing osteoarthritis.
Wolfy had a rectal body-temp reading of 38.167°C (average biological body temperatures for guinea pigs are between 37.2°C and 39.5°C). Slow gut sounds could be auscultated and he was producing normal faeces.
We introduced Wolfgang to Oxbow Critical Care for herbivores syringe fed orally QID and he was admitted to the veterinary practice.
Once admitted, the vet took some Dorsoventral/DV-view X-Rays.
Radiographs highlighted that Wolfy had fluid on his lungs, a potential mass, or abscess, and pockets of gas - most likely due to aerophagia/swallowing air.
The vet then performed an ultrasound scan which was equally as concerning. The ultrasound showed excessive blood/fluid in his lungs.
By now, Wolfy was even struggling to breathe with additional oxygen therapy. The vet made a final attempt to rule out potential illnesses and performed a thoracentesis/pleural tap.
A thoracentesis is a procedure in which a needle is inserted into the pleural space between the lungs and the chest wall. The invasive procedure will remove fluid or air, the procedure can be used for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. When draining the fluid, all that came from Wolfy was entirely blood.
The vet's final diagnosis was pulmonary neoplasia (lung tumour) with a ruptured vessel that was basically free-bleeding into the lungs and surrounding areas.
A study shows 35% of guinea pigs over 3 years old develop bronchogenic papillary adenomas. Bronchogenic and Alevogenic adenocarcinomas have also been documented.
It's also important to note that pulmonary neoplasms are extremely difficult to see on X-Rays. They're usually asymptomatic until they reach a certain size, and most are incidental findings on post mortems.
Tumours cannot survive without both oxygen and nutrients. Tumour angiogenesis is a proliferation of a blood vessel network that supplies a tumour with both oxygen and nutrients to sustain optimal growth.
Angiogenesis describes a physiological process which causes new blood vessels to develop from pre-existing vessels. They're formed in the earlier stages of vasculogenesis (differentiating angioblasts into endothelial cells and the start of a formation of a primitive vascular network). Angiogenesis is controlled by chemical processes within the body and will continue the growth of the vasculature by splitting and sprouting. Oxygen binds to haemoglobin (red blood cells) - becoming Oxyhaemoglobin - and nutrients are carried around the body via capillaries connected to veins and blood vessels.
Wolfgang's prognosis was grave, and it was decided that the kindest thing for Wolfy was for him to be humanely euthanised.
Wolfgang passed away on the 11th of October 2019.
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