Distressing Day

Hi guys. I’m still a bit shaken up, as is Mummy but I’m going to tell you about a scary accident I had at the wheekend. Mummy had been out all day because she is sorting through her Grandma and Grandpa’s things at their house. She says the house sounds odd now it’s getting emptier. When she got back, she came to check on us piggies and I was sitting very quiet and still in my pigloo. She knew straight away something was wrong and lifted me out. The inside of my pigloo and the fur on my tummy looked like the scene of a murder. There was a lot of blood.

Mummy was crying a bit because she was scared and checked my mouth first. Then my nose. Then my eyes. Then my ears. Then my fur. But she couldn’t work out what was going on. She lifted me up and then spotted it. On my back white paw, I am now missing one whole claw, right down to the toe. There was a lot of dirt in it and so Mummy knew what to do. Even though I was scared and it hurt, I lay down and offered out the paw for Mummy. She began flushing it out with little tubes of saline. (Saline is essentially boiled water with salt dissolved in it and cooled. In an emergency, you can make your own.)

When it was cleaned off and my fur was cleaned off and the bleeding stopped (you can use styptic powder which is available from your vet or some pet stores labelled as wound powder to stop bleeding) , Mummy sat me down on a blanket and cuddled me in front of the TV for most of the evening. Buddy has been trying to look at my foot and look after me but I am a little grumpy.

No one can understand how or why this happened. My claws were only clipped two days before so weren’t long at all and weren’t sharp. There was nothing in the cage apart from the pigloos and a cardboard tube because the toys were being cleaned this wheekend. Sometimes accidents happen that whee cannot prevent but they are really scary. Luckily, Mummy has the lovely hoomans on the guinea pig forum she is part of who were able to give her quick comforting, but she was very upset and feels guilty something like this happened.

Me in the garden, just before claw clipping

My claws are a little long here

I’m very quiet today and she is watching me carefully for any signs of infection, including:

– Pus or something coming from the wound.

– The foot feeling warm to the touch

– Limping and/or squeaking in pain

– Not eating or drinking, etc.

I am eating and drinking fine at the moment but I am limping a little. Mummy says this is understandable but as I still had the energy to break out of my cage, and jump out and run around, she thinks I will be just fine!

Has anything ever happened to you that upset your hooman and made them feel guilty? How can you make hoomans feel better about it?

Have a lovely Monday efurryone

Basil

xxxx