A difficult decision.

 Its been about 4 weeks since Lila's been to the vet. In that time her lump has expanded, ruptured, scabbed over, and partially broke off. In the name of science I bagged up her tumor. The remaining part scabbed over again and the loss helped with her mobility. She seems to be eating, drinking, and pooping normally. Other than her condition and some excessive sleeping, she seems to be a normal hedgie.

She was a good girl at the vet today. He just kept telling me how easy she was to handle. He did the normal exam, but today she resisted him touching the lump. The last appointment she had no problem with him putting some pressure on it or the leg. I offered up the "old lump" to give to the pathologist, if he was curious. Dr. Harvey thought we would at least like to see it for his own benefit.

During the exam he observed growth since the mass fell off and he noticed considerable change in size as well as texture. He also told me that the odor coming from it was due to it being sorta "rotten". We did not run any test today, however he was able to visually check the "old lump" that I kept in a zip-lock. That thing smells horrid, by the way. No tests means we don't know for sure, but he strongly believes it is a carcinoma tumor.

Before we left Dr. Harvey gave me the rundown on our options. First was a extremely costly amputation, that I could never afford in my wildest dreams. the second treatment plan was a pain killer and antibiotic duo. The meds will cost about $100 and he didn't even tell me how long that supply lasts. Then there's the au natural way, which is to wait it out.

I have never had to make a decision like this before. Her well being is my number one concern and I want to make the right decision. 

 

 

 

--the decision has not been made yet.

Post Vet update

I took Lila to the vet today....

He prescribed Synotic 8ml to reduce inflammation. The medication is supposed to reduce swelling and it is a steroidal topical. This is a 2 week treatment, twice a day for a week and once a day for an additional week. The medication is supposed to reduce swelling. I think he said it was a vascular tumor because it was spongy. He coudn't know for sure with out running one more test. I couldn't afford to do it all at this appointment, but I can kind of do it one appointment at a time. She has a check up on April 16th to see how the meds worked. It would be another $ 200 to get the blood drawn, examined by the pathologist, and to pay for that appointment.I did not get quoted a surgery price. If we did decided to operate, Dr. Harvey would only be able to reduce the mass a bit. A complete removal wouldn't leave enough skin to close the hole. When it come down to it surgery wasn't an option for us because of price. Luckily shes not in pain and still has complete motor functions

 

She has a follow up appointment on April 16th. I hope we don't have anymore issues with her mass.
The vet also said she had the best temperment of all the hedgies hes handled. All of the vet techs were enamored by her.

Pre-Vet setup

The boys had their first outing in my room. Normally they get to be out in the hall since that area is completely empty. I did the best to chin proof the room. They really enjoyed looking at their reflections.

I have to use my bath tub to accommodate my weekly deep cleanings. please don't worry about the exercise balls. They use them for about 5 minutes while I set up the play pen. I will not be using these in the summer months.

Miss Lila has her vet appointment tomorrow afternoon and we are packed and ready to go already. I have white cloths, food, water, serving dishes and bedding in case she has to stay over night. Hopefully she can come home with us.

I spoke with her old owners to see what the deal with her lump was. They had her for 6 months and it went from the size of a pea to nickle size. They came to visit the other day and I asked if it got any bigger and she was shocked. It had in fact grown a lot. She said one day it busted open and was bleeding everywhere, which leads me to believe its a vascular tumor. I'm not a vet so I really don't know.

Lastly I wanted to show you the glass pieces I've made.

Tricking the picky eater..

Recently Ive tried to add Senseed's Vita Exotic to Lila's diet. First i tried to replace about a fourth of her food, which she promptly picked her old food out and left the new food in the dish. Next was the baby food fiasco. I'm not entirely sure if it hardened up on her or she didn't care for it. My most recent attempt turned out well but Im not happy about the method. Last night I left her food on top of her cage, my poor baby was starving this morning. So knowing she had a big appetite, I mixed a 50/50 portion of her Blue Indoor formula with the Vita Exotics and added Wellness Turkey & Duck wet food. I think shes enjoyed it but after a couple hours it all blended together and died up. I gave her a fresh bowl for the rest of the night but I left out her precious Blue dried food.

Picking out her favorite pieces

 Tonight's dinner (I'm blogging when I should be having my dinner)

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Today I went to the thrift store I work at and picked up a beautiful green chinchiller! Its big enough for both boys to cuddle on. I also picked them up some baby food puffs for treats.

These should be fine in moderation.

Scored this for 5 bucks!! 

I love when they sleep on their sides :) so cute!

Lila, Lila, Lila

Last night I mixed up some of lila's normal food with hedgie care formula and baby food. I thought Turkey and gravy baby food would mask the smell of the new diet food, and I think it did. She either hated it or it hardened before she could finish it. This morning it looked as if she ate some of it but the rest was crusted to the dish. I'm doing my best to round off her diet but shes being picky. There's got to be something I can do to get her to eat the new food.

I finally got a good picture of Lila's mystery lump. Normally she wont let me flip her over for a up close picture, but today during bath time I figured out how to get one. I have a water proof camera so I started recording, picked her up in front of the camera, then got a screen shot while watching the video.

Poor baby. I feel worse and worse as each day goes by. I get paid this upcoming Wednesday and I will skip class if I have to, to take her to the vet. I turned to Craigslist to see if people in my community knew of a vet I could take her to. I hope this thing isn't cancerous, but my gut feeling is not good. The waiting is killing me but theres nothing I can do until Wednesday. I feel so hopeless.

Finished Emergency/First Aid Kit

I really got into the idea of having the necessities on hand. Its always a good idea to have something like this prepared for your animals. I knew I had to get something ready for hurricane season and I feel good about it being done months in advance. I spent about 50 dollars at walmart and I'm pleased with the results.

the first aid kit includes clippers, corn starch for clipper accidents, gentle antiseptic wash, neosporin, q-tips, syringes, Vaseline,baby shampoo, fragrance free wipes, and hand warmers. We most likely wont need the hand warmers living on the beach.

Websites recommended pedialyte and juice for diarrhea, so I bought it to keep on hand. The kit should always have water and enough food for a week. I included a baggie of dust and a KD chew log. Included but not pictured is a weeks work of fleece bedding, and clean up rags.

 I have snack packs that will last forever that include cheerios, goji berries, banana chips, pineapple, papaya, raisins, and coconut.

I found 3 of these little freezer chiller that I plan to make fleece covers for. Primarily to use for over
heating.

Can't leave Lila out of the blog today because she was being especially sweet today. Since shes new I gave her a shirt I had been sleeping so she could learn my smell. She was sleeping in the sleeve when I woke her up.







Because She was in such a good mood I thought we could let her test the waters, literally. Bath time went really well so I believe shes had one before. The water wasn't very deep tonight but next time I want to fill it up and see if she can swim.

After her bath I put some neosporin on the cracked  part of her mass. She resist being wrapped up during this process but I think she knows I'm trying to help.