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A Christmas Abscess 🙄

alexr

alexr

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Oh joy, it looks like I’m going to be ringing round trying to get a Christmas Eve vet appointment for new arrival Maurizio (Maurice).

He arrived from a rescue 1.5wks ago and I’d managed to bond him with my Claudio. They have seemed pretty settled apart from the odd bit of showing off which soon settles down.

I noticed a bit of blood on the edge of one of their food bowls a couple of days ago but couldn’t find the source of any bleeding on either pig. No chipped teeth, mouth wounds, pee issues or detectable wounds so it was a bit of an unsolved mystery. Mind you, they’re both long haired and dark so it’s really tricky to see.

Unfortunately, I think I’ve just worked out the mystery. Maurice has a fairly large lump that’s come up on the side of his neck with a scab on top. Nothing coming out of it as of yet. I’m going to try to clean it with a warm compress and see if the scab will come off to release any gunk inside.

When another piggy had something similar, I managed to keep it really clean and Simon at the Cat & Rabbit clinic didn’t think it required antibiotics - just flushing out.

I’m really hoping I can manage to do the same with Maurice but will try to get him seen to see if antibiotics are needed.

Oh boys! Claudio has a couple of very minor scratches on his rump so I think they’ve had a skirmish I wasn’t aware of. It seems a shame as they seem pretty calm. I’m really hoping it was a brief spat and they managed to sort out their dispute. Here are the naughty monkeys. Claudio (L) & Maurice (R)...5E7DDFAD-13C8-4511-BBD5-4CF17087C6A6.webp
 
Hugs for you. I had one come up with an abscess on Christmas Eve a few years back. Get on the phone as soon as they open, they may well give antibiotics as precaution over the Christmas period
 
Piggies&buns said:
Don’t they just have perfect timing! I hope it can be easily dealt with.
They are both incredibly handsome boys!
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Both of them are gorgeous slate grey floofs! I’ve managed to soak the wound in Hibiscrub solution and got a bit of pus out but I think it needs opening up further by a vet to really clean it out and make it easier for me to manage. Fingers crossed I can get an appointment!

Although it looks dramatic, it was pretty well sealed which suggests to me it happened a few days ago. I really hope it was just an incident in sorting out the hierarchy as they seem pretty calm and are sitting near each other. I think Claudio is a bit fear-aggressive as he was bullied by my terror Rupert as a young pup.
 
He’s been seen by Kim at the Cat & Rabbit Clinic. She was pleased I’d managed to soak it open and drain stuff out but, like I had hoped, she cut it open and really flushed it out. It had also made the neighbouring lymph node swell up. Because quite a bit of tissue had died and it was fairly deep, she wanted him to have Zithromax and Metacam. I’m going to keep it open as long as possible and keep flushing it out. Hopefully it should heal quickly. 🤞
 
alexr said:
He’s been seen by Kim at the Cat & Rabbit Clinic. She was pleased I’d managed to soak it open and drain stuff out but, like I had hoped, she cut it open and really flushed it out. It had also made the neighbouring lymph node swell up. Because quite a bit of tissue had died and it was fairly deep, she wanted him to have Zithromax and Metacam. I’m going to keep it open as long as possible and keep flushing it out. Hopefully it should heal quickly. 🤞
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It's great that you were able to see someone so knowledgeable so quickly. Fingers crossed it's all smooth healing from now
 
Merab's Slave said:
How’s everything today?
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Hi, I don’t know what to make of it actually. It’s a very strange wound. I’m keeping it as open as it will go and flushing it out but it’s like it’s old, dead tissue. I can’t release any blood or pus but there is still a hard lump behind it. No smell or anything. I’m hoping the antibiotics clear up whatever’s inside. I might phone the surgery tomorrow for a bit of advice as it’s just not doing anything like a fresh wound would. The more I think about it, the more I’m thinking Claudio didn’t cause the injury. Maurizio had been separated from a boar at the rescue due to fighting and everything inside this wound looks like very sealed over tissue. There is also a scar running up his face which suggests an old wound that healed some time ago.
Claudio & Maurizio seem very content and are often cuddled up.

But in other news, bereaved boar Herbie’s young 14 week old friend has suddenly decided his hormones have kicked in. Today I found Herbie looking very sorry for himself with a swollen lip and small bite marks all over his rump. He is now terrified of the baby and keeps being chased so I’m going to separate them overnight at least. I’ve cleaned Herbie up and given him Metacam but I’m worried about the internal cut in his lip and managing to keep that clean.

I think I’ll have to get them all neutered in the New Year so they can have wives if needs be. There’s been more Christmas drama in this house than in the soaps!
 
We finally have some progress after almost a week since Maurice’s appointment and commencement of Zithromax. The wound wasn’t doing much - just staying dry, not closing and with hard crusty dead edges. However, upon today’s cleaning session, the external hardness soaked off. I’ve never been so pleased to see bloody edges and it gives me hope that it’s now ready to start closing properly. 🤞🤞
 
More issues with poor Maurizio. He was doing very well on the Zithromax with the abscess almost healed. But it was back to the vet today when a secondary lump appeared last night. It’s really quite big but Simon couldn’t get anything out of it. I said I was surprised with this new development as Maurizio’s still on Zithromax but he said that might be why nothing’s coming out. He said it could be full of blood or may be cellulitis or a different sort of lump. We’re going to try another fortnight of Zithromax to see if it ruptures or goes down but if not, he’ll need it cutting open under sedation. 😰 Come on Maurizio, you’ve been doing so well! 🤞
 
Well some good news today about Maurizio’s abscess. It has finally ruptured after a further week on Zithromax. Lovely oozy pus. 🤢I’ve gently squeezed what will come out and cleaned with Hibiscrub. There’s still a lump present so I’m hoping more leaks out each time it’s cleaned or that it’s inflammation the antibiotics will help. Anyway, I think it’s a good sign that it’s moving in the right direction so hopefully we can clear it up without surgery. 🤞
 
Posyrose said:
Such a horrible job for both of you :vom:, but I'm glad it's working. Fingers crossed that it heals well.
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Thank you! It’s been a bit of a waiting game but thankfully, things are moving in the right direction.
 
Merab's Slave said:
Hope that everything will heal up nicely now.
Abscesses are not fun
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Yes, I’m hoping the healing will be much quicker now. It’s hard to know how a lump will respond if nothing comes out but it’s good it’s starting to act more like a standard abscess now.
 
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