Abscess? Apparently not.. help?!

[*Roger*Jasper*]

Hi all.. bit of a long one but please bare with me.. one of my pigs Crumpet developed a lump between her eye and ear.. i took her to the vet thinking it was an abscess.. they put a needle in to drain any pus, but nothing came out.. Vet thought maybe it just wasnt ready to burst so gave some antibiotics and pain relief.. as the week went on I noticed the lump had now got bigger! I took her back today and they said they would make a small incision under GA to release it.. once again, nothing came out! So theyve done some swabs to send away as they now don't think its an abscess at all! Any ideas? I'm not happy that theyve sent her home with an open wound on her face though.. ive been told to separate her from her cage mate with a divider down the middle and not to have any hay she can burrow in.. ill attach some pics.. any advice on keeping her happy until we find out what it actually is and if they can do anything for her (within the week).. she's currently in her cuddle sack ignoring me, resting.. must be a lot to go through for such small animals.. ive put some veg in for her but she's still not moved.. ill keep checking in on her throughout the evening too.. any help or advice is much appreciated.. TIA x

 

[Betsy]

Ouch! That doesn't look good. She needs to eat hay. It needs to be avaliable at all times.

 

[*Roger*Jasper*]

Ouch! That doesn't look good. She needs to eat hay. It needs to be avaliable at all times.

Yes, thats exactly what i said to them.. they told me to feed her hay pallets? Instead ive put a bowl of redi grass in and a rack of hay so she cant burrow in it (only temporary, I hate racks otherwise)

 

[Janey]

That is odd; I’ve certainly never come across anything like it before. Poor piggy and you! Hope you get some answers soon. I would monitor closely though and if not eating, would start syringe feeding, providing piggy is alert enough to chew.

 

[Wiebke]

HUGS

Oh, dear! Poor girl.

Have they checked the inside of the mouth? No, I can also not say what it is.
What are your vets planning to do about it?

She needs to eat hay but with her open wound she should not have any loose hay to burrow in or get stuck in her open wound.

Please offer her syringe formula in a bowl if you have any at home or mushed pellets as an emergency stand-in. Syringe formula is there to cover the hay intake in piggies off her food. If she is unable or unwilling to eat, please step in with syringe feeding and watering (from the other side of the face for obvious reasons).
Weigh her first thing in the morning on your kitchen scales in order to check the food intake for best day to day comparison and how much feed you need to get into her over the next 24 hours.
How to Improvise Feeding Support in an Emergency

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

I am holding both of you in my thoughts.

 

[*Roger*Jasper*]

HUGS

Oh, dear! Poor girl.

Have they checked the inside of the mouth? No, I can also not say what it is.
What are your vets planning to do about it?

She needs to eat hay but with her open wound she should not have any loose hay to burrow in or get stuck in her open wound.

Please offer her syringe formula in a bowl if you have any at home or mushed pellets as an emergency stand-in. Syringe formula is there to cover the hay intake in piggies off her food. If she is unable or unwilling to eat, please step in with syringe feeding and watering (from the other side of the face for obvious reasons).
Weigh her first thing in the morning on your kitchen scales in order to check the food intake for best day to day comparison and how much feed you need to get into her over the next 24 hours.
How to Improvise Feeding Support in an Emergency

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels

All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

I am holding both of you in my thoughts.

They checked her teeth and also inner ear but all was ok.. the swabs have been sent off which should come back within the next couple of days.. then we will know what the next step will be.. thank you for your advice about syringe feeding, I will definitely do that if she doesnt eat..
Just praying they can find out what it is and how it can be treated.. ill keep you updated

 

[*Roger*Jasper*]

That is odd; I’ve certainly never come across anything like it before. Poor piggy and you! Hope you get some answers soon. I would monitor closely though and if not eating, would start syringe feeding, providing piggy is alert enough to chew.

Yes I certainly will start syringe feeding if she's not going to eat properly, i will keep a close eye on her.. thank you

 

[Wiebke]

Yes I certainly will start syringe feeding if she's not going to eat properly, i will keep a close eye on her.. thank you

With that kind of swelling, she must be in pain and must struggle to move her jaw, poor girl. I am so sorry.

Once a dental root abscess has been excluded, it gets a lot more difficult and you are rather in a race against time.

 

[Wiebke]

They checked her teeth and also inner ear but all was ok.. the swabs have been sent off which should come back within the next couple of days.. then we will know what the next step will be.. thank you for your advice about syringe feeding, I will definitely do that if she doesnt eat..
Just praying they can find out what it is and how it can be treated.. ill keep you updated

Wishing you all the best during this very anxious time. Have you been given a painkiller?

 

[Betsy]

they told me to feed her hay pallets?

I think they must mean these?

Amazon.co.uk

 

[*Roger*Jasper*]

Wishing you all the best during this very anxious time. Have you been given a painkiller?

Yes, she has an antibiotic and pain relief.. she's eaten some veg this evening, so she's doing well

 

[Wiebke]

Yes, she has an antibiotic and pain relief.. she's eaten some veg this evening, so she's doing well

Please check with daily weighing at the same time that she is also eating enough hay, which makes over three quarters of the daily food intake but which you cannot control by eye. It is important to monitor so as piggies can lose a lot of weight very quickly that way.