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anaesthetic for blood tests?!

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Skelly

Skelly

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Do vets routinely do this?!
I asked for blood tests pre neuter and was told he'd have to be put under?! That'll be twice in the space of three days with the neuter!
I'm worried now :( I cancelled it.
 
Our vet said its very difficult to get blood from a guinea pig and it can stress them out a lot. I don't know whether they put them under though.
 
I am thinking they probably give them a wiff of gas to calm them.

Mine have never had blood test. I witnessed a rabbit having one and he wasn't given anaesthetic but the circumstances could have been different.
 
Thanks for your replies, its just really worried me! Not sure about neutering Oliver now unless I can convince the vet not to use anaesthetic for the tests! X
 
The reason that they may use anaesthetic (which is probably a quick bit of gas) is because blood is generally taken from the main vein leading to the heart, which as you can imagine, has its risks.

I've had a vet take blood from Big Dave's femoral vein, although they were unable to get enough for analysis, only enough to get a blood smear done.

Can I ask why you want the blood tests done prior to neutering?
 
Hi Amanda,

Just to be on the safe side to check for any underlying health problems that could cause complications during or post neuter.
 
Skelly said:
Hi Amanda,

Just to be on the safe side to check for any underlying health problems that could cause complications during or post neuter.
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That's fair enough.

Has the vet discussed the blood drawing procedure with you? How old is Oliver? The only risks of the anaesthetic that will be detectable by pre anaesthetic blood tests would be kidney function generally; we like to do pre op bloods on older animals, but don't do it routinely on younger animals. If you're particularly concerned about his heart and stuff, you could get a quick xray fired off to check the size, and get someone experienced to have a listen for any murmurs or anything.
 
Thanks for that.

Nope I have been talking about all aspects of the neutering procedure with the head vet nurse who specialises in exotics, but I didn't even think about the blood test! mallethead
Oliver is really young, only approx 7 months and weighs 850g, I asked for the blood tests, the vet didn't suggest them, I just want to be sure.
Would an anaesthetic be required to keep Oliver still during any x rays?
I will definitely ask them to check olives heart, thank you. :) x
 
Skelly said:
Thanks for that.

Nope I have been talking about all aspects of the neutering procedure with the head vet nurse who specialises in exotics, but I didn't even think about the blood test! mallethead
Oliver is really young, only approx 7 months and weighs 850g, I asked for the blood tests, the vet didn't suggest them, I just want to be sure.
Would an anaesthetic be required to keep Oliver still during any x rays?
I will definitely ask them to check olives heart, thank you. :) x
Click to expand...

It depends. The trouble is, the room has to be empty of people when the xray is done. It would depend on how still he sits.

I've managed to have 2 pigs have conscious xrays, but that's because they were really poorly and not moving anyway. He'd have to be pretty still for an xray of his heart to be accurate, otherwise you'd just get movement blur.

Discuss it with the vet again, discuss your concerns, ask about the blood taking procedure and stuff. You may decide that it's not needed or that the risk is not worth it etc. once you have the full picture.
 
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