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Anaesthetic?
- Thread starter Fudge and Rainbow :)
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My girl Fudge may have to be put under. If you read 
Gems
Adult Guinea Pig
I don't have a great deal of experience in this to be honest as the only time one of my piggies had an anesthetic she was very ill at the time and we had to have her put to sleep a few days later. I've read of many cases on the forum of people having to have their piggies anesthetized for various reasons and on the whole I'd say they're successful. As long as the pig is in good health then I think they stand a good chance. It's a gas they should be using which they come around from very quickly.
I know someone who's just had a guinea pig undergo an operation to remove a cyst and she's doing fine, it's a fairly routine procedure. I suppose with these things there's no guarantees but you have to weigh up the benefits and from reading your other thread it sounds as though the op is the best option for her if it's affecting her mobility
I know someone who's just had a guinea pig undergo an operation to remove a cyst and she's doing fine, it's a fairly routine procedure. I suppose with these things there's no guarantees but you have to weigh up the benefits and from reading your other thread it sounds as though the op is the best option for her if it's affecting her mobility
ellie_jo3213
Teenage Guinea Pig
Mines had two anesthetics, and shes been fine. The biggest worry really is not the actual anesthetic gas (isoflurane), but the heat loss during the procedure and during recovery. Because they're so small they have a high skin area to body ratio and lose heat easily (as they're not moving around and keeping warm under GA), so hypothermia is the worry. To prevent this guinea are normally kept warm by heated pads, towels, fluffy bedding, bubble wrap.. and if they need sub cut fluids it is usually warmed up before it is given.
During recovery, pigs need to be kept warm again via heat pads etc...
At my vets they use an incubator where the temperature can be controlled.
Plus, when giving consent for general anesthetic, it is a legal obligation to make the owner aware or the risks of GA, and as guinea are small, and if they are healthy, is normally a medium risk.
During recovery, pigs need to be kept warm again via heat pads etc...
At my vets they use an incubator where the temperature can be controlled.
Plus, when giving consent for general anesthetic, it is a legal obligation to make the owner aware or the risks of GA, and as guinea are small, and if they are healthy, is normally a medium risk.
Freela
Senior Guinea Pig
Two of my pigs, Frenzy and Linney, had general anasthesia last summer. Frenzy actually had general anasthesia twice within a short period of time. She did fine with the anasthesia both times even though she was quite sick... unfortunately she later passed away from osteomyelitis in her jawbone, but the anasthesia was not a factor in her death. She just had such a severe infection deep down in the bone that her poor little body just couldn't beat it.
My pig Linney had a similar problem to what your Fudge has... she had an abscess on her lower back that kept recurring even after it was lanced, drained, and treated with antibiotics. I talked about it in more detail on your other post because it does sound similar. She did fine with the general anasthesia- she apparently woke up right away and was back to normal by the time we picked her up that afternoon, a couple of hours post-op.
Some things that my vet told me that you may want to ask about- inhaled gas is supposed to be safer than an IV drug. Ask the vet how they are administering their drug. You may even want to ask what drug they use- I know that the guinealynx site has a list of safer anasthesias for pigs. Also make sure your vet has experience with small animal surgery and anasthesia... it's different for pigs than for dogs and cats so make sure your vet has experience in rodents. Our current vet does a lot of rodent surgeries (mainly rats and guinea pigs) so I'm very confident that she is used to dealing with them.
My pig Linney had a similar problem to what your Fudge has... she had an abscess on her lower back that kept recurring even after it was lanced, drained, and treated with antibiotics. I talked about it in more detail on your other post because it does sound similar. She did fine with the general anasthesia- she apparently woke up right away and was back to normal by the time we picked her up that afternoon, a couple of hours post-op.
Some things that my vet told me that you may want to ask about- inhaled gas is supposed to be safer than an IV drug. Ask the vet how they are administering their drug. You may even want to ask what drug they use- I know that the guinealynx site has a list of safer anasthesias for pigs. Also make sure your vet has experience with small animal surgery and anasthesia... it's different for pigs than for dogs and cats so make sure your vet has experience in rodents. Our current vet does a lot of rodent surgeries (mainly rats and guinea pigs) so I'm very confident that she is used to dealing with them.
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