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Burning, Aftercare, Giving away & Advice

S

Stormiesowner

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Aug 2, 2019
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Hey, I wish I was joining the forum on a better occasion but I urgently need advice; I have had my guinea pig stormie since january and in that time i’ve never felt the need to bathe her, at the start of the week of the 29th July, stormie was having diarrhoea and it literally got all other her and her white fur was dirty ( I usually just let her clean it or I just wipe it down with a towel but because of the diarrhoea, I decided to bathe her) The bathing process was actually okay, everything was smooth and she didn’t fuss or anything considering it is a very very traumatic experience for them. And then towards the end, my top got stuck on the tap (i have one of those fancy long ones) and i didn’t even realise i turned the cold water off, so the hot water was running. Long story short her back was burnt and her leg. It was a horrific and when I mean horrific I mean horrific and I can only imagine the pain stormie was in. I quickly rushed her to the emergency room at blue cross victoria and they gave antibiotics, a burn cream and some painkillers. However, her leg could not be saved and had to be amputated right up to the thigh which is a high risk surgery yet she made it through successfully 🥳🥳, at the time we only thought her leg was burnt but when they shaved her fur for the surgery we realised it was all up her back! (I honestly felt horrible, i literally cried all that week because it was my fault she’s going through this and the nurse said mistakes happen but it didn’t help, I was just and still am now beating myself up about it) so this week will be the second week after the operation and i’ve just been cleaning her back, putting the cream on, giving her critical care but she does seem like she’s in a lot of pain, there are times where she’ll just squeak out in pain and i feel absolutely awful. I was speaking to my partner about the situation and she said that it maybe best to give stormie to blue cross because although i’m trying my best, stormie needs more attention and care that i’m giving her as soon i’ll be starting a levels and looking at unis and do my focus won’t be on her so it’s unfair to her. i then asked my mum for advice and she said that it’s really selfish of me to give her away as i’ve put her in this predicament and now she needs me the most and i’m just basically throwing her away. I’m really conflicted on what to do because I don’t want to give her away but i feel like she needs more attention and care but I don’t want to be one of those owners that just gives away their pets like I just think of how many guineas pigs are given away each year and I don’t want to add to that number and I love her so much. I’m just not sure on what to do so if i could get some advice please, thank you
 
Stormiesowner said:
Hey, I wish I was joining the forum on a better occasion but I urgently need advice; I have had my guinea pig stormie since january and in that time i’ve never felt the need to bathe her, at the start of the week of the 29th July, stormie was having diarrhoea and it literally got all other her and her white fur was dirty ( I usually just let her clean it or I just wipe it down with a towel but because of the diarrhoea, I decided to bathe her) The bathing process was actually okay, everything was smooth and she didn’t fuss or anything considering it is a very very traumatic experience for them. And then towards the end, my top got stuck on the tap (i have one of those fancy long ones) and i didn’t even realise i turned the cold water off, so the hot water was running. Long story short her back was burnt and her leg. It was a horrific and when I mean horrific I mean horrific and I can only imagine the pain stormie was in. I quickly rushed her to the emergency room at blue cross victoria and they gave antibiotics, a burn cream and some painkillers. However, her leg could not be saved and had to be amputated right up to the thigh which is a high risk surgery yet she made it through successfully 🥳🥳, at the time we only thought her leg was burnt but when they shaved her fur for the surgery we realised it was all up her back! (I honestly felt horrible, i literally cried all that week because it was my fault she’s going through this and the nurse said mistakes happen but it didn’t help, I was just and still am now beating myself up about it) so this week will be the second week after the operation and i’ve just been cleaning her back, putting the cream on, giving her critical care but she does seem like she’s in a lot of pain, there are times where she’ll just squeak out in pain and i feel absolutely awful. I was speaking to my partner about the situation and she said that it maybe best to give stormie to blue cross because although i’m trying my best, stormie needs more attention and care that i’m giving her as soon i’ll be starting a levels and looking at unis and do my focus won’t be on her so it’s unfair to her. i then asked my mum for advice and she said that it’s really selfish of me to give her away as i’ve put her in this predicament and now she needs me the most and i’m just basically throwing her away. I’m really conflicted on what to do because I don’t want to give her away but i feel like she needs more attention and care but I don’t want to be one of those owners that just gives away their pets like I just think of how many guineas pigs are given away each year and I don’t want to add to that number and I love her so much. I’m just not sure on what to do so if i could get some advice please, thank you
Click to expand...

Hi

If your poor girl is still in that amount of pain, she needs to see the vets promptly first and foremost!
Please place any decisions on their assessment.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

If your poor girl is still in that amount of pain, she needs to see the vets promptly first and foremost!
Please place any decisions on their assessment.
Click to expand...
Sorry forget to add that the vets have prescribed her another dose of pain medication but I just feel like she isn’t comfortable or happy at the moment
 
What pain relief is she on and what dose? It does sound like she needs to go back to the vet.
 
Stormiesowner said:
Sorry forget to add that the vets have prescribed her another dose of pain medication but I just feel like she isn’t comfortable or happy at the moment
Click to expand...

If your vets think that it is worth continuing with your care after an honest talk, then please do so.
We have all doubts and feelings of failure after an accident, but it is important for yourself, not just your girl to see it through if at all possible.

Burns are unfortunately very painful and take time to heal, but you have given all the right things from your vet. What kind of painkiller and what dosage is she on?

Here are our post-op care tips: Tips For Post-operative Care
 
If blue cross can provide the proper care for the pig and make the best decisions for her as and when they come then my suggestion is to surrender her. It’s not a case of abandoning her, but accepting that perhaps you cannot provide the proper quality of care your pig deserves right now. Especially if you feel your a levels will limit the time you can properly look after her. If you do give her up, they will look after her really well. Do not feel you have failed if you give her up, just as if you decide to keep her. Do what you feel is right
 
Stormiesowner said:
cat and it’s only once daily and she’s 757grams
Click to expand...

Hi!

That is about as low a dose of painkiller as a vet can prescribe. No wonder is she still in pain!

You can safely give up to 0.9 ml cat metacam for her weight twice daily. Guinea pigs deal better with metacam than other species and have also a very fast metabolism. General vets with no/very little experience with guinea pigs are sadly often not aware of that since guinea pigs are classed as 'exotics' and therefore do not feature much on a general curriculum, despite them being common pets. :(

Metacam (of which meloxidyl is one of the brand names it is sold by) is in my own experience metabolised within about 10 ten hours, so if you can give her that every 12 hours, she should be much better in herself.

Baytril is the most common antibiotic for any rodents. How much have you been prescribed?

Here is our list of recommended vets: Recommended Guinea Pig Vets
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

That is about as low a dose of painkiller as a vet can prescribe. No wonder is she still in pain!

You can safely give up to 0.9 ml cat metacam for her weight twice daily. Guinea pigs deal better with metacam than other species and have also a very fast metabolism. General vets with no/very little experience with guinea pigs are sadly often not aware of that since guinea pigs are classed as 'exotics' and therefore do not feature much on a general curriculum, despite them being common pets. :(

Metacam (of which meloxidyl is one of the brand names it is sold by) is in my own experience metabolised within about 10 ten hours, so if you can give her that every 12 hours, she should be much better in herself.

Baytril is the most common antibiotic for any rodents. How much have you been prescribed?

Here is our list of recommended vets: Recommended Guinea Pig Vets
Click to expand...
oh wow, I didn’t realise it’s such a low dosage but it does make sense as she does seem in pain sometimes but other times will be fine
 
Stormiesowner said:
oh wow, I didn’t realise it’s such a low dosage but it does make sense as she does seem in pain sometimes but other times will be fine
Click to expand...

Please give her a regular dosage twice daily. It will build up over time when given and make her more comfortable. You do not have to go right up to the limit unless she is really in bad pain; just leave that for when she is but you want to give her more than you have been prescribed.

You will however need more metacam very quickly as cat metacam is only available in 10 ml bottles. Unfortunately while dog metacam is much more practical (it is triple the strength of dog metacam and can be prescribed in larger bottles), only the cat metacam has been officially licensed for guinea pigs and you may have to sign a form if you insist on the dog metacam, which is much easier to give as it is a much small dosage. Metacam is a POM (prescription only medication), so you need to go through a vet for it.

All the best! I hope that this will help you to get your girl through it and hang onto her. You are a caring owner.
Right now you are in a dark place, because your piggy's suffering is making you feel really guilty and like a failure, but what has happened was one of these freak accidents that nobody can foresee or prevent. It doesn't make you a bad or undeserving owner! ;)

PS: I would recommend to use a bowl on the floor of a bathtub or shower in the future and rinse from a jug of water you have filled before bathing. Bathing on the ground also minimises the injury risk from blind freak jumps.
Bathing (including cleaning grease glands)
 
I have no great advice, but I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry you're going through this. I can't imagine!

And please disregard what your mother said. Moms can be so good at giving guilt trips, but those aren't actually helpful for anyone.
 
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