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Depressed after Operation

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Guinea Slave

Guinea Slave

Adult Guinea Pig
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Hi

Just wondering if you fantastic guys have any ideas I have not thought of. My little girl had to have her eye removed yesterday see:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...thalmic-10mg-g-eye-drops-urgent-advice-needed

She is home and the op went well. However she is very depressed. She ate last night and ate a whole load of food and I thought we were on the road to recovery. However this morning she is just in her corner unresponsive and just..well depressed. I am syringe feeding her a little (trying to encourage her to eat without). She is pooping and peeing and medically wise I would say OK. The wound is not weeping so all other ways I am happy.

She is with a friend who has been very sweet with her but she has just ignored her. I am trying all her favourite foods, everything I can think of.

I suspect she just needs time now but it does worry me that she is so depressed. I am probably just being too worried about her but any words of wisdom would be very gratefully received!

Any ideas?

BTW she is on Metacam pain relief and my vet did not administer antibiotics as she felt they would not be needed. (she is a very guinea savvy vet) so its not the antibiotics upsetting her.
 
I'm really sorry to hear this. I'm not an expert with piggies at all so hopefully someone else might be able to give better advice but my reaction would be lots of tlc, I'd give her lots of cuddles (maybe with her playmate for reassurance?) and maybe somenof her favourite treats? It must be very overwhelming for her and she'll probably take some time to adjust but I'm sure she'll get there once she's feeling better and more used to her new situation.

Good luck, wishing you all the best xx
 
Poor girl. I can't really advise much as have limited experience. I think you need to syringe feed if she js not willing to eat for herself.
It sounds like it may be a pain response, I would ring your vets and ask them what you should do.
 
I am so surprised the vet hasn't given antibiotics :( Baytril would probably upset her tummy, but in this sort of case Zithro-max would be the antibiotic to use (Furryfriends will probably confirm this) as it is wonderful for any soft tissue problems post surgery. I would advise you to ask for this from the vet, it is unlicensed for GPs so it is not one some vets would readily give but it is essential to keep any post op infection at bay, I would say particularly in eye removals where the risk of infection could be high.

How much Metacam are you giving her? Is it the cat or dog one? Piggies can take a day or two to recover from the effects of the anaesthetic & you need to monitor pee & poop output carefully & how much she eats, start syringe feeds every couple of hours to keep her gut moving as well. If she does not improve by the end of today I would seek further advice from the vet, but I would be contacting them today anyway to get the antibiotics as they may have to order Zithro-max in :)
 
Thank you everyone.

Re the antibiotics, yes I was surprised. The eye was'nt removed due to infection and she said the operation was performed in a sterile environment so risk of infection v low. She is a very competent guinea vet and a specialist in eyes so I do trust her. I am due to take her for. Check up Monday so we'll see but wound is very clean and dry and looks healthy.

She is eating grass and I am syringing every 3 hours 15 ml. She is pooping and pee'ing. She is on 0.4 ml dog metacam once a day.

She is with a lovely friend as well. I guess I need to just wait and see...
 
When a piggy of mine had her eye removed she was given Zithromax for a couple of days pre op and then for about 10 days post op. She was absolutely fine after the op and was bright and lively at all times. Yes I would definitely speak to the vet about this and also give metacam morning and evening. xx
 
Thank you! I am really worried now though :-( just don't get why no antibiotics. I will get her to vets Monday first thing. * fortunately they are shut now and I am not keen on using emergency non guinea vets.
 
I am sorry that your girl is feeling depressed :(

I can't really add to the advise given other than to keep her warm and give her lots of tlc.

I know that you said she had already lost the sight in that eye (so had Eliza) but I am guessing they can still make out light and some shapes. Don't forget that now the eye has gone, she will see nothing but darkness on her blind side. May be it will take her time to adjust to that.

Even now Eliza can be jumpy when a piggy approaches her from her blind side.

I hope that she starts to recover soon as I know how worried you must be xx
 
Thank you :-) how was Eliza the first 24 - 48 hours after the op?
She's been nibbling on hay and readigrass and did about ten poops on me just now! But still v miserable.
 
Thank you :-) how was Eliza the first 24 - 48 hours after the op?
She's been nibbling on hay and readigrass and did about ten poops on me just now! But still v miserable.
 
Eliza was very quiet for the first two days after the op but she went back to the vets for her post op check the next day.

As she was eating and drinking, the vet wasn't concerned but instructed me to keep her warm and quiet which I new to do anyway.

I provided Eliza with cosy tunnels and a snuggle safe and covered her cage (leaving just the front open) to make her feel secure.

All guinea pigs react differently after an operation and it sounds like your girl is still feeling the effects of the anaesthetic.

Try not to worry too much and just make sure she is eating and drinking. Give her time to adjust xx
 
:{Ah that sounds similar. She is in an indoor cage with a heat pad and like you I have a towel over it. Just syringing her again now and she's taking it well so although they are minute steps they are steps forward. Thank you for your reassurance! I don't think there is much more I can do x
 
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You are definitely doing everything you can and she is in good hands.

It is normal for any animal to be quitter than normal for the first 24 - 48 hours after surgery.

I would double check about the antibiotics though when you take her on Monday x
 
Can't really add anymore than has been said above, keep and eye on poo output and if it seems low get some metachlopromide to give at home from the vet, this will keep her tummy moving.
Good idea too to split the metacam dose as Debbie has said - it will keep the pain relief constant for her that way.

Lots of love and healing vibes to her x x
 
I can't really add much to what has been said. She may still be groggy from the anesthesia or the pain meds. She may be having some discomfort (sitting in the corner quietly can be a pain sign for guinea pigs.) It sounds as though you are doing everything you can by giving her the pain meds and syringing her food so that she keeps her strength up and keeps her gut moving. I hope she is back to normal very soon! Do you know if she was given any injection pain meds at the vet? One of mine just had a large abscess lanced and drained and because the doctor had to poke around in her jaw muscle to get to the base of the abscess, he thought she might be sore afterwards and gave her a shot of a narcotic pain killer. I did notice that she was a LOT quieter post surgery than other pigs who have had work done without a narcotic administered. It seemed to take about 24-48 hours to wear off.
 
Well we seem to have turned a corner! She is eating well and her wound looks very dry and healthy and she is no longer hunched and depressed! So so pleased, long may it last.

The turning point came last night when she viciously attacked her little friend who is very placid. She chased her mercilessly around the cage , cornered her, leapt in the air and did what I can only describe as a ninja kick with all four paws and mouth open. Poor friend was terrified so took her out. Trouble she does hate bei g on her own so tryi g another later. In a day or so, all being well I will section off some c&c and put her in the shed(all heated etc) but not quite there yet. Want to be sure. Sheis 100% first. Little monkey.
 
i went through something similar only Jacob went blind due to catarax, he went depressed for a week or so i thought he would not settle but he did, just give the wee girlie some time plus she went though a general anaesthetic which can take alot out of the little ones, and please remember not to move around the furniture if she runs around the house. good luck with the little one, she hopefully will be back to her old self soon.
 
Great news that she is feeling better.

Good that you removed her friend. You may find that she will feel more threatened than before and want to defend herself.

Eliza has gone straight to the bottom of the heirachy and will sometimes let out a loud squeak as if to say 'leave me alone' even when the others are doing nothing to her.

Eliza is very submissive now x
 
I'm really pleased to hear she is picking up Guinea Slave.

It is worrying when they aren't eating as they should, but the anaesthetic will have had a big effect on her and as Claire says, although she couldn't see out of the eye, she still may have been able to make out shapes or see light, so it could have an effect. She could also feel more vulnerable and her natural instincts as a prey animal may be taking effect. Once she knows she is safe and the pain wears off she will be back to her old self.

Although I don't know anywhere near as much as other forum contributors, I do know that our vet was insistent that butters had every last drop of his daily 1ml does of Baytril (which was a 10 day course), so I am sure an antibiotic is fairly essential, so I would definitely speak to your vet about it, and if you can avoid Baytril (and it sounds like Zithro max is better) then I would.

Butters is also bottom of the Hierachy, but then he always was - Piggy Marie is a bossy little madam!

Wishing you all the best as does Butters and the rest of the gang :)
 
Thank you all of you! She seems to be improving all the time now which I am mightily pleased about. Completely see what you mean by feeling threatened. I put my boy in with her and he kept wanting to lick her wound and she got very wound up. So he has gone back to the shed, I have put her in my largest ( its huge) indoor cage and added another girl and all has been very peaceful. She clearly is trying to figure it all out still and i being very careful not to approach her blind side. being bottom of the pack anyway she'll be used to being submissive! Hubby has a cold so we have all has a lazy day watching films and the guineas have slept most of the day!

Currently she is waddling around finding hay and very perky. I am keeping an open mind and being very vigilant but hopeful. I have also spoken to a good friend who is a rodentologist and she confirmed she should not need antibiotics as the would is not massively invasive. Looking at her now I think she is right but again... Being vigilant. It's good not to worry about tummy upsets and reactions to antibiotics. I lost a guinea a few years ago who became resistant to antibiotics. It was awful do maybe this way is better? We'll see.

Keep sending the healing vibes, they are working ! X
 
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