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Diarrhea And Lump

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Elitah

Elitah

Junior Guinea Pig
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Haven't been on here for a while, but thought I'd like to share what we're going through with one of our piggies at the moment and maybe even get a bit of additional advice.
In May we had to take Spotty to the vet after she had suddenly lost 100 g within one week. I'm glad we weight them weekly because that is how we realized so quickly that something was wrong. He diagnosed diarrhea and gave her an injection, plus a fructose solution, some special, high energy green stuff and some probiotic stuff which we had to feed her daily. My bf has been doing most of it since I'm too timid and generally stressed with work and university. I have never even met the vet myself because I never have time when we have to see him, he lives round the corner from us and had guinea-pigs himself and my bf is happy with the way he has been treating ours.

Today we found a lump under Spotty's chin which either has not been there yesterday or which must have been so small we didn't see it, so my bf has to take her to the vet again once he opens in two hours. Has anyone had that before with a piggy? My bf think it increased after she had eaten and he thinks food migh have ended up in the wrong place somewhere. I have to admit I'm scared. In May I though we would lose Spotty and we almost did and now she seemed to be recovering, she was very active, eating and begging for food a lot and seemed her former self - except for the fact that she hasn't really managed to gain the weight back and is still a bit skinny, so we need to get some tips from the vet, I guess. I tend to panic a bit when soemthing is wrong with our piggies.
 
Definitely as vets visit. Could be several things like a Tooth Abscess, fatty lump or a cyst. The vet will know for sure.

Cookie had a Tumor on her neck last year that our vet removed and touch wood it has never grew back.

Please let us know how your girl gets on
 
Good luck at the vets, don't panic just yet, as Lee said it could be a cyst or fatty lump.
 
My bf was back with her last night when I came back from giving a lesson. She has an abscess so she will have surgery on Thursday and the vet will show my bf how to take care of the wound. We're hoping she will be alright after that. The vet said it might come back, but he'll do his best to get it all. I hope poor Spotty will be alright with getting through surgery and recovery, the little thing has been through a lot lately.
 
The fact that you spotted it early is always a good sign. With abscesses keeping the post-op wound clean is the key, but it sounds like your vet knows what he's doing. Healing vibes to Spotty. x
 
I haven't written in a while. Spotty had an abscess which the vet removed. My bf has had to treat her twice a day, flushing the wound with medication. She has gained a bit of weight and seems fine and we hope it won't come back.
 
Spotty's abscess seems to have come back. We have found a lump under her chin again. The vet said there is no guarantee it won't come back, but we don't really know what to do. Last time Spotty had local anaesthesia and surgery to remove the abscess, but that was less than two months ago and she hated that and how my bf had to flush the wound for a week after that. I don't really know what to do now. We will need to ask the vet, but I'm still hoping to get a few more opinions because somehow I feel it is not a solution to surgically remove that every six weeks for the rest of her life, that seems a bit much to do to such a small piggie. I've already asked a friend on Facebook who used to have guinea pigs and found many homeapathic ways of treating them and I'd be glad about any opinion right now. If this thing keeps coming back, there has to be something else besides cutting it out, otherwise I'm scared we're going to put Spotty through too much.
 
PS: To avoid any misunderstandings, we are going to take Spotty to the vet, but he is only open in the afternoons. I'd like to get some opinions so we can ask the vet more questions to see what our options are, not so we won't need to take her. If it has to be, she will have surgery again since we will be away in about two weeks and friends will take care of them and we don't want it to get really bad during that time, but I still think surgery is not a long-term solution if it keeps coming back.
 
Did the vet give any antibiotics if it was an abcess? Zithromax (Azithromycin) tends to be the best antibiotic for abcesses, would your vet be able to get hold of it in Germany?
 
Apparently, it is not a tooth abscess, but on the jaw, basically under her chin. My bf will take her to the vet today who will probably do the same procedure as last time. He gave her an injection of antibiotics last time, I could ask my bf to ask the vet what it was. Or maybe come with him this time which is hard for me because I struggle with anxiety so my bf is way better in dealing with that. It seems like the swelling isn't getting as big as quickly as last time which might be positive. I'll write more once we've been to the vet.
 
We have just come back from the vet. Spotty has an abscess on her jaw again and those tendto be the worst, but itisn't as bad this time as it was last time, so we are hoping it might improve.
helen105281 said:
Did the vet give any antibiotics if it was an abcess? Zithromax (Azithromycin) tends to be the best antibiotic for abcesses, would your vet be able to get hold of it in Germany?
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I mentioned it to the vet, couldn't remember the name so heasked me if I could message it to him and how it was given to the piggies - orally or as an injection or something like that? He said guinea-pig stomachs don't react well to many antibiotics. She got a littlebit of antibiotic inthe wound today.
 
It is given orally. It can affect their guts but you would give probiotics like with all antibiotics. It can make some pigs' wee go orange too just to warn you. The dose mine were on was 0.5ml twice a day but I know other vets give it once a day. I can take a photo of the page from my Exotic Animal Formulary and paste it here?
 
I have messaged the name of the antibiotic to the vet. He is going to look into it.
 
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