GUINIE PIG ABSESS!

[saf.r]

HELP! my guinie pig has a giant hole on her neck, it was pouring blood so we assumed it was a burst absess and we cleaned it up using an antiseptic and cleaned regularly. It went away for about 3 days, but has now come back and is bigger. It then burst again today as my guinie pig caught it with her claw, we've sterilised it and also used an antiseptic to keep it clean (thats the purple spray on her) we have also been advised to cleanse it with salty water. But theres no puss coming out? It keeps being covered by a black lump after it bursts (her skin is black) but I'm abit confused as people are saying not to let it heal over? So what shall I do? Its on her neck and she is conpletely fine in herself with no pain reactions eating drinking etc.. and she's an old piggy. What can I do to help it heal and will it go away? Also is it defiently an absess?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum and I’m sorry to hear that.

Please have your piggy seen by a vet.
It could be a cyst or an abscess - we cannot know. (Abscesses tend to smell rather bad though)

These require painkillers and antibiotics to be treated properly. The also are usually stitched open and the owner needs to flush them multiple times a day.
Sometimes even surgical removal of the abscess capsule is needed as if the capsule is left inside it can seal over and continue to refill.

 

[weepweeps]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I had a piggy with a tooth root abscess. It definitely needed antibiotics to clear it up. Good luck at the vets. I hope your piggy is soon feeling more omfortable.

 

[Freela]

Is there pus in the wound or just blood? Does it smell foul? Abscesses usually smell pretty unpleasant due to infection. This definitely warrants a vet visit, to confirm the problem and because it is unlikely to clear up without antibiotics. Unfortunately there's no way to confirm exactly what it is without a hands-on vet exam.

 

[Wheekallweek]

This needs to be seen by a vet ASAP

 

[saf.r]

Welcome to the forum and I’m sorry to hear that.

Please have your piggy seen by a vet.
It could be a cyst or an abscess - we cannot know. (Abscesses tend to smell rather bad though)

These require painkillers and antibiotics to be treated properly. The also are usually stitched open and the owner needs to flush them multiple times a day.
Sometimes even surgical removal of the abscess capsule is needed as if the capsule is left inside it can seal over and continue to refill.

Hi, this is what the absess looks like. Unfortunately she doesn't cope well on antibiotics and the vets suggested she just gets pts, but i dont feel it fair to phts if she isnt in any physical pain, she suggested to otherwise keep it clean and put the antiseptic on it, (which we do daily) shes conpletley herself and seems unbothered but I feel awful, we just have to stop it from getting infected.

 

[saf.r]

Is there pus in the wound or just blood? Does it smell foul? Abscesses usually smell pretty unpleasant due to infection. This definitely warrants a vet visit, to confirm the problem and because it is unlikely to clear up without antibiotics. Unfortunately there's no way to confirm exactly what it is without a hands-on vet exam.

Hi, no pus, just blood that stopped after being cleansed. There seems to be no infection and she seems unbothered. She doesn't do well on antibiotics unfortunately so the vets suggested to keep doing what we are doing and if it gets severely worse/infected where she seems in pain then to be pts. But shes currently comfortable and its being cleansed twice a day with an antiseptic and a sanitizer to stop it getting infected. Is there any other suggestions as of what else to do?

 

[saf.r]

HELP! my guinie pig has a giant hole on her neck, it was pouring blood so we assumed it was a burst absess and we cleaned it up using an antiseptic and cleaned regularly. It went away for about 3 days, but has now come back and is bigger. It then burst again today as my guinie pig caught it with her claw, we've sterilised it and also used an antiseptic to keep it clean (thats the purple spray on her) we have also been advised to cleanse it with salty water. But theres no puss coming out? It keeps being covered by a black lump after it bursts (her skin is black) but I'm abit confused as people are saying not to let it heal over? So what shall I do? Its on her neck and she is conpletely fine in herself with no pain reactions eating drinking etc.. and she's an old piggy. What can I do to help it heal and will it go away? Also is it defiently an absess?

This is the 'absess'!

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m wondering if this is a cyst not an abscess.
An abscess is a pocket of pus and infection, they are painful and smell.
A cyst is not an infection like an abscess is but cysts can get infected particularly if they burst.
Cysts usually need surgical removal as otherwise they just refill.

 

[CTWC]

How do antibiotics affect her?

 

[Wheekallweek]

Agreed, that doesn't look like an abscess. Have they inserted a needle into it to see what comes out?

 

[saf.r]

How do antibiotics affect her?

She's old and doesnt cope well with antibiotics, she ends up getting worser than better so we've been told her body cant cope with it. Apparently its common amongst guinie pigs.

 

[saf.r]

Agreed, that doesn't look like an abscess. Have they inserted a needle into it to see what comes out?

No, they haven't done anything other than look at it . I might need to change vets but theres none others that are close to me.

 

[BossHogg]

Have a look on our vet list, there may be some close to where you are without realising.

 

[Piggies&buns]

She's old and doesnt cope well with antibiotics, she ends up getting worser than better so we've been told her body cant cope with it. Apparently its common amongst guinie pigs.

Most guinea pigs actually cope very well with antibiotics. Some antibiotics can cause digestive upsets and can knock their appetite (due to the antibiotics killing off the good gut bacteria as well as the bad illness causing bacteria - some are more likely to cause it than others) but this is usually easily overcome by giving probiotics and using live microbiome transfer from a healthy companion piggy and with plenty of syringe feeding a recovery feed if the appetite is affected.
Other true negative reactions to antibiotics meaning they can’t be taken can occur but they aren’t common.

As I said, this looks like a cyst and they do need to be surgically removed. If the capsule is left in they can just continually refill and drain and never actually get better thus raising the risk of infection.

Below is our vet list. Do take a look and see if you can find someone who can help, even if it means you have to travel to a savvy vet.

Recommended Guinea Pig Vets

 

[saf.r]

Hi all,

Great news. After giving zora some meds and keeping on top of cleaning it. It has thankfully completely cleared up and shes made an amazing recovery. Turns out it was infact an absess! We got it double checked. The reason It didn't have a smell to it is because the absess wasnt infected! Thankyou for all your help. Just incase of any misconceptions, yes the vets helped and she was seen! No she didn't have antibiotics as she doesnt cope well at all, but they put her on a different medication which worked the same just without affecting her!

 

[saf.r]

Most guinea pigs actually cope very well with antibiotics. Some antibiotics can cause digestive upsets and can knock their appetite (due to the antibiotics killing off the good gut bacteria as well as the bad illness causing bacteria - some are more likely to cause it than others) but this is usually easily overcome by giving probiotics and using live microbiome transfer from a healthy companion piggy and with plenty of syringe feeding a recovery feed if the appetite is affected.
Other true negative reactions to antibiotics meaning they can’t be taken can occur but they aren’t common.

As I said, this looks like a cyst and they do need to be surgically removed. If the capsule is left in they can just continually refill and drain and never actually get better thus raising the risk of infection.

Below is our vet list. Do take a look and see if you can find someone who can help, even if it means you have to travel to a savvy vet.

Recommended Guinea Pig Vets

Hiya! Thanks for the information. Please read my most recent message! Thankyou for your help.