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Hamish Has An Abscess :( Pics

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MargaretB

MargaretB

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I got home this afternoon and saw that Hamish has a big mini-egg sized abscess on his shoulder :(

Some of you may remember I mentioned that he and Dougal had a bit of a falling out about a week ago and since then they have been fine, some rumble-strutting but nothing serious. Anyway, I've separated them for now, sadly, but I can't risk Hamish coming to any more harm. I don't know what I'll do long term. I can't have two lone piggies and Hamish isn't very happy not being able to get to Dougal, but I'm hoping he'll settle down. Dougal doesn't seem particularly bothered, though I've only just separated them in the last 30 mins or so. Dougal is asleep but Hamish is clucking around his half of the cage and getting up at the bars to look at Dougal.

I've cleaned Hamish up and managed to get a lot of evil smelling "cream cheese" out, but it's still very swollen. I've got him booked in at the vets for 11.50am tomorrow.





Not a happy face :(



Footnote: Hamish is eating some hay, so I think he's ok. I guess I'm more upset than he is.
 
Oh no poor little Hamish. I am sure the vets will treat it and he will soon be well again.
 
Hugs x

Poor Hamish, best of luck at the vets, let us know how he gets on. Lots of healing vibes his way and hugs to you. Been admiring your new avatar by the way x
 
poor hamish :( i think your right it bothers us humans more than the piggies themselves. x
 
Poor little lamb :( Will be keeping fingers and paws crossed for him at the vets tomorrow x
 
Thanks everyone. Hopefully it'll just be a course of anti-biotics. I'm more upset at having separated them really. I really don't want them to be alone. I'm thinking about cage solutions as I think that even though they have 220cm of length, the width isn't great. They have a 100cm Ferplast and a 120cm Maxi Skyline, placed end to end and connected by a log bridge.

Any thoughts would be welcome. :)
 
I think abscesses bother us much more than the piggies, my Fred had a huge abscess in his mouth and still maintained his weight as well as begging for food. I'm sorry the boys have fallen out, I can empathise I was in a similar situation with two boys many year's ago perhaps split the cage with a grid or maybe a C&C cage could work.

Don't worry to much about the piggies, many piggies live perfectly happy side by side. A piggy next door is much better than a piggy on there own. Good Luck at the vets, you may have a lot more draining to do I'm afraid, I'm sure the vet will keep you right :).
 
Poor Hamish, fingers crossed it all goes ok at the vets tomorrow :) I agree have you thought about C&C? If push comes to shove and you need to keep them parted then it could be a liveable solution plus you can change the layout to suit you :)
 
Thanks :)

Yes, the cage is now split with Hamish in the 100cm part and Dougal in the 120cm, but still end to end, just with the cage ends on now to separate them. Dougal is completely fine and Hamish seems ok, but I keep finding him sat on top of his log bridge, staring at Dougal :(

I already have the girls in a 4x2 C&C with hay loft which is great, but the boys live in the living room and I need to keep them safe from the cat and dog.

Flintstones- I don't mind a bit of draining lol. I'm one of those strange people who actually quite enjoy things like that- very strange, I know lol. When I bathed it earlier it started to bleed so I assumed I'd got all the gunk out, but I know they can fill up again. I'll see what the vet says. :)
 
Hi, sorry to hear about the falling out, my boy tiger had an absess from a fight many years ago now, at time time I thought it was the end of the world and even cried in the vets lol :)) I'm sure he will be fine. Tiger had an absess in a very similar position, I had to give him antibiotics and some probiotic, I also had to bathe it daily in boiled and then cooled water with a slight bit of salt, In addition I was advised to pick off the scabs so that I could clean it until it fully healed,

I'm sure vet will suggest something similar --- good luck xx x
 
We've seen the vet and Hamish was a very brave boy. He's had a metacam injection and got a course of Baytril and has to go back on Thursday. I've to clean it every day to see if any more puss comes out. The vet stuck a scalpel blade in there which made Hamish squeak rather loudly (I think I would've done too!) but no more puss came out, only blood. He talked about putting him under GA and lancing it if it doesn't go down, so everything crossed that it does. I don't want him to have to go through that. :(
 
MargaretB said:
Sorry, didn't see your post til just now. Will mention Zithromax next time if need be. :)
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Did the vet give you some Metacam to be giving Hamish at home?

My first experience of abscess was treated with Baytril and my then vet was also talking about surgery to remove tissue etc. as guinea pigs are 'notoriously difficult to treat in these cases as they are full of pockets where the pus can build up'. Fortunately, the Baytril (along with lots of squeezing, keeping the wound open, picking off of scabs etc.) did work, but it took a good four weeks of this to get him right.

My second abscess experience was thankfully dealt with by a vet who has far greater knowledge of the small furries. This pig was a dental pig, had arthritis and was very fragile. He'd developed a lump on his face. On Zithromax, it took literally four days for his face to get back to more or less normal. I'd certainly recommend Zithromax every time, both for the quickness for us and also for the piggy! :)
 
MintyAndGarry said:
Did the vet give you some Metacam to be giving Hamish at home?

My first experience of abscess was treated with Baytril and my then vet was also talking about surgery to remove tissue etc. as guinea pigs are 'notoriously difficult to treat in these cases as they are full of pockets where the pus can build up'. Fortunately, the Baytril (along with lots of squeezing, keeping the wound open, picking off of scabs etc.) did work, but it took a good four weeks of this to get him right.

My second abscess experience was thankfully dealt with by a vet who has far greater knowledge of the small furries. This pig was a dental pig, had arthritis and was very fragile. He'd developed a lump on his face. On Zithromax, it took literally four days for his face to get back to more or less normal. I'd certainly recommend Zithromax every time, both for the quickness for us and also for the piggy! :)
Click to expand...

Thank you for your input. I will def. ask for Zithromax on Thursday.

I managed to get a little more pus out today, and another small scab has formed at the top of the lump. Last night it looked like it was forming a head and this morning it was a scab. I assume he must have scratched at it.

I mentioned more Metacam- I have some here & the vet said to phone him on Monday if I thought he needed it for the correct dosage.

I think he probably does need it, as the area looks very swollen and although it's not bothering him, it must be uncomfortable.

Can anyone tell me the correct dosage? I'm not familiar with this particular vet and would like to double check he gets it right. The Metacam I have is an un-used bottle I was given for my dog. It's 1.5mg/ml. Is this suitable?
 
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I have metacam at the minute but the cat one and mine is only 0.5mg/ml so you had better check with vet before using!
 
Briony_Y said:
I have metacam at the minute but the cat one and mine is only 0.5mg/ml so you had better check with vet before using!
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Yes, absolutely. I wouldn't use it without knowing if it was the correct dose. :)
 
As thinking of you and your little piggy and hoping he has a speedy recovery xx
 
My vet gives the dog metacam and its based on weight of your piggy, think theres info on guinea pig lynx :)
 
Our boy Spike had a nasty abscess that just wouldn't go away. Eventually we started squirted medical grade manuka honey into the abscess, and had him on long term low dose antibiotic and the abscess cleared up. Good luck xx
 
Update:

Hamish seems to be doing very nicely with his abscess. It is half the size it was originally. I'm not getting a great deal of pus out, but still a little every day. There is still a hard lump, so it's not over yet, but I'm hoping the vet will be happy enough to give him a course of Zithromax on Thursday and not insist on surgery. I would be grateful for opinions. :)





 
Hamish was back at the vets today and the vet was very pleased with him. There is just a little bit of swollen tissue left and so he has got another five days of Baytril. I asked about Zithromax, but it was deemed unnecessary since he is doing so well.

So we're not quite out of the woods, but it's looking good. :)
 
Lots of healing vibes to your beautiful boy, your doing so well for him x
 
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