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Henry is having his operation on Friday

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sophieandhoney

sophieandhoney

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Its a castration.

I am VERY nervous about it.

he goes on Friday between 8.30/9.30 and I will pick him up between 4 and 6.

They use glue to seal the wounds and told me not to fast him, I will check on Friday about making sure there is no food in his mouth.

He goes back on the Monday for a Check up and I will probably take him back regularly for a few weeks to double check for problems.

I just want to make sure I have his after care sorted,

1. on fleece in the Zoozone cage, fleece changed every day, I have a snugglesafe- should I use that then too? (he will be moved to a bigger cage after a week? I just wanted some thing I could move easily)

2. keep checking for regular poohing and weeing.

Food wise?

Hay obviously and dried food, but what about veggies?

The vet said his teeth were a bit long but that I should just keep an eye on them......

any advice very much appreciated.

thanks

xx
 
Hi! I can understand your worries!

Please keep your boy on a light fleece, white towels or vet bed as clean as possible until the wound has closed (which happens in about 10-14 days). Keep him in the hospital cage until the wound is closed.

Many piggies bounce right back after the op and have an appetite and behaviour as if nothing had happened. Others take it a bit more slowly and may need help. They can eat normally right from the beginning (including veg). Please check on your boy during the first night (including a gander at the wound; some piggies may gnaw at it) and weigh daily. Due to the meds of the op, the poo and sometimes the pee may look a bit funny at first, but should turn to normal once your boy is eating normally.

Piggies who have no great appetite will need topping up/feeding round the clock with mushed pellets or Critical Care; as often and as much as you can get into an unwilling piggy. Don't forget to syringe water or dioralyte as well!

Any swelling in privates (abscess or hernia) or any drop in weight and sudden loss of appetite in the days and weeks after the op needs to be seen by a vet asap; it usually indicates the onset of a major internal abscess or infection. In a case like that, you need to be prepared to to nurse him round the clock; your determined care - combined with a strong antibiotic like zithromax (azithromycin) - can really make all the difference! Have probiotics at home to counter the effect of any antibiotic and help keeping the guts going. You may also want to give extra vitamin C if your boy is poorly; about 1/8 of a normal tablet dissolved in a little bit of water.

Here are some links you may find helpful:
http://www.guinealynx.info/postop.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
http://www.cavyspirit.com/neutering.htm
As to the use of zithromax, which has saved several neutered rescue boars with major infection problems where baytril wasn't enough, and certainly my Hywel earlier in the year, here are the contact details for your vet: Simon Maddock, gp vet at this clinic http://www.catandrabbit.co.uk/contact_us.htm

Best of luck! Please don't hesitate to post at any time about any worry or problem you may have.
 
i think wiekbe has pretty much coverered everything there is really!

don't worry - i'm sure everything will be fine. when rufus had his operation i did use a snugglesafe heat pad afterwards. the vet said this can help as they can struggle to regulate their temperature after an anaesthetic, and i thought if i was a pig i'd find it quite soothing too. the only other thing to mention is that i'd put his hay in a rack, not on the floor as his bits will be sore and they hay might be a bit painful if it's prodding the area.

clean clean clean was the main thing i did. changing his fleece twice a day and spot cleaning in between. i put a little igloo in instead of the separate level so he wasn't having to jump to get anywhere and had a separate towel on the floor of the igloo so i could take it out when he wee'd as he spent quite a lot of time lazing in there.

i hope it all goes well for henry x
 
PS: Please ask your vet for an out-of-hours numbe in case you haven't got one yet. That way, you are covered for the weekend; especially if a stitch or two needs reglueing (not a major job).

PS: As for long teeth, I would up the amount of hay and down the veg, so Henry needs to chew as much of his food as possible. Up to 80% of the daily intake should be hay anyway.
 
thank you so much, just wanted to make sure.

I have had rats castrated before but that was a great deal more straightforward.

I will keep asking questions believe me!

xx
 
I just had my guinea pig truffles castrated. He had stitches and was eating and running around from day1. He had 5 days of antibiotics as well. He's one week post op just now.
 
i hope that he will be ok !
if you are not allowed to feed him veg try a piece of wood and a small amount of honey (dont know if they are allowed to give it to them but i give a litle bit to my pig for once a cople of month treet and they are ok!) it may make him want to chew it if he aint a chewy boy and that sould slove the teeth hope it helps xx good luck henry
 
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i hope that he will be ok. snugels, squirrel and patch says they will be thinking of him and dont be so nevus.
 
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Best of luck, hope it all goes well. Two of my three have had operations and both were quite heavy; one of which was having an eye removed! She is fine now though! :)
 
It's always a worry when they have to have surgery :(
I have been known to have nervous breakdowns when my boys were neutered and then another one had a bladder stone. Took a lot of time off from work to be with them rolleyes and people thought I'd completely lost the plot.
"BUT THEY'RE NOT JUST GUINEA PIGS, THEY'RE MY BABIES" x)
Sure Henry will be fine and you'll be pampering to his every need very shortly :x
Healing vibes to little man from us all here for a speedy recovery x>>
 
Thank you for all your lovely posts, I am glad people here don't think I am nuts. RL friends think I am a bit mad!

I debating what to do re cages.

I have a Zoozone which I was going to use as a hospital cage

It is dreadfully small tho.

Should I just keep him in the 100cm cage he is in? or is the smaller cage better till he heals?

opinions please.

xx
 
Best wishes. I understand your anxieties, I get the same when something is happening. i am sure he will be fine and you will obviously be doing your absolute best for him.
Love and hugs.
Julie
x
 
My Pipkin has just been done today! and hes had ongoing issues which means hes been squeaking when weeing and we cannot get to the bottom of it. Anyway, that aside he is absolutely fine! and hes a very nervous piggy still (not had him long) and hes had bloat before but thankfully hes pooing like a trouper and hasnt stopped eating since I got him home :) I am working at home tomorrow to keep an eye on him but other than that everything else as normal! He is on pain relief anyway for his weeing problem and I also have a high dose of antibiotic for 5 days just in case. Post op check next wednesday. Good luck to you! I'm sure everything will be more than fine x
 
I left Henry at the vets this morning and felt awful.

I am going to use the Zoozone as the hospital cage. The nurse said the less he can move about at first the better.

I am nervous wreck.

x
 
Finger firmly crossed - I always find that the wait during the op the worst.
 
We are Home x)x)x)

I am VERY relieved.

He is in his little zoozone cage in his snuggle on a fleece (on newspaper) with a pile of hay and a bowl of dried food and obviously a water bottle. The vet nurse (who was the lovely experienced one) said he had been very alert and ate a piece of apple, I saw the vet too and he said the skin had been glued together (I presume there are internal stitches) and I should keep an eye on the area and check for swelling and bleeding.

I have a follow up appointment on Monday.

Henry was eating hay but has now fallen asleep

Thank you so much for all your kind wishes and answers to my questions (there will be more)

Love
Me and Sophie and Honey x

x
 
Ummmmmm. We have been home since about 6.30

He has spent most of the time asleep, eaten a few flakes of food, a fair amount of hay and had a drink. Plus one half of a carrot baton and about 3 salad leaves.

BUT

There is no poo. and only a little pee.

Am worried.

any suggestions? advice?

he seems very perky, was looking for more veggies, but I didn't want to risk it if he wasn't pooing............

xx
 
woo hoo we have poo. one and half to precise.

I certainly feel better now and can go to bed! He is in his snuggle eating dried food.

Phew.

xx
 
Phew, that's good news. Glad to hear it all went okay. :)
 
awwww well done Henry xx>>>

HEALING WHEEEEEEEEEEKS FOR HENRY'S WOUND XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Henry keep on munching little man xoxoxoxo
 
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