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I Finally Have My Boy.

Cavy Kung-Fu

Cavy Kung-Fu

Adult Guinea Pig
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My little boy has finally come home with me, infuriatingly my ride was late so I missed my vets appointment for him :hb:

I weighed him before I put him in his new home, here's his details:

- 5 months old.
- Neutered approx 7 weeks ago.
- Weighing 556 grams, lighter than he was before neuter (he was roughly 600-700 grams I believe).
- Potential issues post neuter.

Now unfortunately I don't know when I can get him to the vets, I'm hoping to do it as soon as humanly possible but I'm now working solidly.

How worried do I need to be? He's wandering around his new house when he thinks I'm not looking and I'm leaving him to settle in atm.

Thanks!
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
My little boy has finally come home with me, infuriatingly my ride was late so I missed my vets appointment for him :hb:

I weighed him before I put him in his new home, here's his details:

- 5 months old.
- Neutered approx 7 weeks ago.
- Weighing 556 grams, lighter than he was before neuter (he was roughly 600-700 grams I believe).
- Potential issues post neuter.

Now unfortunately I don't know when I can get him to the vets, I'm hoping to do it as soon as humanly possible but I'm now working solidly.

How worried do I need to be? He's wandering around his new house when he thinks I'm not looking and I'm leaving him to settle in atm.

Thanks!
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It can sometimes take several weeks or even a few months for the weight to come back on after a slow post-op recovery, but once the body has settled down fully the weight will come back on. This kind of weight loss is not unusual after a bad reaction to GA. As long as his weight is stable, I would not worry and just keep him on a normal good diet.

Keep any eye out for any swellings in the groin area and any sudden loss of appetite and see a vet promptly if that is the case. Make sure that you have got stuff for syringe feeding and probiotics at home, just in case (recommended for any guinea pig owner anyway).
Post-neuter abscesses can happen up to 6 months later although your little boy should now past the phase where most of them happen, so it is mostly just a matter of keeping that in mind.
 
Wiebke said:
It can sometimes take several weeks or even a few months for the weight to come back on after a slow post-op recovery, but once the body has settled down fully the weight will come back on. This kind of weight loss is not unusual after a bad reaction to GA. As long as his weight is stable, I would not worry and just keep him on a normal good diet.

Keep any eye out for any swellings in the groin area and any sudden loss of appetite and see a vet promptly if that is the case. Make sure that you have got stuff for syringe feeding and probiotics at home, just in case (recommended for any guinea pig owner anyway).
Post-neuter abscesses can happen up to 6 months later although your little boy should now past the phase where most of them happen, so it is mostly just a matter of keeping that in mind.
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Thank you so much, I've got syringes and such but I haven't got a probiotic yet. I'll order one today. Is it worth getting hold of some critical care? I didn't know if it had a shelf life?

He did go off his food about a week after his op, I was going over to syringe feed him at the time. He had anti biotics too so that probably didn't help.

I've just looked in on him and the place is littered in poop already! That's a good sign :))
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
Thank you so much, I've got syringes and such but I haven't got a probiotic yet. I'll order one today. Is it worth getting hold of some critical care? I didn't know if it had a shelf life?

He did go off his food about a week after his op, I was going over to syringe feed him at the time. He had anti biotics too so that probably didn't help.

I've just looked in on him and the place is littered in poop already! That's a good sign :))
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You can get probiotics from a pet shop. His poos are likely funnier for a while; what you are seeing at the moment is pre-op. But the fact that his guts are working just fine is very encouraging. I would check up once during the night, but not worry too much.
Tips For Post-operative Care
 
Thanks! So is any probiotic okay? I've seen a powder that's "for cats and dogs" so does it matter? I didn't know if it contained anything piggies shouldn't have.
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
Thanks! So is any probiotic okay? I've seen a powder that's "for cats and dogs" so does it matter? I didn't know if it contained anything piggies shouldn't have.
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No, please get one that is for small animals. Pro C, which is sold in p@h, is the cheapo version of avipro.
 
Wiebke said:
No, please get one that is for small animals. Pro C, which is sold in p@h, is the cheapo version of avipro.
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Yea I didn't think it was okay.

Thanks I'll see if I can get something online, is Avipro better?
 
Right I've finally got a chance to update.

So my vet thinks he's got a deep infection and/or an abscess due to sterility issues during the neuter (by a different vet before I got him).

We have antibiotics and a saline solution to flush his bottom as pus is present, which would explain the smell :(

I'm so upset for my poor little man, he's had to go through so much already in his young life.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be really appreciated!
 
I'm about to flush his bottom for the first time now...

@Wiebke sorry to tag you, have you ever done this before? I'm so worried about hurting him :(
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
I'm about to flush his bottom for the first time now...

@Wiebke sorry to tag you, have you ever done this before? I'm so worried about hurting him :(
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I have done it several with deep abscesses under the chin, which is even more delicate. admittedly not my favourite job!

Have you got a needle with the steel bit? Just hold it against the hole and press hard without going into the skin, so the water/disinfectant mix goes as deep as possible and then runs out again. Make sure that you peel any scabs off before you do and keep the hole open for as long as possible. Any abscess needs to heal from the inside out; any speck of infection left behind can cause it to flare up again eventually. Make sure that you are covered with a towel. if necessary get somebody to help you holding your piggy.
 
Wiebke said:
I have done it several with deep abscesses under the chin, which is even more delicate. admittedly not my favourite job!

Have you got a needle with the steel bit? Just hold it against the hole and press hard without going into the skin, so the water/disinfectant mix goes as deep as possible and then runs out again. Make sure that you peel any scabs off before you do and keep the hole open for as long as possible. Any abscess needs to heal from the inside out; any speck of infection left behind can cause it to flare up again eventually. Make sure that you are covered with a towel. if necessary get somebody to help you holding your piggy.
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Thank you, it's inside his anus that has the pus coming out. The vet said she couldn't feel an abscess on examination but the pus is definitely coming out of his anus.

I've got syringes without the steel bit, to go inside his bottom like an enema.

He's also got baytril and metacam which I will give to him tonight as well.
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
Thank you, it's inside his anus that has the pus coming out. The vet said she couldn't feel an abscess on examination but the pus is definitely coming out of his anus.

I've got syringes without the steel bit, to go inside his bottom like an enema.

He's also got baytril and metacam which I will give to him tonight as well.
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As you cannot get into the abscess directly, it is better to do it more gently. All the best!

If necessary, get a stronger antibiotic. Baytril may not be strong enough to cut through an abscess.
 
Wiebke said:
As you cannot get into the abscess directly, it is better to do it more gently. All the best!

If necessary, get a stronger antibiotic. Baytril may not be strong enough to cut through an abscess.
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Thanks, well I've done it. I'm glad I didn't have dinner first :vom:

I'm not sure if I did it properly but judging by the smell I think I got something out!

I did wonder about the baytril, he's on 0.2 twice a day due to him being very light.

Is there anything else I can do to help him? Can I get critical care to aid his weight gain? Got probiotics on order. So worried about him.
 
Oh your poor little man!:eek: At least he has a nice home now! :yahoo: Anybody willing to flush pus out of a bum :vom::vom:has to be a brilliant owner! I hope you didn't throw up with the smell!:vom::vom:
 
Betsy said:
Oh your poor little man!:eek: At least he has a nice home now! :yahoo: Anybody willing to flush pus out of a bum :vom::vom:has to be a brilliant owner! I hope you didn't throw up with the smell!:vom::vom:
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Haha thank you for your kind words, after what came out of his bum I'm tempted to give him back :))

I managed to keep myself from being sick on the poor lad, by not eating for 8 hours before XD
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
Haha thank you for your kind words, after what came out of his bum I'm tempted to give him back :))

I managed to keep myself from being sick on the poor lad, by not eating for 8 hours before XD
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You can't miss the smell of abscess - or ever mistake it again! :yikes:

Please top up with syringe feed and probiotics.
 
Wiebke said:
You can't miss the smell of abscess - or ever mistake it again! :yikes:

Please top up with syringe feed and probiotics. The baytril dosage is still very low. A 1 kg guinea pig can have 0.4 ml of baytril twice daily. How much is your boy?
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Yes he's way too light at roughly 550grams, half the size of Tonks (1 kg) who had 0.4 when she had her urine infection.

I'll order that now, thanks!
 
Second course of treatment today, lots of pus still coming out of his bottom. He's very sad piggy but he's being really good.

He's also lost a lot of weight again (around 100g), the critical care should be coming tomorrow which I'll mix in with pellets. How much should I give and how many times a day?

He's not drinking much water so I've given him some via syringe, I was worried about his pain so have split his metacam into half doses twice a day as I read that on another thread.

I'm still really worried about him, can anyone advise what more I could do?
 
I've given him a syringe with pellets and water after his meds this morning, I didn't know how much to give but gave a syringe and a half. Is that okay?

I don't know how often to do it, as I've got a day off today I want to give him all my attention and try to get some more weight back on him.

Are Petkin small animal wipes okay to use around his bottom? Where I'm flushing his anus his bottom smells something rotten, as his treatment is so traumatic already I don't want to go giving him a bath yet. There's not much point until the pus is gone anyway.

I hope I'm flushing his bottom properly, I need to get all that pus out or the antibiotics won't work and I'm so worried that he's not getting better. I'm so out of my depth here :(
 
If he is not eating at all you need to syringe feed him as much as he will take. I used to feed my girl 20mls of food each feed and fed her at least twice a day, usually 3 times.
Is he eating at all for himself?
 
Hank288 said:
If he is not eating at all you need to syringe feed him as much as he will take. I used to feed my girl 20mls of food each feed and fed her at least twice a day, usually 3 times.
Is he eating at all for himself?
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Thanks for your reply!

He is eating, not many pellets as far as I can tell but he likes his new hay. Won't eat the alfalfa hay I got him though :mal:

He's eating his veggies too but he's still lost weight. When I weighed him yesterday he was at 453 grams :(

I'm currently waiting for CC and pro biotics to arrive which I hope will help... I'm not that sure how much to give and how often though?
 
Tiamolly123 said:
Is this the lad who was peeing out of his bottom.
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Yes, I'm still not sure on that front. My vet suggested getting his infection under control a bit and then possibly have some scans to see what sort of damage could have been done during his previous neuter.

Honestly he's such a good boy but he's so poorly, sometimes just looking at him makes me want to cry because I haven't made him better yet lol. I know it's silly.
 
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