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Nugget is being spayed on monday 😫

Emx93

Emx93

Adult Guinea Pig
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I'm sure you all remember my previous posts about nuggets increasingly crazy seasons making her cage mate marshmallow ill... Well Monday is spay day and I'm feeling nervous! Her seasons have become so intense that I have to syringe feed marshmallow during seasons or she won't eat at all and ends up on gut stimulants, this wasn't feasible long term without putting a huge strain on their friendship so we made the nerve racking decision to spay her to save their bond and stop her being lonely. A great surgical vet with many years experience is doing the op but there's always a risk and therefore always nerves!
This isn't my first spay and certainly not my first op we've had a few too many of those the past few months so I'm pretty prepared in terms of aftercare and syringe feeding but thought it wouldn't hurt to have a thread in case there is anything I think of 🤔 and to be honest I could use the moral support more than anything 😕 fluffy was extremely poorly post spay and I wouldn't have got through it without you guys ❤️ I'm asking for a higher pain killer dose for post op, fluffy had to go back the following morning for an injection and I'd sooner avoid a repeat. Daddy pig has Monday night off work to help with the little ones and other animals so I can focus on her. Marshmallow will be going with her and I'm sending a pack lunch of forage, fave veggies and their usual nuggets plus plenty of hay which I always put in the carrier. Do you think its worth sending their fleecy tunnels so they have something with a familiar scent or am I going overboard there? 😂

Wish her luck we had a bad year with poorly pets last year I'm hoping for a healthier year for all this year!

Metacam dosing... My vets usually prescribe the licenced dose of 0.2ml cat metacam to start then up it as needed, I'm going to request 0.6ml twice a day to start with is that reasonable? Obviously I'll discuss it with the vet but I already said I wanted a higher dose when we booked the op and princess is on much higher long term for her arthritis/tumour xx
 
Offering my support.
I think having Marshmallow with her will be comfort enough without worrying about taking fleece items
 
Sending you and Nugget my very best wishes for a quick recovery.
The exotic vets I go to prescribe 0.6ml dog Metacam post op so I don't think the same in the weaker cat is going overboard at all! The piggies I've had operated on have all been around 1.2 kilos just to give you a weight marker.
 
Sending you plenty of good vibes for Monday.
After spay surgery I would definitely ask for a higher dose preferably of dog metacam. I have also been given (in case required but not always required) a very small dose of tramadol or vetergesic to be given if they were still in pain after the metacam.
 
VickiA said:
Sending you plenty of good vibes for Monday.
After spay surgery I would definitely ask for a higher dose preferably of dog metacam. I have also been given (in case required but not always required) a very small dose of tramadol or vetergesic to be given if they were still in pain after the metacam.
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Thankyou 💞 unfortunately they are a bit ocd with licencing and won't give dog metacam since cat metacam became liscneced for guinnea pigs, they will give tramadol though so ill ask for some of that! 😁
 
Sounds like you are well prepared and this is the best decision for Nugget and Marshmallow's future happiness. Sending her favourite fleecy tunnels and a nice packed lunch is a great idea and a familiar smell will definitely be comforting amongst all that clinical vet smell that pets hate so much! Cat metacam is only a third the strength of dog metacam so I think you could reasonably request or give 0.6mls of that twice a day if needed and still be well within the safe zone for dosage, 0.2mls of cat metacam wont do much for post op pain relief. @VickiA 's suggestion about requesting stronger pain relief sounds a good idea, especially for the first couple of days when she'll be a bit sore!
Paws crossed and healing wheeks for Nugget, this must be a tough time but I'm sure we all think you've made the right decision opting for the spay and we're all here to support you both! X
 
Thankyou 💞 everything crossed for her, on the positive side she's a very good eater and even when she had the gas/tummy issues back in summer and was sore she never stopped eating or lost any weight! 🤞🤞 She's as good post op! Xx
 
All the best!

I would discuss the metacam dosages with your vet, including how soon after the operation you can step in because of the drugs cocktail that has to wear off first.

My own spayed sows have always come with a paw holding companion to the clinic; it helps with recovery but I would not worry much about cosies as the piggies are usually bedded on vetbed at the clinic.

Here are our post-op care tips: Tips For Post-operative Care
 
Thankyou 💞 I think it's normally the next morning but I'm sure they'll clarify when I drop her off 😊 I'll reread the post op care stuff too thankyou xx
 
pig in the city said:
Good luck on Monday, Emma. Please get in touch if l can help at all.
I am sure nugget will do fine under your expert care x
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Thankyou I really appreciate all your help and support ❤️
Its more nerve racking I think when it's been booked so far in advance! 😰 I think the longest we've previously waited was 48hours 😂 we could've had last Monday but with it being birthdays we decided on this Monday instead (special dates feel like bad omans, found out onslow had lymphoma a few days before my birthday, he died a few days before lexies and we found out about Ps tumour a few days before lunas.... So we decided to pick a week with nothing out of the ordinary 😂, just me being over cautious! And this vet seems to be in high demand 😂)
 
Merab's Slave said:
Will be holding you & Nugget in my thoughts tomorrow
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Thankyou she's decided to get a slightly swollen toe 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ no idea how or why its a bit swollen as she's popcorning like mad, gained weight this week and her bedding is changed daily without fail, but definitely mentioning to the vet at drop off incase it's something that means she can't have surgery 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️
 
Emx93 said:
Thankyou she's decided to get a slightly swollen toe 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ no idea how or why its a bit swollen as she's popcorning like mad, gained weight this week and her bedding is changed daily without fail, but definitely mentioning to the vet at drop off incase it's something that means she can't have surgery 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️
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Hope it won't prevent surgery.
I'm sure that sometimes a piggy's goal in life is to add years onto our lives!
 
Best picture I can get, she's at the vets at 9:45am for drop off so will check it's nothing to worry about... It looks like she has some poop stuck but isn't washing off, great timing there miss nugget as if I wasn't worried enough about you 🤦‍♀️
@PigglePuggle I know you have a piggy with dry feet, nuggets have always been a bit dry but we've not had a swollen toe before, any advice other than vet which we are obviously doing in the morning 🤔
 

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Oh isnt Miss Nugget causing you some worry :( I've never had a swollen toe so I would definitely ask the vet- Jezzy has foot spurs, curly toes and toenails, and red flaky feet but no swollen toes! We usually use CLX paw wipes with chlorhexidine in (thats the same antiseptic you get in hooman mouthwash) and gorgeous guineas F&M ointment on Jezzy's feet once or twice a week but like I say we've never had a swollen toe, that might suggest she's snagged her nail or got something caught round the toe so definitely ask the vet to take a look, I doubt it will prevent surgery and maybe the vet nurse who will be monitoring her waking up can give her feet a good check over while she's sleepy enough not to mind x
 
PigglePuggle said:
Oh isnt Miss Nugget causing you some worry :( I've never had a swollen toe so I would definitely ask the vet- Jezzy has foot spurs, curly toes and toenails, and red flaky feet but no swollen toes! We usually use CLX paw wipes with chlorhexidine in (thats the same antiseptic you get in hooman mouthwash) and gorgeous guineas F&M ointment on Jezzy's feet once or twice a week but like I say we've never had a swollen toe, that might suggest she's snagged her nail or got something caught round the toe so definitely ask the vet to take a look, I doubt it will prevent surgery and maybe the vet nurse who will be monitoring her waking up can give her feet a good check over while she's sleepy enough not to mind x
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Thankyou, I think she may have caught it on something as it looks bent to one side the nail 😰🤔 miss nugget is always a worry - if somethings wrong it's almost always with her 😂 nugget also has a spur/ dry feet, I tried to order the F and m cream from gorgeous guinea but I don't have PayPal and it took me to a payment system I'd never heard of so I chickened out 😂 is it safe? I'll look for some of those foot wipes too they sound great! Thanks for the help, glad it shouldn't affect surgery as she's due in season again in a few days 😰 xx
 
Emx93 said:
Thankyou, I think she may have caught it on something as it looks bent to one side the nail 😰🤔 miss nugget is always a worry - if somethings wrong it's almost always with her 😂 nugget also has a spur/ dry feet, I tried to order the F and m cream from gorgeous guinea but I don't have PayPal and it took me to a payment system I'd never heard of so I chickened out 😂 is it safe? I'll look for some of those foot wipes too they sound great! Thanks for the help, glad it shouldn't affect surgery as she's due in season again in a few days 😰 xx
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The vet can prescibe CLX wipes (they are for cleaning sore dog and cat paws but are fine for guinea pigs too) or you can buy them.on Amazon, they are expensive but you can cut 1 wipe into smaller pieces for small paws, that's what our vet suggested!
Best of luck for tricky Miss Nugget, we'll all be thinking of her tomorrow x
 
Thankyou, I feel awful about the sore toe 😔 shes always the first piggy at the side of the cage for a chat in the morning, she's a nightmare in season but she really is lovely when she's not, I think she'll always be very dominent but marshmallow is very submissive so it's not an issue 💞 just hope she comes through the op OK with it been little miss tricky going through it, fluffy was an easier decision she'd hit the severe aggression constantly in season cant tolerate another pig at all stage, and she'd never had a health issue in her life though she's little miss drama queen so I mightve known her recovery would be tough, the hernia repair was an even easier decision because it needed sorting, ps surgery was a hard one because she's an older pig but she was already stable under anesthetic when I had to make a split second decision and it was only a little explorative op though I held my breath and was literally pacing the living room phone in hand waiting on the news she'd woken up wondering if I'd made the right call, I think the relief she was awake actually outweighed the shock of inoperable tumour with that one, so many complicated little bundles of joy in this house! Xx
 
Ugh I can't sleep for nerves on the one night my children actually went to bed on time 🤦‍♀️🤔 come on brain stop thinking about metacam dosing and poorly toes and switch off already 😕
 
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