Piggy going under GA

[PigglePuggle]

I see.

Thank you for explaining. I will need to speak to the vet tomorrow when I take him there.

I am hoping to get some critical care into him in the morning.

Soon after visiting the vet this morning (whether it Was the pain killer helping him) he did eat some spinach leaves that I offered him. Whether he has been able to swallow the leaves is another matter.

Thank you for your advice. I will be clarifying everything, including the risks with the vet tomorrow. I also want to know whether it can be done through sedation rather than GA.

Before a GA animals are often sedated with injections of opiates and/or ketamine anyway, which should put piggy in a pain free chilled out twilight zone anyway and that might be enough sedation for a stress free teeth clean and mouth check. Sometimes small animals just stop breathing under GA or don't wake up again, not often but its enough of a risk the vet should have explained that. If the piggy is sick and weak especially if the vet doesn't know why that adds in a big unknown risk factor.
Best of luck for poor piggy but a second opinion, even from a different vet at the same practice, or a frank and open discussion about risks, benefits, options and costs with your current vet, is something you are entitled to, to make sure you can make a fully informed decision!

 

[Emma85]

Off to the vets with Graham.

I hardly slept last night with worry.

Little Graham stayed in hiding this morning rather than greeting us with his usual cheerful morning squeaks. Didn't seem at all bothered by my giving him pain killer medicine and ranitidine, quite a change from his previous struggling. Either he is just used to it, or is too poorly to bother fighting me.

Roughly 20 minutes after his pain killer medicine yesterday (7pm ish) he ate about 3 spinach leaves from the bunch offered. It's the most I've seem him eat all week, so felt that there was some progress.

This morning he is very very quiet and just going with the flow.

I'm so glad he is going in today as I'm not sure how much longer he would last.

So hard to stay positive for the children, who have been told he has a tummy bug, while secretly preparing for the worst (just incase).

Feeling sick and sad for my little piggy

 

[Emma85]

Hasn't even sniffed his basil this morning. Basil being his favourite food.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Huge hugs, please don't feel confronted by responses on here. Obviously none of us were at the vets with you so we can only offer advice and suggestions but trust in your vet is vital and if you have that you can rest assured he is in the best possible hands.

I hope it goes well for him and as you say there's no alternative so what has to be done, has to be done and at least it will be done today. Hope all goes well and that you get to the bottom of the problem

 

[GreenDean]

Hope everything goes well and your piggie is back to himself soon x

 

[HeatherW]

Wishing you and poor Graham all the best! I have my fingers crossed for you. x

 

[Merab]

Hoping all is going well today.
Holding you in my thoughts

 

[Wiebke]

So my 3 year old piggy hasn't eaten properly for a week and has lost weight. We were given a liquid feed for him. Back to the vets today with little to no improvement.

Vet has said his gut is silent and when examining him inside his mouth, his mouth was full of the recovery paste. Vet was unable to see any teeth problems or look into his throat further due to the amount of food in there, despite using several cotton buds to remove it for a closer look.

She gave him ranitidine to help his gut and pain killer.

Vet said we could chose whether to go ahead and treat him under general anaesthetic (£150) and depending on the treatment, there will be further (potentially dental) fees to pay. We have already paid over £100 for pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs and today the ranitidine.

Vet said unless he has the treatment, it could be fatal as his gut will shut down, or we can chose to put him down. We've taken him home to decide what to do.

We love him to pieces and money shouldn't come into it but £250 (Likely to be more) is a lot of money to us.

Don't know what to do ☹

Hi!

Here are our tips for treating GI stasis (cessation of gut movement). Please start syringe feeding and water asap in order to get the guts going again! Since the measures in it have saved my own Pili Pala (who is still going 11 months later) and have also been proof-read by a piggy savvy exotics nurse, the guide is well worth reading and following the advice in it. If the food is coming straight back out again or your piggy is salivating, then it is unfortunately no longer able to swallow. Bloat, Gi Stasis ( No Gut Movement) And Not Eating

I second seeing Simon or Kim Maddock asap if they are within your reach. They are the very likely most experienced dental vets in this country and see about 15 dental piggies each week.

 

[Betsy]

Wishing you and cutey Graham all the best. Let us know what the vet says the problem is.

 

[Emma85]

Update on Graham

He is currently recovering from his GA. The vet who carried out the surgery called me to say that he had removed "a vast amount of food from his mouth and throat, some which has been there for a while, it had a bad smell and some was fermenting." The vet feels that with all his mouth cleaned out, that in itself will help him to feel better. He could not see any dental issues, but has filed some teeth that were quite sharp.

He went on to explain that as Graham has diarrhoea earlier in the week, this can slow down the gut movement. He wants me to continue with ranitidine to get his gut moving and to continue to liquid feed. He has advised me to also offer fresh veg (leafy greens to begin with) as normal to see whether he is able to eat by himself. He wants to see him again on Thursday.

He has advised putting extra bedding under his shelter to keep him warm while he recovers.

Question: in Grahams sleeping area I have always had sawdust and hay, is there a bedding I can buy that is safe for him (like the hamster bedding?)

Thank you.

 

[GPTV]

So glad Graham is doing well and recovering after his GA

if you need a warm bedding have a look at vetbed they sell it in Pets at Home/scats/mole valley farmers... if you have one locally?
it's quite expensive but it's warm and will keep them dry as the urine goes down through and doesn't sit on the top of it,leaving a puddle of pee for piggy to sit in!

or if you have an old fleece - whether it's a blanket or an old jacket if you wash it 3 times (doesn't need to be dried in between) with no conditioner in it that should keep him warmer and the urine won't sit on top, if there is no conditioner.

healing vibes to the handsome Graham wishing him a full and speedy recovery love the girls and I x x

@Emma85 Edit... just a thought if Graham had damp dishcloth breath sometimes oral thrush is to blame, that would make his throat uncomfortable ,to swallow also.
get the vet to check if there is no improvement with clearing the food from his mouth etc, x x

 

[Wiebke]

Update on Graham

He is currently recovering from his GA. The vet who carried out the surgery called me to say that he had removed "a vast amount of food from his mouth and throat, some which has been there for a while, it had a bad smell and some was fermenting." The vet feels that with all his mouth cleaned out, that in itself will help him to feel better. He could not see any dental issues, but has filed some teeth that were quite sharp.

He went on to explain that as Graham has diarrhoea earlier in the week, this can slow down the gut movement. He wants me to continue with ranitidine to get his gut moving and to continue to liquid feed. He has advised me to also offer fresh veg (leafy greens to begin with) as normal to see whether he is able to eat by himself. He wants to see him again on Thursday.

He has advised putting extra bedding under his shelter to keep him warm while he recovers.

Question: in Grahams sleeping area I have always had sawdust and hay, is there a bedding I can buy that is safe for him (like the hamster bedding?)

Thank you.

All the best!

Here is our post-op recovery guide. Please continue syringe feeding until Graham is able to eat fully again on his own and is able to keep his weight. Keep on weighing daily at the same time instead of the usual once weekly weight and health check.
Keep in mind that hay makes over 80% of the daily food intake, so watching him nibbling on veg is not enough. His mouth is likely very sore for the next few days, and if your vet is not dental savvy, Graham may have problems with chewing if the dental system is unbalanced.
The diarrhoea is most likely caused by not enough fibre and food getting into the guts, which has then led to the stasis as the follow-on to not enough food coming through; the guts will start slowing down quickly.

Please keep indoors for closer monitoring anyway, especially as you have to syringe feed several times a day to get to 60-90 ml of food a day to get the guts going again, and he is likely to eat only fairly small amounts at first. Our syringe feeding guide has also got a section on care for dental guinea pigs.

Has your vet found out what has caused the build up of food in the throat? Has he considered oral thrush (fungal infection)?

Tips For Post-operative Care

Bedding For Guinea Pigs - Overview

Have you got a microwaveable snugglesafe pad? If yes, please heat half time so it is mildly warm, but not hot and allow graham to move off he is feeling too hot.

 

[Emma85]

All the best!

Here is our post-op recovery guide. Please continue syringe feeding until Graham is able to eat fully again on his own and is able to keep his weight. Keep on weighing daily at the same time instead of the usual once weekly weight and health check.
Keep in mind that hay makes over 80% of the daily food intake, so watching him nibbling on veg is not enough. His mouth is likely very sore for the next few days, and if your vet is not dental savvy, Graham may have problems with chewing if the dental system is unbalanced.
The diarrhoea is most likely caused by not enough fibre and food getting into the guts, which has then led to the stasis as the follow-on to not enough food coming through; the guts will start slowing down quickly.

Please keep indoors for closer monitoring anyway, especially as you have to syringe feed several times a day to get to 60-90 ml of food a day to get the guts going again, and he is likely to eat only fairly small amounts at first. Our syringe feeding guide has also got a section on care for dental guinea pigs.

Has your vet found out what has caused the build up of food in the throat? Has he considered oral thrush (fungal infection)?

Tips For Post-operative Care

Bedding For Guinea Pigs - Overview

Have you got a microwaveable snugglesafe pad? If yes, please heat half time so it is mildly warm, but not hot and allow graham to move off he is feeling too hot.

I'm picking him up at 5.15 and I'm going to ask what has caused the build up of food and will mention oral thrush (thank you).

He implied on the telephone that diarrhoea can slow the gut down and prevent swallowing. I assumed this was the cause. I will ask about oral thrush though.

 

[Merab]

Glad Graham has come through his GA and hoping for a speedy recovery

 

[Emma85]

Graham is home!
As soon as I saw him at the vets he looked so much better, wide eyes, moving around lots and much more alert.

He is working his way through celery and tomatoes at the moment with a pro-biotic powder from the vet.

Vet is pleased with his progress in such a short space of time.

We are too - can't wait to hear his wheaks!

 

[Lady Kelly]

Wow that's amazing especially as they can be groggy post ga. Let's hope this continues!

 

[Emma85]

I know, I was fully prepared for him to be groggy but he did a run around his cage and jumped straight up onto his shelf and started digging in! Still hasn't eaten like he normally does, but keeping a close eye on him

 

[Claire W]

I have just caught up with your thread. I am keeping everything crossed for Graham xx

 

[PigglePuggle]

So glad he is doing better and the GA went ok, fleecy bedding or fleece blankets he can burrow under will help keep him warm.
Puggle piggy who was very poorly last weekend too sends Graham healing wheeks!

 

[DMS260820]

So my 3 year old piggy hasn't eaten properly for a week and has lost weight. We were given a liquid feed for him. Back to the vets today with little to no improvement.

Vet has said his gut is silent and when examining him inside his mouth, his mouth was full of the recovery paste. Vet was unable to see any teeth problems or look into his throat further due to the amount of food in there, despite using several cotton buds to remove it for a closer look.

She gave him ranitidine to help his gut and pain killer.

Vet said we could chose whether to go ahead and treat him under general anaesthetic (£150) and depending on the treatment, there will be further (potentially dental) fees to pay. We have already paid over £100 for pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs and today the ranitidine.

Vet said unless he has the treatment, it could be fatal as his gut will shut down, or we can chose to put him down. We've taken him home to decide what to do.

We love him to pieces and money shouldn't come into it but £250 (Likely to be more) is a lot of money to us.

Don't know what to do ☹

Do a payment plan direct debit. See if you can break down the blow

 

[DMS260820]

And with the hotels. Complain about a bad nights sleep and get a full refund . Premiere inn have this

 

[Bill & Ted]

So glad to hear Graham is looking and feeling better x

 

[HeatherW]

Glad to hear Graham's feeling more like himself! Hopefully the cause of the issue can be found quickly.

 

[Lady Kelly]

And with the hotels. Complain about a bad nights sleep and get a full refund . Premiere inn have this

Not sure what this is about as I don't believe the OP stayed in a hotel. Also I don't think the hotel would cover it (or that it would be fair to expect them to) if you couldn't sleep because you were worried about your pet. I think it's designed for not being able to sleep due to noise or comfort of the bed etc

 

[Emma85]

Just to confirm, I didn't stay in a hotel, I was at home!

Graham had a small amount of celery and has slept under his shelter since 6pm. He has just come out and had some water (No food) and gone back under his shelter.

I gave him ranitidine on his return from the vets around 5.30pm.

I think it is fair today that some improvement has been made but he is still quite sleepy. I'm hopeful that tomorrow will bring more progress.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Just to confirm, I didn't stay in a hotel, I was at home!

Graham had a small amount of celery and has slept under his shelter since 6pm. He has just come out and had some water (No food) and gone back under his shelter.

I gave him ranitidine on his return from the vets around 5.30pm.

I think it is fair today that some improvement has been made but he is still quite sleepy. I'm hopeful that tomorrow will bring more progress.

Are you still syringe feeding him? He might need a boost to help kickstart his guys/appetite

 

[Emma85]

Vet has suggested doing this tomorrow. She has given me more critical care. I'll be doing it along with his meds tomorrow

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

He really needs food to keep going through him or he will get gassy. Little and often syringe feeding is the best way to deal with a post op piggy.

 

[PigglePuggle]

Maybe he would lick some critical care off a piece of veg and nibble some hay from your hand if you're worried about syringe feeding him when he's sleepy and just had all that old food cleared out of his mouth?

 

[Merab]

Glad Graham is safely home.
Hope he has a good night