post op

[angelpig]

Hi, I am new here, I have been keeping guinea pigs for just under a year... my rescue guinea pig pip squeak went to the vets today as just near her ear a lump came up out of the blue, it wasn't bothering her at all she was eating, drinking etc but thought I should take her to the vets... any way I took her to the vet and like the little lady she is she would not sit still even with me holding her! so he asked to keep her in as he thought she had an abscess, he asked me to consent to giving her a whiff of gas just to quiet her down so he could check etc and sort it out if it was.

It did turn out to be an abscess and the nurse said there was a lot of pus in it Pip squeak has a small 'X' shape wound on her neck, they said it is an open wound, and he put her on a course of Baytril, it was still weeping when I brought her home and the vet wants me to phone him tomorrow and bring her back on friday.

I have not been asked to bathe the wound wash it or anything, and have just been given the anti biotics. The piggy this evening isn't interested in food, is that normal, I have tried with her favourite bell peppers, melon, curly kale, lettuce, tomato etc she just seems to sniff it and leave it..... she did eat straight away when I brought her home but that was at 3pm and now she just doesn't seem interested..... I haven't seen her drink either? I have seen her nibble on 1 strand of hay in the last hour! I have put her in a cage on her own on blankets with some soft hay etc as told to avoid wood shavings/chips etc

I have never had a piggy undergo surgery and the vet did say that abscesses in piggies can be difficult to heal up, I am really worried as advise seems to say flush it, I wouldn't know how or what I am meant to do or with what? And I was not advised that?

Can anyway please advise what I am to expect post op etc as I am quite concerned about my piggy.... and this is the vet who is suppose to be neutering my boy piggy soon, living in Cornwall there does not seem to be a good choice of vets unless you own, cows, sheep, dogs etc

What should I be doing, and with what, how etc, any advice I would gratefully receive as I love my piggy she is so wonderful I want to give her every chance to recover...

 

[Niki]

I've only had one piggy with an abscess; it burst itself & i used to bathe & flush it with warm salt water. I did take him to the vets, who also gave me baytil & they expressed a large amount of pus from it (more than i ever got).
However, my piggy did eat but this may be because he'd not had any kind of anaesthetic.

 

[angelpig]

Thanks, I am going to phone the vet at 8.30am when it opens as she remains uninterested in food and that is a really worry, as said she ate when she came home but is now just not interested. I even put her out indoors with the other piggies with a big plate of food to see if that would encourage her to eat, but she hasn't yet. She is active, but as not as active as normal, and the site looks ok, the lump has certainly gone down a lot!

I am really worried about her.

 

[angelpig]

hi, I took her back to the vet and he said she may be in a bit of discomfort and gave her some pain killer and a pack of supreme science recovery, but the pack contained no instructions how to make it up..... Any advice..... As I have searched the net and find lots of stuff about it but not how to make it up!

She did eat some grass when I hand fed her and some dandelion leaves but not a great deal.... I even picked a fresh lettuce from my allotment and she wasn't interested....

Any advice on how to make this supreme science stuff up?

 

[sophiew (EAGPR)]

I think it's like Critical Care forumula, in which case it's a green / brown powder and you mix one part powder to 2 parts water, you can't really do it wrong so add a little water then a little more until it gets to a good consistency. If she won't eat voluntarily you will have to syring feed... good advice here

http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html

If she'll eat voluntarily then I usually cut a chunk (inch or two) of cucumber and then use a teaspoon to hollow out a little 'bowl' then fill with the mixed formula - they usually love it.

You'll also need to make sure she's getting enough fluids and syringe water if necessary.

Good luck

Sophie
x

PS did he give her an appetite stimulant injection? This can really help

 

[alcesterpigs]

Mix the CC with water until it is easy to draw up the solution into a 1ml syringe, there is no need to cut off the end of the syringe.
I am still concerned about her loss or appetite, I cannot help thinking it may be post-anaesthetic shock.

"whiff of gas"
That phrase annoys me, it makes a GA sound so trivial, nothing to it etc. A GA has risks, a dismissive attitude cannot alter that fact.
I am having my usual thoughts about giving a GA to drain a small, or even a large, abscess....

 

[angelpig]

No injection for appetite :-(

She ate some grass earlier about a small handful, and has just eaten a couple of dandelion leaves. Not a lot though but I am taking that as an encouraging sign :-) although she is still turning her nose up at every thing else!

I have given her a dose of antibiotics orally 0.2ml and have given her some of the recovery mixture which she didn't take too kindly too, although she did eat it, I guess that is some thing.

She has a wet patch in her cage so I take it she is still drinking as she has wee'd, I have given her some water by hand after I fed her just to make sure too as I want to do all I can for my piggy pip squeak.

She is just resting now, but her eyes are bright and she moves around etc I am taking this as encouraging signs.

 

[Wiebke]

I'm keeping my fingers firmly crossed for you!

 

[angelpig]

My piggy is worse and I am really upset now, I have fed and gave her water through a syringe as instructed, but this morning she is like just crawling on her belly and even if you touch her she cries just softly but she like cries or moans......

I am waiting for the vet to open, but remembering how I lost a piggy before this doesn't look good

Any ideas please help........