Potential abscess on guinea pig

[katiesinead]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has any experience of abscesses on their guinea pigs. Yesterday I noticed that my piggie Celeste had white pus all over her left ear. I cleaned this off and found a hole underneath her ear. It was surprising because she had been fine the day before - I handle the pigs every day and never noticed anything amiss.
I did take her to the vet straight away who was unsure what had caused this and prescribed a week worth of antibiotics, and a follow up app next week.

Celeste is kept indoors with another girl piggie and they get on so well, they never fight and so I’m not sure how this happened. I did notice she had gotten her head stuck in a carrot snack ball yesterday so I’m not sure if this has happened before and she has scratched to get it off.

I did post on another group who suggested this looks like a fly hole which was, to be honest, terrifying. The girls are kept in the living room and we’ve had some issues with flies getting in recently however we live in the UK and I clean their cages every day. I’ve moved them into another room just in case but I really doubt it could be anything like that.

I’ve attached some pictures for reference - first the pictures when I noticed the hole and second picture taken a few hours after vets appointment when the hole seemed to close up.
Is this definitely a burst abscess? Thanks in advance!

 

[Merab]

Please see a vet. That is always the best plan.
If it is an abscess it will need treatment by a vet first.
Abscesses are a pain to deal with but can be cleared - you just have to know exactly what you’re dealing with first.
Keep us posted.
Will be holding you in my thoughts

 

[Rubysue]

I'm glad that you went to the vet it looks like a burst abscess. Could have been caused by anything even a blocked pore (pimple). Chili pig had the start of one on his back. I gently squeezed it and some pus came out. Then it seemed to just get smaller and go away. The antibiotic should work. If it doesn't heal she might have something in there but the vet would look at the follow up visit you have planned.

 

[katiesinead]

Please see a vet. That is always the best plan.
If it is an abscess it will need treatment by a vet first.
Abscesses are a pain to deal with but can be cleared - you just have to know exactly what you’re dealing with first.
Keep us posted.
Will be holding you in my thoughts

I did take her to the vet as said in post, but they weren’t sure what it was and have prescribed antibiotics. Tonight when cleaning it with wipes I noticed there was more pus so had to put pressure around the area and tons of it came out. I’ve tried to clean it out the best I could, I just hope it clears up in the coming days.

 

[Merab]

I did take her to the vet as said in post, but they weren’t sure what it was and have prescribed antibiotics. Tonight when cleaning it with wipes I noticed there was more pus so had to put pressure around the area and tons of it came out. I’ve tried to clean it out the best I could, I just hope it clears up in the coming days.

Sorry - I misread what you said.
When one of mine had and an abscess I was advised to flush it with Hibiscrub twice a day and gently squeeze until there was no more pus.
We also had a weekly check at the vet to ensure everything was healing properly

 

[Swissgreys]

Abscesses can come from out of nowhere.
If there is pus then it is most likely a burst abscess.

The key to getting it to heal is to keep it open and flushed out until all the pus has gone and stopped forming.
Usually a vet will cut the opening to make it larger and often stitch it open to allow you to clean it effectively for a week or more.
You then need to flush and clean the wound twice a day as well as treating with antibiotics.

It does sound like our vet is on the right track, but you need to make the hole bigger so you can flush it with antiseptic and prevent the pus building back up.
Is your vet experienced with guinea pigs?

 

[Freela]

If it's still forming pus it likely is a burst abscess... even with antibiotics, it's important to keep flushing the wound and expressing any new pus to allow it to heal from the inside out. One of my pigs, Sundae, had a large abscess on the side of her face that had to be lanced and drained by the vet... following that I would rinse it daily with a syringe filled with antiseptic solution, gently express any pus still forming, as well as an oral antibiotic to encourage it to heal. It can take a long time for them to resolve entirely. It's important to keep irrigating or the wound will heal over and the abscess will just reform and burst again. I would also keep an eye on her weight and food consumption, because sometimes facial abscesses can be linked to tooth root problems, so make sure that she's eating normally and maintaining weight! Hope this helps a bit!

 

[Betsy]

@furryfriends (TEAS) is the Abscess Queen of the Forum.