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Unknown Skin Complaint - Help Please!

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What a lovely neat job by the vet. I'm so glad she looks so bright and is being comforted by her chum. She looks like she could do with a cuddle for being so brave.
 
Things are not so good...I thought she was dead this morning but she is only just breathing and little energy. Her tongue moves sometimes when I try to feed her with the watery critical care I made up. Last night her nose was blocked with dried blood and I managed to clear one nostril...she turned her head away when I tried to feed her. This morning it's going in and mostly coming straight back out again. She feels hot too. She's had her pain killer and baytril. Vets at 9am if she makes it that long!
 
Oh no. It looked so promising. If her nose is blocked she'll not want to eat as she won't be able to eat and breathe at the same time. Keeping everything crossed for her. Hugs to you too. X
 
Everything crossed here for her too.Is she having pro bio tics as baytril is an appetite killer.
 
she doesn't have pro-biotics but I can ask about it if she picks up...I had to lift her head so that her meds would go down and not just pour out again. Weakness is the biggest problem at the moment and shallow breathing.
 
JenniferG said:
she doesn't have pro-biotics but I can ask about it if she picks up...I had to lift her head so that her meds would go down and not just pour out again. Weakness is the biggest problem at the moment and shallow breathing.
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Sending my vibes! Poor girl - it looks really sore!

Feed her gently, little but often round the clock and only in portions that she can swallow in one go if she is weak (0.1- 0.3 ml). Make sure that she has also got plenty of water. You can additionally dissolve 1/8 of a vitamin tablet in 1 ml water and syringe that to help boost the immune system. You can add the probiotic powder to the syrgine feed.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

The shallow breathing is very worrying.
Perhaps @helen105281 can advise you on whether it may be worth asking your vet re. heart-strenghening medication.
 
I am at work for the day and out with my team at lunch but will be on here before I leave work and will post about heart meds then if that's OK.
 
Been to the vets and decided to care for her at home...the vet said that pain is causing the problem right now, so she's had an injection, although I know that can make her drowsy. She is a little stronger now and even turned around in her carry case and bit the syringe when I fed her. Keeping with watery critical care and feeding little and often. Her breathing is fine so I'll keep my eye out to ensure her nostrils stay clear.
 
JenniferG said:
She's home! Very dozy and her breathing is loud but the scab was up to her nostrils so that area has been affected too. She's continuing on baytril and painkiller, with an appointment on Saturday to see how she's doing. The nurse said it looked rather nasty and ulcerated under the scab...I think the vet has done a good job with cosmetic surgery. View attachment 52349 View attachment 52349
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I am so hoping the medicines are doing there job, sending healing thoughts. :luv::love::luv:
 
I really hope she rallies round if her pain is kept under control bless her xx
 
It's amazing what difference adequate pain management can make to a piggy. It's so good that she fancies a bit of salad and keeps her interested in feeding. I know this is hard but keep up the good work with her X
 
That's great that the pain relief is kicking in. Do you still need the heart info? it sounds like the breathing issues were due to the scab blocking her nose?
 
Thanks, I think the breathing issue is just due to a blocked nose, and so far it has kept clear. She has slumped a bit as the pain killer has worn off and she doesn't want to be fed...but she has the strength now to turn around to avoid the syringe! Just got to keep at it...
 
Ok, let me know if you need it at any point.

Did the vet say you can give any oral pain relief on top of the injection?
 
Thank you. I'm giving her metacam once a day too...she has to wait until the morning for her next dose.
 
JenniferG said:
Thank you. I'm giving her metacam once a day too...she has to wait until the morning for her next dose.
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Metacam can be given twice daily if needed- obviously you would need to discuss it with your vet but its worth mentioning. My vet advises me to dose at 0.15ml of dog metacam once a day standard or every 12 hours in cases of higher pain (post op etc) and 0.3ml of cat metacam with the same once or twice dosage x
 
That's good to know...she's on the cat version, 0.2ml once a day. She has another vet appointment tomorrow afternoon as a check up. It's costing us a fortune as the vets charge for every visit...follow ups used to be free!
 
Update: we had a better morning today but she is still a bit limp, although shows strength when avoiding being fed! She tried to eat a thin slice of cucumber but couldn't manage it. I removed a sticky scab underneath her nose that was blocking one nostril...it looks raw underneath but not bleeding. She has a lot of that milky eye discharge. Despite the pain she must be in, she still makes happy noises when stroked. Seeing the vet for a check up at 2.30pm.
 
JenniferG said:
Update: we had a better morning today but she is still a bit limp, although shows strength when avoiding being fed! She tried to eat a thin slice of cucumber but couldn't manage it. I removed a sticky scab underneath her nose that was blocking one nostril...it looks raw underneath but not bleeding. She has a lot of that milky eye discharge. Despite the pain she must be in, she still makes happy noises when stroked. Seeing the vet for a check up at 2.30pm.
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Have they given you anything to bathe area under the nostrils to keep them clear?

Shes probably limp again from pain so its worth mentioning the twice a day metacam dose. The doses my vet advises me are based on a 1kg piggy.

Good luck today x
 
She was 1.2kg but not sure what she is now. I'm using salt water on her wound and blocked nostrils...they're clear now but she does have some mucus sometimes.
 
JenniferG said:
She was 1.2kg but not sure what she is now. I'm using salt water on her wound and blocked nostrils...they're clear now but she does have some mucus sometimes.
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You need to be weighing her daily at the moment.. Without that you have no idea how much she is eating. Are you syringe feeding her? Its imperative that a guinea pigs guts are kept moving or they will shut down- however i appreciate that it must be difficult with her having facial surgery.

Some kitchen scales will do the trick x
 
She's being syringe fed and can hardly eat any regular food. It's been like that since the scab formed a week last Tuesday, she's been to the vets lots of times since then and they've been checking her weight. I can give metacam twice a day and wish they'd told me, the vet yesterday knew the problem was pain and she improved after her pain injection.
 
Just noticed something else...she's moving more now but she can't get up onto her legs, she's shuffling around on her tummy...I hope her legs are ok! I put her in the cage with the others and she couldn't move over the veggies in the cage.
 
JenniferG said:
Just noticed something else...she's moving more now but she can't get up onto her legs, she's shuffling around on her tummy...I hope her legs are ok! I put her in the cage with the others and she couldn't move over the veggies in the cage.
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That sounds worrying.. Does she drag the legs or is she just weak? Try giving them a gentle massage and placing her in a standing position to see if she can weight bear..

If she cant i would worry about something else going on. Could she stand when she saw the vet or has this just happened?
 
This is since surgery. The vet checked her paws yesterday and said she knows where they are, so it's not neurological, she said she was in intense pain having seen her sore during surgery. She is only moving around more now so perhaps just too weak to stand yet. It was the nurse that we saw today who just talked about feeding her.
 
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