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Urgent Guinea Pig Specialist Surgeon Required - North Of England

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I was so pleased to read this that it actually brought a tear to my eye!

Full credit to you for persisting as well, Buzz is one lucky guy to have you as an owner.

Wishing him a speedy recovery.
 
I'm really glad that his op has gone well. I applaud you for persevering with his treatment. Hope he'll be back to full health soon.
 
Fabulous news! I'm so happy for both you and buzz! Please post a piccy of him once you get him home so we can see you both happy :)
 
So after his op on Tuesday and another stay at the vets overnght Buzz has now been home for 48 hours, but he doesn't seem overly happy about it!

We have managed to get him to eat the odd piece of veg and some strands of hay and grass, but other than that he is totally uninterested in food and has been physically turning away when we've offered it to him. So we are syringe-feeding him recovery food (supreme science) mixed with some baby food, and water too. We've struggled during the day as we have had to go to work, but I've done it every few hours at night/in the morning, including a feed at 2.15 this morning. Now it's the weekend we will be better at this during the day too. He's also on metcam twice a day, and a daily antibiotic to stop the wound getting infected.

I've been weighing him everytime he gets fed and he's remained constant give or take a gram for the past 24 hours, though he is around 200g down on his weight before he got sick and now weighs just over a kilo.

He has been moving around his cage, but he's preferring to sit still in the same place. He seems fairly bright when we bring him out the cage, but pretty despondant when he's in it. He hadn't been making any noise but as I am typing this he just started squeaking a little :/.

I was so concerned with getting the stone removed that I honestly didn't stop to think about how the operation would affect him and how long it would take him to recover. I am trying to convince myself that this is normal post-op behaviour and that it will take him some time to get back to his usual self, but having not dealt with anything like this before (and I've never had an operation myself so can't even empathasise) it's making me feel a bit worried and like I'm not doing enough, though I don't really know what else I can do!

Can anyone offer any advice as to what we can expect in terms of a recovery to put my anxious mind at ease?

Thanks
Tanya x
 
What a worry with him not eating. You are doing great syringe feeding him. I really hope he starts to eat himself.
 
awwww I'm so sorry its heartbreaking seeing them like that. could you ring and speak to the vet and see if he can offer any advice? I dont know what to say, i am fighting my own battle with my guy at the moment and feel so helpless. I think you are doing great with they syringing. Is he taking plenty of water?
 
I haven't got much to suggest either as not had a pig recovering after an op myself, but as Karina says is he drinking ok? and pooing ok? I would ask the vet about higher pain relief too as once the pain relief given by the vets wears off they can struggle as oral pain medication is not as high as the injectible stuff they get at the vets.
 
Oh poor boy and poor you. I really sympathise, this is the worse time after an op when they are feeling bad, depressed and miserable. I loath it.

He has got this far which is excellent news, and a credit to your care so far. If he has had a stone he really needs liquids to ensure they don't come back. I have had three bladder piggies, sadly two died due to complications and one was as a result of another stone forming. The first one lived a very long and happy life until she was just over 7 ( she had stones removed at 2 years) however I syringed her with fluids (filtered water) twice a day 15 ml a time for the rest of her life every day and I am convinced this prevented the stone recurrence. She loved the attention! She had to have it slightly warmed though otherwise she would'nt have it!

In terms of his rehab, it sounds like he is doing ok, he has not lost any more weight and now he is wheeking, a good sign. Just keep doing what you are doing and make sure he has pain relief and I suspect he will pick up really quickly. Do you have any grass or dandelion, this can really help get them back on track.

Healing vibes being sent, keeping everything crossed for you x
 
Post-op care can sometimes be pretty hairy!

It can take a good 48hrs for the anaesthetic to come out of their system - plenty of fluids and diarolyte works for me when I have a woozy pig....given every 2 hours day and night 10ml per time it helps flush out the anaesthetic residue and keeps the kidneys functioning.

Good pain relief is also essential - if only on metacam then tramadol might be helpful (PM me for details - just helped another vet feel comfortable about prescribing this for a urinary piggie)

Syringe feeding too is also essential - 20ml every 4 hours.

Good luck!
x
 
Thank you that's definitely reassured me!

The antibiotic is doxycycline syrup, 0.1ml per day. The metcam dose was upped to 0.7ml twice a day, but they have also given us an alternative painkiller called vetergesic if he needs it (0.1ml twice a day), though he hasn't had any yet.

He's just had another feed, 11ml of food with a similar amount of water in between. Will give him more water before bed, and some more food too.

The sound he made earlier was more like the sound he made when he had his stone. It was removed directly from his urethra though, and the wound left unstiched, so I guess that could also be be causing a bit of pain when he's peeing.

His poos have been very very small, but they are getting bigger which is another encouraging sign I hope :)

I guess perseverance and patience is key here, need to work on being patient!


X
 
Doxycycline is good - will fight any bugs that are baytril and septrin-resistant.
Metacam does is strong but good in these circumstances.
Vetergesic is an opiate so"could" slow down the gut so a gut stimulant might be necessary (zantac). However, like tramadol, it might be more effective at pain relief under these circumstances than metacam.

Keep syringe feeding 20ml every 4hrs - it wil sort out the poos and he will start to feel a lot better and start to put on weight.
You should be weighing him daily atm.

Any problems/worries please PM me for my phone number and we can have a chat. Post-op is always a very worrying time and you;re doing brilliantly!

x
 
Our boy Harley had opiate pain relief following a bladder washout last year and it really knocked him off his little legs for around 5 days :( :(
Syringing food every 2-3 hours day and night was exhausting but worth it as he soon recovered :)
I spotted Buzz is 4 yrs old - older piggies tend to take longer post op recovery as I discovered so keep at it x
 
Great to hear that Buzz has come through his op - keep up what you are doing and he will pull through.

Even with the weight loss, just over a kilo is a fairly good weight, keep weighing him at the same time every day - the fact he hasn't lost any over the first 24 hours is a really good sign and shows he is getting enough syringe food into him.

I know that you have seen a really top notch vet so I'm sure its fine - but are you on the dog or cat metacam? If it's the dog metacam, it seems on the high side, although I have known piggies to be given a slightly higher dose immediately after a big op as they are often be in a lot of pain.

Really wish you and Buzz all the best going forward - I know how tiring the night feeds soon get!
 
We are using metcam which we had from the previous vet which is dog metcam, and I thought the dose was high - he was previously on 0.3ml twice per day. In reality he has probably been getting more like 0.6 as I thought 0.7 was on the high side so didn't fill exactly.

Thanks for all you wishes everyone, he seems to be doing well in many ways so hopefully he'll keep going!

Tanya xx
 
Sending him lots of continued vibes, you are doing so well.
 
sounds like you are doing everything right. i think he will need at least a few days to start to perk up properly. sounds encouraging so far though. it's a big op, and metacam doses vary with what they are needed for, so i would give the dose they have said. there are so many conflicting views with metacam doses anyway. :)
 
He's definitely not having a good day today :(. He seems to be in more pain, so he's had some of the other painkiller this evening. I've been struggling more to get food into him today too - he doesn't seem to be chewing the same as he has been before so I'm worried he's not swallowing it properly and I dont want to give him too much and choke him! However he has actually put on weight from yesterday, so I'm taking that as a positive.

So difficult seeing him in such a sorry state. Poor little man.
 
Well I'm really sorry to say that Buzz passed away today :(.

We took him back to the vets and they took him into intensive care, but I think it had all just got too much for him and he didn't make it. We both feel absolutely awful, like we could have or should have tried to do more to save him. Hopefully it will get easier to move on and remind ourselves that he's in a pain-free place now.

Thanks for all your messages and support

Tanya x
 
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