Recovery from surgery to remove abscess

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pigwidgeon

Post   » Tue Nov 14, 2017 7:57 pm


I adopted my guinea pig, Ricky, a 2 yr old neutered male from our local Humane Society on Veteran's Day. At my free vet appointment on Sunday, the vet noticed that he had a lump on his right side that could've been a testicle or an abscess. She suggested taking him back to the Humane Society since the lump may be the result of an incomplete neuter operation. I did so and the Humane Society took him for surgery last night. I picked him up this morning. It turned out he had an abscess, probably due to his neuter surgery, and it was removed in this second surgery. I was sent home with Baytril and nothing else. Having read detailed instructions on surgery after care on this site, I was unsettled by the Humane Society's instructions. I hoped that they would provide me with further after care supplies such as Critical Care, motility drugs, or painkillers, but when I asked about it, they didn't have anything.

I immediately called my vet clinic and the earliest I can speak to my regular vet is tomorrow. They had no exotic vets in today. Ricky is home and ate some lettuce and cucumber and drank water, but now he's resting and doesn't look great, probably in some pain. I wish I could do more to help him while I wait to see my regular vet tomorrow. For now I'm keeping him comfortable and following the rest of the instructions here for post surgery care. He is currently a lone piggy who's still being quarantined from his future cage mate, who's in a separate room. If you guys have any advice for me in the meantime, it would be much appreciated! Thank you!

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Nov 15, 2017 8:54 am


Poor little guy! It sounds like you are on top of this and know what to do, if you've read the post op page and other advice here. Pain killers are important. Did they put in a drain so you can flush it?

JX4

Post   » Wed Nov 15, 2017 8:21 pm


He needs pain meds. The same thing happened with our male. We neutered him and he developed an abscess. Our vet went in surgically a second time for free to remove that abscess and sent us home with more antibiotics and pain meds. We didn't have to flush for the abscess surgery. Our guy healed quickly after the second surgery and is fine.

User avatar
lisam

Post   » Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:22 pm


Baytril isn't the best antibiotic for abscesses. I usually ask for Bactrim (trimethoprim sulfa) when there's abscessing. Keep a close eye on it, because it's in an area that picks up bacteria.

Make sure he's eating more than just veggies. You can crush up some pellets and add water and syringe feed him.

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pigwidgeon

Post   » Mon Dec 16, 2019 7:39 pm


Ricky update: I forgot about this thread and made a new one, so I'm back to this one. Quick recap: Ricky was recently diagnosed with bloat and a touch of pneumonia. Vet sent me home with antibiotics, metacam, and motility drugs. When he improved a bit I was told to stop the metacam and motility drug, but Ricky went downhill, so I dosed him again and he has improved greatly. My question I'm worried about is contagion. Can his cagemate, Lucy, catch pneumonia from him? My vet did not mention separating them but I'm concerned. I did something monumentally stupid and gave her critical care out of the same syringe and now I'm freaked out (did I mention how stupid that was? I have no idea why I did that. I can only blame stress and sleep deprivation). Anyway, what's done is done and now I would love some advice if you have any.

I called my vet, but she isn't in her office today and left a message with the receptionist to call me back. I will ask as soon as she does.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Dec 16, 2019 7:57 pm


I think one of the general recommendations we've had is not to worry so much about other guinea pigs catching things when both have already been together/exposed. This doesn't mean one can't at least separate the ill one from the other in a cage if there are compelling reasons to do so.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Mon Dec 16, 2019 8:28 pm


Agree. Try not to stress out too much about it until/unless you see signs that Lucy seems unwell. What antibiotic is Ricky on?

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pigwidgeon

Post   » Tue Dec 17, 2019 1:51 am


Sef- it's Ciprofloxacin

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Tue Dec 17, 2019 6:23 am


That's a fairly hard-hitting antibiotic that can be hard on the gut. Do watch for any signs of inappetence, loose stools, etc., and weigh daily. I'd be inclined to use a good probiotic with that, if you're not already doing so--especially since he has had some recent gut issues. See:
https://www.guinealynx.info/antibiotic_advice.html

Also:
https://www.guinealynx.info/probiotics.html

User avatar
pigwidgeon

Post   » Tue Dec 17, 2019 9:11 pm


Thanks for the advice and links! My vet gave me a motility drug (metoclopramide and it took me 3 attempts to spell this so I hope I got it right). I have some benebac I used recently for soft poop issues, should I give him that? He is eating on his own now and I'm weighing him daily and will give critical care if he starts losing weight.

Ricky's looking a lot better. While I was at the laundromat doing piggy laundry my Mom gave the pigs carrot because they were both squeaking so loudly she heard them all the way in the living room. She says ricky was excited for food and ate heartily. I was a little bothered bc my vet said to discontinue veggies for the time being but the bloat seems to have passed and it was just a small piece of carrot (I've been taking Lucy out and giving her veggies separately at mealtimes). My vet must still be off bc I haven't gotten a call back, will probably get one tomorrow.

rjespicer

Post   » Wed Dec 18, 2019 4:26 pm


Giving him Bene Bac 60-90 minutes after the antibiotics is probably a wise move.

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pigwidgeon

Post   » Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:14 am


Update on Sicky Ricky: he's still not completely back to himself. 😞 He is eating on his own and making small light-colored poops, which I expected due to the antibiotics. I'm giving benebac. He's also back on veggies again at the advice of my vet, who also advised me to finish the course of antibiotics. However I have noticed weight loss and force feed him critical care because I'm worried he's not eating enough on his own. He's still not very active and spends a lot of time sleeping or sitting around. He finished the course of metacam he was given and the bloat is much improved, but he seems less active and more lethargic since he finished the metcam. I'm wondering if what I'm doing is OK or if there is anything more or different I should be doing for him. Also, if I keep giving critical care, how much should I give?

Thanks again for the advice. You guys have really helped me out.

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