Infected Neuter Site

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Apr 26, 2018 7:15 am


You need to be weighing once or twice a day while he is ill. Weighing is a great way to tell if he is getting enough food.
weigh.html

Look over this page too:
tips.html

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CavyDad
Supporter in 2018

Post   » Thu Apr 26, 2018 11:21 am


It sounds like he's eating the pellet slurry, but doesn't like being fed by syringe. I've had good luck with a post-op pig eating critical care/pellet slurry either off a plastic spoon, or out of their pellet dish. I've also used a clean pellet dish upside down so it's more like a raised plate. He got the recovery food he needed without the stress of a force feed.

guinealover33

Post   » Thu Apr 26, 2018 11:22 am


When we have to syringe feed, it makes a pretty big mess all over the piggy's mouth, so I think some residue is normal. We usually give small syringes of water every few hours when piggies are sick or have had surgery. Pain meds seem to make ours so stoned they just sort of stare into space and forget to eat or drink... or if they do, not enough. At the vet, they will often rehydrate them, but if yours isn't that bad off, you can just keep doing it yourself every few hours.

You have to be careful, because too much sugar is bad for stomachs, but if they're really fighting the syringe feeding, and they otherwise care for apples, sometimes we will mix in a TINY amount of unsweetened applesauce for taste, which makes it into less of a battle and gets more syringes into the pig before they go into wolverine mode.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Apr 26, 2018 2:03 pm


Pain meds seem to make ours so stoned they just sort of stare into space and forget to eat or drink
guinealover33, there is some excellent advice on managing pain medications post op if you are ever in that circumstance again. Check this page and also click on the links to Talishan's advice for even more info.
www.guinealynx.info/pain.html

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lisam

Post   » Thu Apr 26, 2018 4:09 pm


I've never had an issue with choking while giving a pig .8 ml all at once.

I might have missed this, but are you using crushed pellets in his slurry, or Critical Care?

I also agree that the vet should be covering all this free of charge. Post-neuter abscesses are common, and I've never had a vet charge me for follow up visits (wait, I think one did many years ago).

I'm wondering why this abscess developed so quickly. It usually takes longer for enough pus to generate that much. Because it was so large so soon, I wonder if it originally was a hematoma?

JX4

Post   » Sat Apr 28, 2018 12:29 pm


When we had our male neutered, something like what you describe happened, too, though not as badly infected. Our vet had us try flushing the area for about a week, but offered to go back in to remove the hematoma/abscess that had formed in there if that didn't work. After almost a week of trying to flush, we opted to have him go back in. He did. He removed the problem, stitched Twilight back up, and he healed nicely. And our vet went back in for free.

I'd insist on the vet going back in for free. Your pig is suffering and he doesn't need to be.

Biglar

Post   » Sun Apr 29, 2018 12:17 am


I took him back to vet yesterday and dug my heels in a bit over the charges. She got a little defensive, but agreed to treat at no charge. I hafta be a little careful - she's been very supportive, very pleasant and very helpful, the charges (2) haven't been really excessive - and she's the only game in town. No other vets in this small, rural mountain town treat piggys and the next is in Las Cruces, 120 miles away. Don't want to antagonize her needlessly, she's been pretty pleasant to work with.

She checked him over and told me that he looked better than expected and that progress is being made. She prescribed an ointment for the incision/chew area and gave me a different spectrum antibiotic to add to the mix. Also hafta wash his little butt every day before applying the ointment. His little tail feathers have been gently scrubbed with piggy shampoo twice now - he seems to enjoy that (I know I would) - antibiotics given and ointment applied. Checking him earlier today shows that the swelling seems to have gone down some, so I have high hopes. He's also eating on his own - not as much as I'd like, but there's a fair sprinkling of smaller than usual fecal pellets on the clean fleece. He's still refusing treats, tho', including the orange gel vitamin C, which concerns me. He used to love those above all else. I do believe the pellets have Vitamin C added.

Another word on the water while force feeding. I've been playing with that quite a bit and find that if I give him a small drink to start, he goes after it avidly and accepts the 1st feeding more readily. Give 1/3 of a 1ml syringe of slurry fairly deep in side of mouth, (give him more and he spits it out) let him chew it all up, give another light drink of water, more slurry.....very little mess and he really goes after that water, even tho' he has 2 demand water bottles in his cage. During this process, he'll drink 3 tubes of water to 2 tubes of feed. Medication, I hafta be sneaky but it works. Thanks for the comments....keep 'em coming.

Is there a way to attach photos to these posts ??

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Apr 29, 2018 11:29 am


It can be hard to walk the line between stating your opinion and not aggravating the vet. I think of something like "I know you.....but". And "I'm sure you did not expect these complications ..but" Asking about what caused them. Ideally she would admit that some part of her procedure could have been involved. Not easy. I haven't had to deal with a vet for quite a while.

If you have clear crisp medical photos, you can email them to me.
Image

Did you read over the postop page I posted above? It emphasizes techniques to minimize infections in neuters.

Biglar

Post   » Sun Apr 29, 2018 12:37 pm


That URL won't open. Just gives a black page with the address in blue in the center and won't copy to an email address header.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sun Apr 29, 2018 12:49 pm


It's a gif, so bots can't harvest it. Just type it into your email To field.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Apr 29, 2018 1:30 pm


Yes. I get enough spam!

Here are your pictures. You wrote:
Piggy's name is Critter. He chewed a hole in his scrotum a few nights ago - it's pretty clear.
This is after 1½ weeks of treatment. The swelling is solid to the touch. Very firm.






Did the vet tell you what she thought the swelling was? For most neuters, there is an inguinal ring that must be closed to prevent the intestines from pushing out.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sun Apr 29, 2018 1:44 pm


Guinea pigs do have an open inguinal ring, and we've had several problematic neuters where the vet didn't know that and botched the surgery.

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