Violet's medical thread
- Delaine
- Supporter in '14
A similar thing happened to my sow Zoe. My friend was going to look after my girls for three weeks while I was away at my daughter's wedding.
She has two sows and so do I and she was hoping they would be able to have floor time together. We tried to introduce them and my girls got so upset Abbey bit Zoe in the face. I was only 5 minutes from our vet and took her in. I didn't see our usual vet but the one I saw was not at all concerned and rinsed the wound with water. He said if it happens again to rinse it well with water and keep an eye on it. Zoe's would healed quickly with no complications. I was very surprised he didn't suggest some sort of soap or cleanser.
She has two sows and so do I and she was hoping they would be able to have floor time together. We tried to introduce them and my girls got so upset Abbey bit Zoe in the face. I was only 5 minutes from our vet and took her in. I didn't see our usual vet but the one I saw was not at all concerned and rinsed the wound with water. He said if it happens again to rinse it well with water and keep an eye on it. Zoe's would healed quickly with no complications. I was very surprised he didn't suggest some sort of soap or cleanser.
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- You can quote me
Actually, about the only things you can use that are safe for guinea pigs are diluted chlorhexidine (Nolvassan or Hibiclens) and diluted Betadine (povidone iodine).
Chlorhex is very drying. The best thing to do for stuff like this, from what my vets and the pros here have told me, is to thoroughly irrigate the area with sterile saline (cheap solution for old-fashioned contact lenses is the easiest way to buy it). Sterile saline has a mild antimicrobial effect. You can also make a very dilute saline solution yourself using warm water and salt, but I've always been scared to try that.
Plain old garden-variety clean water is not a bad suggestion by any means, especially if it's on a fairly "open" area, like the nose or mouth. Irrigating the area thoroughly (use tons of water) is one of the best things you can do.
Chlorhex is very drying. The best thing to do for stuff like this, from what my vets and the pros here have told me, is to thoroughly irrigate the area with sterile saline (cheap solution for old-fashioned contact lenses is the easiest way to buy it). Sterile saline has a mild antimicrobial effect. You can also make a very dilute saline solution yourself using warm water and salt, but I've always been scared to try that.
Plain old garden-variety clean water is not a bad suggestion by any means, especially if it's on a fairly "open" area, like the nose or mouth. Irrigating the area thoroughly (use tons of water) is one of the best things you can do.
This morning I was cuddling with Violet and noticed a hard lump on her throat, pretty much right in the middle of it just under the chin bone. It's probably about 1cm in diameter, pretty smooth and regularly shaped. It moves if you nudge it. I don't see any scar or wound on top of the area, not that it would be easy to with all the fur and it being on the bottom side of her chin and all, so maybe it's just something I can't see. She hasn't lost any weight and has still been acting normally- eating, drinking, pooping, chasing her cagemate around, begging for treats, etc.
Anyway, I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow morning to get it checked out and I admit I'm having some anxiety about it. What might I expect the vet to do during examination? If they think it's a cyst do they lance it right there or do you usually have to make a followup appointment? Is there anything specific I should ask about? I'm guessing that the most likely thing it could be is a cyst/abscess given how round it is (I remember reading that tumors tend to be irregularly shaped), and also given that it seems pretty well detached from any tissue/bone down by the structure of the neck/throat area- it's more just kinda hanging out in her little dewlap. I am worried about it being a tumor though =n=;;
Edit: I've also been reading a lot about there being thyroid tumors in piggies. Is the pig thyroid located pretty much the same relative to the chin/pig clavicle as it is in humans, like way down closer to the chest/body than it is to the point of the chin? And those who've had pigs with thyroid tumors (I realize this is entirely anecdotal but whatever) was it down by the muscles as opposed to kind of floating on top?
Anyway, I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow morning to get it checked out and I admit I'm having some anxiety about it. What might I expect the vet to do during examination? If they think it's a cyst do they lance it right there or do you usually have to make a followup appointment? Is there anything specific I should ask about? I'm guessing that the most likely thing it could be is a cyst/abscess given how round it is (I remember reading that tumors tend to be irregularly shaped), and also given that it seems pretty well detached from any tissue/bone down by the structure of the neck/throat area- it's more just kinda hanging out in her little dewlap. I am worried about it being a tumor though =n=;;
Edit: I've also been reading a lot about there being thyroid tumors in piggies. Is the pig thyroid located pretty much the same relative to the chin/pig clavicle as it is in humans, like way down closer to the chest/body than it is to the point of the chin? And those who've had pigs with thyroid tumors (I realize this is entirely anecdotal but whatever) was it down by the muscles as opposed to kind of floating on top?
Not that I can feel compared to the rest of the area, though the throat area is all pretty warm anyway so I may misjudge.
Sounds like CL is pretty contagious and can be a long-term illness. Is there any point in separating her from the other pigs now that they've already presumably been plenty exposed? If so, is using another grid sufficient or do I need to go full-on different cage, wash hands, change clothes etc?
Sounds like CL is pretty contagious and can be a long-term illness. Is there any point in separating her from the other pigs now that they've already presumably been plenty exposed? If so, is using another grid sufficient or do I need to go full-on different cage, wash hands, change clothes etc?
Doc said it is almost certainly an abscess. He said he used to treat them by lancing and draining as he felt that total removal was excessive, until he had a case where there were some complications that the total removal would have prevented so that's what we're planning on with Violet. Her lumpectomy is scheduled for tomorrow, she's just gotten started on chloramphenicol and rimadyl today which she will be on after the surgery as well, no food after 9pm tonight, etc. He'll be using radiosurgery equipment, it's expected that we'll be able to take the sutures out after 2 weeks. He didn't mention CL by name but he said that it is contagious, so looks like I'll be separating them. Gotta separate them for recovery anyway.
This is my first time caring for a pet having surgery and I'm scared I'm gonna mess something up D:
also, holy cow this is gonna drain my vet fund, good thing I just got a job this week! Hopefully my other two pigs don't get it =n=;;;;;
This is my first time caring for a pet having surgery and I'm scared I'm gonna mess something up D:
also, holy cow this is gonna drain my vet fund, good thing I just got a job this week! Hopefully my other two pigs don't get it =n=;;;;;
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- And got the T-shirt
Ack! No food after 9 pm? What is he thinking?
The problem with eating before surgery is because if the patient vomits, the vomitus can be aspirated into the lungs with resultant pneumonia. But guinea pigs can't vomit, so there's no need to withhold food.
Is the VET the one who told you withhold food, or someone on his staff? We've had several cases where persons have been told not to feed a guinea pig because the staff was following the small animal protocol, not the herbivore protocol.
If it were me, I'd be back on the phone asking about that. I'd be willing to stop feeding a couple of hours before surgery, but no more than that.
Guinea pigs that don't eat get painful, sometimes fatal stomach ulcers -- their stomachs produce acid all the time, and they have to have food moving through their guts to deal with that acid.
The problem with eating before surgery is because if the patient vomits, the vomitus can be aspirated into the lungs with resultant pneumonia. But guinea pigs can't vomit, so there's no need to withhold food.
Is the VET the one who told you withhold food, or someone on his staff? We've had several cases where persons have been told not to feed a guinea pig because the staff was following the small animal protocol, not the herbivore protocol.
If it were me, I'd be back on the phone asking about that. I'd be willing to stop feeding a couple of hours before surgery, but no more than that.
Guinea pigs that don't eat get painful, sometimes fatal stomach ulcers -- their stomachs produce acid all the time, and they have to have food moving through their guts to deal with that acid.
Ahhhhhhh I'm so glad you mentioned that because I had the same thought but figured I was just overthinking it. It was in a confirmation text that they sent after the appointment, I'll definitely call and ask for clarification on that because the vet didn't say anything about stopping food at the appointment. For what it's worth, the text did say water after 9pm was ok. I'll call right now though.
Okay, so one of the vet techs answered and said no food or water after midnight instead of 9pm. I'm scheduled to drop her off at 8:45am tomorrow.
...thoughts?
(edit: now I'm furiously Googling it, this book here https://books.google.com/books?id=2NuoB ... ry&f=false sounds pretty convincing to me as far as not withholding food, at least for that length of time. I'm considering going partway and just doing 3 or 4 hours before with no food or water. Would that be stupid? The reason the tech gave me is because they didn't want the animal to throw up or choke on her saliva- wouldn't there be saliva in the mouth anyway- so... I dunno how much I trust them. I'm also really wary of disregarding medical advice though. Cause I'm not a vet, and neither is the Internet. But aaahhhhhh I don't know what to do)
...thoughts?
(edit: now I'm furiously Googling it, this book here https://books.google.com/books?id=2NuoB ... ry&f=false sounds pretty convincing to me as far as not withholding food, at least for that length of time. I'm considering going partway and just doing 3 or 4 hours before with no food or water. Would that be stupid? The reason the tech gave me is because they didn't want the animal to throw up or choke on her saliva- wouldn't there be saliva in the mouth anyway- so... I dunno how much I trust them. I'm also really wary of disregarding medical advice though. Cause I'm not a vet, and neither is the Internet. But aaahhhhhh I don't know what to do)