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Post by fatpiggy2010 on May 23, 2010 18:15:58 GMT
last week, i took my one guinea pig to the vet to get an oversized tooth looked at. i was in the parking lot about to grab the box that he was in and i guess he decided to be curious and lean over the one side of the box after i took the seatbelt off. the box and him fell on the concrete and the tooth ended up breaking off. fortunately, the tooth broke off cleanly and he didn't cut or break anything. in a way, it was good it happened because i didn't have to pay for them to file it down. the little guy got a lot of treats and affection that night and he is doing fine. now the other one has a busted absess. i noticed on friday that his fur was really matted up in the one spot. so i went and got baby shampoo and decided to give him a bath to see what was up. lo and behold it was an absess and there was pus everywhere. i tried desperately to call my vet for an appointment, but the vet that deals with exotic pets is only there certain times. so i squeezed as much pus out as i could. i couldn't keep doing it because it was really causing him pain. i washed him up good, but gently, and have been putting warm compresses on it everyday. the wound is about 1/2 inch wide, but is uncovered and draining really well. i was going to put neosporin on it, but the nurse advised against that because it had to drain. i can't take him to the vet until next saturday, so i am just going to keep the warm compress on him everyday and give him another bath the middle of the week. he seems fine, bouncing around and eating like a, well, pig like he usually does. luckily the wound isn't where any bedding can get into it. i can see why the hospital can't keep that vet working everyday because they would waste money on him considering most people don't have pets like this, but he should at least be on call. i am going to see if i can get an email address from him and see if i can communicate with him if anything happens just to get some advice. what a bad week  |
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Post by Orlaith on May 26, 2010 9:23:32 GMT
Poor piggies! I'm glad things worked out okay with the tooth though.
As for the abscess, you're doing the right thing, just keep draining and cleaning it. One of my boys had an abscess and when we took him to the vet, the vet cut an incision in it (it hadn't burst) and drained it, then he washed it with surgical stuff and then rinsed the wound out with baytril and we had to keep massaging it for a few days after and we had to put him on antibiotics for a week to clear the infection. So by draining it you're doing a great job.
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Post by Orlaith on May 26, 2010 9:24:46 GMT
Oh, also, perhaps the exotic vet works between two different places so you could ask if there's somewhere else you could bring him to when he's not at your regular vet.
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Post by fatpiggy2010 on May 26, 2010 20:37:53 GMT
been trying to clean it as best we can, but there is still pus. i have tried squeezing it, gently swabbing with q-tips, but it won't all come out. i plan on giving him another both tonight to wash what did drain and try to flush the area with water to loosen it up.
i honestly don't trust the other vet in my area. they really paid a hefty price for their new building and overcharge.
if he was listless and not eating, etc. i would probably take him sooner, but so far he has been his usual pain in the arse self lol
unfortunately, now the one who lost his tooth is showing a puffy/red eye i noticed yesterday. i am hoping i can take a close up and show the vet and see if he can give me a cream.
i hope i don't sound like a bad person, but i just can't afford to take both of them after already taking both of them separately in the last 2 weeks.
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Post by Orlaith on May 27, 2010 12:28:47 GMT
Well with our boy we weren't able to get much out for a few days, but after a few days we got a lot of really hard white stuff out (it was totally gross and really hurt little Xander), but when we rang the vet he said it was the lining of the abscess and we were allowed to let it close then. So just keep trying your best to drain it. It can take a while and even though it's awful, you might have to hurt your piggy to get it clear, but it's for the best. I know it's not nice to hear those squeaks, but all that pus really needs to come out.
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Post by caroline on May 27, 2010 21:29:35 GMT
Hope your piggies are ok -my rabbit got a big lump under his neck (his dewlap) took him to the vets who thought it was an abscess, stuck a needle in it but just loads of fluid came out. took him back a couple of days later and the vet cut a hole in the lump to let the fluid out however a few days later I noticed all his fur was wet and matted and when I took a closer look realised that the lump had been leaking, gave it a little squeeze and load of pus came out. Because his fur was matted his little neck was sore so have managed to cut the fur right back and have been squeezing the pus out each day for the last 5 days. I have been giving him baytril which the vet originally gave me when I first went to see him. Today hardly anything came out and the lump has gone right down. I think you are doing the right thing and this is probably what the vet would tell you to do but charge you loads for telling you
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Post by fatpiggy2010 on May 28, 2010 16:00:51 GMT
we take him tomorrow. the wound hasn't gotten any better, but it also hasn't gotten any worse either. gave him a bath yesterday. it's funny. i didn't think he would initially like baths, but i think he loves the feeling of the water. tried to squeeze again yesterday to no avail.
more warm compress today. i am sure the vet will have an easier time squeezing that out than i would. he is still bouncing around and eating like he normally would, which i think is a good sign.
i am going to be straight forward with the vet and ask how much it's going to cost to get him fixed up before he even does anything. i set a limit of 150 (US) bucks, so i am hoping this is all it costs. if it's more, i'm hoping he gives me instructions on what to do myself.
if he has to do it and it's too expensive, i am afraid i may have to put him down. i am hoping this doesn't make me sound horrible. i have been raising guinea pigs for 8 years and have loved them all to death. but money is just too tight right now for me to be spending.
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Post by sammi25 on May 28, 2010 21:07:08 GMT
I am going thou the same with mine took her to the vets beganing off may with lump all they said is they thought 1 off my girls had drop her lump came up cause off it truns out one off her babys hav bitten her got invected trun into adsess pop by its self today and vets saved area where is draied rest off gave her antybyockis go to go back in week have to bath her eveyday if gose pusey again hav to get it out she only had babys 7 weeks ago now this she only 7 months old  x Hope your peggy ok good luck up vets tomoz |
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