Abscess advice needed!

[may_haines]

My little piggy, Bing-Bong has just turned 2 and has an abscess on his lower back, diagnosed by vet. They drained it and sent me home with pain killers and directions to clean it with saline twice a day, and flush it with a syringe where I can. Last night I managed to properly flush it and this morning when I cleaned it, luckily it doesn't look like it's filled back up with pus. I have a follow up with the vet next week after a week of cleaning it twice daily where she said we can assess if surgery is needed. I'm a bit worried because Bing-Bong is a bit overweight, he is on a diet which is working well but I feel like this could cause complication under anaesthetic? Can anyone advise from their experiences whether this is an issue?

Also she recommended I separate him from his cage mate, Boo, so I've set them up with a grid between them so they can see each other but can't get to each other. Problem is all night Boo has been trying to get through to Bing-Bong and after reading mixed things about separating them, I'm wondering if I should let them be back together? I'm worried Boo will try tend to the wound and make it worse, but also don't want to cause them stress by separating them?

Can anyone help with advice as to whether surgery would be a good idea or if I should try the antibiotic route instead? And whether I should keep them separated or let them back in with eachother? Any help appreciated, I'm so worried about my little ones, thank you!

 

[Piggies&buns]

I'm sorry to hear this

I'm very surprised he’s not on antibiotics anyway.
Sometimes surgery is needed to remove the whole abscess capsule so it can’t refill. It’s for your vet to determine following hands on check.

We generally do not advise separating piggies on medical grounds unless absolutely essential. There is a chance it can harm a bond plus separation is stressful for them.
If you do need to continue with the separation, any separation lasting longer than a day means they need to go through the proper rebonding process of being put on neutral territory. You can’t just remove a divider and allow them to wander into each others side - it could be seen as a territory invasion and cause a fight.

Regarding him being overweight - how was that determined? If it is just by the number on the scales alone rather than by checking his heft, then I would take it with a pinch of salt.
What is his diet?

 

[weepweeps]

Hello. I’ve had a piggy with a tooth root abscess. Heres the thread if you like to take a look. There is a lot of advice in it which may help you.

Dental? Pepper is off to the vets tomorrow

Zithromax is a very good AB for abscesses.
Also I wouldn’t separate unless the other piggy is bothering the wound.

 

[Bertie & Jelly]

One of my boys had an abscess inside his boy bits earlier this year. I was advised that surgery would be best to remove it entirely but given its tricky location and his age (4.5) I opted for antibiotics to start with. It was a long haul, many vet visits for flushing (due to it‘s location I couldn’t flush it myself) and we had to change antibiotics a couple of times as the bacteria changed but he did get through it with just a little scar tissue. I know it could come back but in his case the location of the abscess made surgery a risky option.

 

[Freela]

Sometimes abscesses don't go away with lancing/draining and antibiotics... they can refill and cause ongoing issues. In that case, if they're in a conveniant location, the vet can do surgery to remove the entire capsule (the 'walls' of the abscess) so that it doesn't reform. This typically solves the problem. If it's possible to do this, I would go for it. There are always going to be risks with anesthesia, and you should discuss that your vet to make sure it's being done as safely as possible. That said, I've had quite ill guinea pigs go under anesthesia without issues... I've even had senior hamsters have anesthesia without issues. And there are health risks that come with prolonged open wounds and such too. All the best to your little guy as you and your vet discuss the options.

 

[Betsy]

My RB Piggy had an HUGE abscess that was removed by the vet.

This was all you could see on the outside



This was what came out!



The operation took an hour and the abscess was stuck to most of his internal structures including his femoral artery!

 

[Betsy]

My RB Piggy had an HUGE abscess that was removed by the vet.

This was all you could see on the outside

View attachment 231133

This was what came out!

View attachment 231134View attachment 231135

The operation took an hour and the abscess was stuck to most of his internal structures including his femoral artery!

Christian recovered well from his abscess surgery and lived happily with his wifelets for another couple of years. In places the abscess was 1 cell thick and close to bursting.