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Bertie's op

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Oh god you poor thing you must be very worried.

If it is infected then it will feel hot to touch, from the picture it doesn't look that red, but then it is a pic so you cant always tell.

Its not swollen is it? Hows he doing now? It could still just be a bad reaction to the anaesthetic.

I really hope he gets through this. I don't know if it will help, but i know hopper haven have a lot of pigs castrated, she may be able to give you some advise.

Thinking about you :smitten: :smitten:
 
ok he is getting up and having a little walk, nibble etc. quite a lot now, but then stays on his vet bed sleeping and lying down, i think it's probably the metacam, and still a bit from the anaesthetic, however he seems a little more perky today. He is eating a bit, but not as much as he did before, so i am still supplementing it a little with science recovery and pureed veg etc. My main worries now are that he doesn't seem to be drinking at all, we are with him a lot and have not seen him drinking at all. So, i'm giving him water through a syringe every 2 hours cos i think it's very important, i'm also giving him the rehydration stuff. And the wound they seem quite inflamed, i will see if they're hot in a while, and he just looks a bit out of it. We are seeing the nurse tomorrow, so paws crossed it will go ok. :)
 
I am so sorry for you,this is very worrying.It does look as if there is infection.You could try bathing the area with a salt solution.Use cooled,boiled water that is warm.If you have any use sterile cotton pads or cotton wool.Very,very,gently press round the wound to see if there is any pus.

The aneastheitic will not be causing drowsyness after this length of time.I use Metacam when necesssary but have not noticed that it causes drowsyness.

You are doing right in pushing the fluids,every hour would be better than every two hours at the moment,if you have time.Keep up the syringe food intake as well.

I am not sure if I mentioned vitimin c to you before,but extra vit c will boost the immune system and help recovery.The one I use is Abidec baby vitimins.One drop per day.This is available from chemists and most supermarkets.

Good luck, you are doing well.
 
Infection hasn't caused this in my pigs when they've had an abscess (this is infection), I am sure he is in pain somewhere. Metacam does make some guineas drowsy- fact. It has, on the rare occasion I used it never happened to me but have heard of it happening and I know Vedra has seen this, not sure if its mentioned as a side effect on the bottle.

After anaesthetic the body is flushed with oxygen so he will not be feeling drowsy from that. I thought you could see someone for Rimadyl today? I would want a vet not nurse, this is more than just a post op check. Give fluids with the syringe feed as well.

What did Vedra say?
 
Great advice O0 O0

Just letting you know that what you're doing is fantastic love O0 :smitten: :smitten:
Keep it up you're doing real well.
Come on little Bertie, try to eat little fella you're worrying your mummy :( :(
Paws crossed for Bertie and sending all our love to you both :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
well in the end they said tomorrow, cos they are all booked or something crazy like that! :tickedoff: arghhh... anyway he should be ok with what i'm doing for now i hope.
he is eating a fair bit now not as much as he used to. my main worry is the not drinking at all. What is the reasoning for this? i will ask for the vet. O0
 
Yes I agree,he does seem to be in pain,this could be the reason for the drowsyness.Have you given any Metacam today?,you could give another drop after 8 hours.

Some piggies are not seen to drink much anyway,and they do get a lot of fluid from the veggies,especially "wet" veggies like cucumber.When I wash the veg under running water I do not shake the excess water off.

All you can do is keep giving the fluids and rehydration solution.I would alternate between plain water and the rehydration therepy. Give 2 or 3 mls .or whatever he will take ,at least once an hour.I agree with Karen that you need to see a avet,not a nurse.
 
yeah i'll demand to see a vet >:D he always used to drink quite a lot for a piggie.and when you'd sit with him and stuff, you'd see him drink occasionally. i will do every hour then. O0 ummm he's given 2 drops once a day, so i don't think i should give any more. i give it to him when i get up, so he has it early.
 
Hi Karen,

The bottle and carton do not list side affects but the leaflet inside the carton does.The problem is the product is formulated for dogs not gps,and the effects on dogs could be different to that on gps. Drowsyness is given as a very rare side affect .and only occurs in long term use.

I never give Metacam for more than 3 days on the trot anyway. I have never been over enthusiastic about this drug anyway.

You seem to like Rimydal, what are the side effects?.Anne uses Rimydal for post op pain,I will have to discuss this with her,maybe we should switch to Rimydal and stop using Metacam.

Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.
 
Hi, we use Rimadyl pre op so guinea comes round and is not in pain therefore eats sooner. Maybe you already do this? I'm sure I've heard of Arnica being given pre op somewhere too but because the Rimadyl is so effective I don't need it.

Side effects are long term use causes organ damage. It has been great for my OD satins who have got past the stage of coping with pain using Meadow Sweet syrup, they are going to die soon anyway so it doesn't really matter.

The usual problem is that vets prescribe too small a dose. I use 10mg x2 daily but only for a few days at the most. When pigs have broken injured limbs I'm sure you'll appreciate that a lower dose is sometimes better so they feel some pain and don't use their leg so aiding in recovery, but I've never had to use it for that. Use with caution but when you do use it use the right dose :)

Do make sure that you give feedback to the vet, nicely :)
 
do you think it's ok to give meadow Sweet Syrup with metacam? would this help? :-\
 
Thanks Karen,. I will have a chat with Anne re this. If Rimadyl is the safer option,I am all for trying it. I think my vets do give Rimadyl pre op,I have certainly never had any post op complications with pigs they have operated on.I have an excellent relationship with my vets, and they are always happy to listen to any suggestions .Anne learnt a lot from Peter,and is very open minded to considering new treatments etc.
 
PLEASE, PLEASE ask your vet to check in case his gut has herniated into the wound - I lost a piggy post-operatively from this complication which wasn't picked up by the vet until it was too late. If this has happened the gut may lose its blood supply and die, so Bertie could die from septicaemia (bacteria in the blood stream and multiple organ failure. It is a dreadful way to die and very painful.

Hope this helps (I only wish I had known about this complication before I had my piggy castrated).
 
Love you need to calm down... you're being given good advice and help :)
Go back to your basics, syringe feed mushed up pellets or the like and plenty of water as well...
Now do not panic, you must stay calm for the both of you O0 :smitten: :smitten:

Go give Bertie a cuddle and relax, then check him out again, then come back on line and tell what you think he's like ... O0
 
ok i gave him some more water and he's just had a nibble, he's lying down again now, and has been since quater to 11 :-\
 
Just a thought,the reason Bertie is lying down all the time may not be drowsyness,it could just be that it is painful for him to move around.
 
true, could be, would he be eating if his gut had herneated in the wound?
 
No, I wouldn't use Meadow Sweet with Metacam because I don't know if its safe. You would need to ask Belinda at Galens Garden about this, but your priority, as Glynis says is to keep doing what you're doing now. I looked up Arnica and it can't be used on sores or open wounds which is a shame ::)
 
ok, i am keeping that up O0 i had a look at his cuts and there is a tiny bit of yellow crusty stuff, but i think thats normal? it looks a little red round the actual cuts and a bit lumpy, the rest is more pink. it feels warm but i wouldn't say hot. he's coming out occasionally for a bit of a jog/walk round and a nibble, but is lying down and sleeping quite a lot.
 
Hi, i know i'm no expert and the advice which mary and karen are giving is far better than anything i could suggest but i just think that he's been through an op and every piggy must react differently to pain and trauma etc. My piggie Bumble, only had cystitis and was on a small course of Baytril and she hardly ate/was very drowsy etc but she was fine again after a couple of days, at the time i thought she was really sleepy and not herself but i've since realised she's always a bit lazy, i was just worrying because i was looking for something wrong, my other piggie Bee wasn't phased at all by medication etc. I know this doesn't really help but all i'm saying is that things can appear a lot worse than they are sometimes and i think because we love them so much we often worry about things that might happen and start to think the worst. You're doing the right thing, giving him pain meds and syringing food and water, and keeping an eye on him. In general it sounds as if he's doing ok, if he's eating and walking about by himself he may just feel exhausted by the whole ordeal, it's like humans, everyone's different. If it is infected there isn't much else you can do apart from carry on with the feeding until you see the vets tomorrow. I suppose what I'm trying to say is try not to worry too much (i know that's easier said than done) he's your piggie and you know him best, he's probably sitting there looking at you thinking 'what's going on? i'm only trying to sit here' lol, hope all goes well at the vets, sorry i'm not much help, love to bertie :) x
 
Hows he doing now. Don't worry about the intestines fallin out, if they had you would no. keep him fed and take him to the asap.
 
Sorry i didn't write much in my last post, computer was playing up. The chances are there is no infection if you are still using the baytril. He may be in pain and if you think the Metacam isn't working for him then you need to tell the vet, you must bare in mind that when the body is healing the animal will sleep more, same with people, however, this does not mean sleeping all the time. I don't really know why this is happening, but don't worry, keep up what you are doing.

Is he bothering with his wound? Was it glued or stitched?

What time is he going to the vets 2moro?
 
we aren't giving baytril. he's seeing the vet at 4 pm. he seems to sort of look at it lick it? a bit, but not worry it. he's not sleeping the whole time, he gets up etc. and then goes back. i'm not really worried about the sleepiness anymore, cos i think it's cos he's in pain, and as you say it's the body's natural healer. i am worried about him not drinking though, but at least he's eating a bit. anyway, the vet can check him over tomorrow and hopefully find a solution to this.
 
As long as you're giving water he'll be fine, maybe its an effect of the op or the Metacam? :) Who knows! I guess if its a bit sore down there the last thing you want to do is be passing anything do you think?
 
I've only just caught up with this. I'm so sorry to hear things aren't going so well for Bertie. Sending him love x
 
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