Ear wax or pus?

[*SRH*]

My guinea pig Rosemary had an abcess a little over a year ago. However, she has had regular outbreaks of white liquid in the ear which has normally gone within a day or two. However, today she has had more liquid then she has had before and I am not sure if it is earwax or the abcess coming back. I just thought that if it was over a year that she had it that it would come back.

Please may I have some advice on this. She will probably go to the vets tomorrow.

Thankyou.

 

[PiggiePal]

To be honest I've never seen earwax in a guinea pig. I'd say get her to the vet to have her checked out x

 

[Wiebke]

Please have her seen by the vet. Ear problems need to be taken seriously and properly treated!

All the best for your girl!

 

[*SRH*]

Thankyou. The vet told us to feel her jaw bones has a way of telling if the abcess has come back and we can feel them perfectly. She is eating, drinking and chirping like her usual self but I'm still worried.
Touch wood that if it is something it's an infection and not an abcess. She had her previous one by her brain and went under a major operation.

She gets on with her sisters so hopefully they have not bitten her to cause an abcess. But do you think it would be a good idea to take her sisters to the vets with her as she had trouble bonding back with them when she returned from surgury?

 

[Pebble]

Ear wax is normally much darker in colour and could signify ear mites.

However from what you describe...periodic white stuff coming from the ear...it sounds to me like this is a vets visit to treat an abcess or (more unlikely as ti deosn;t normally occur in the ears) a cyst.

In view of the length of time this has been recurring....and the location..if the vet wants to prescribe antibioitics then I would seriously talk to the vet about trying "off-license" zithromax first rather than the obligatory "on-license" baytril .....Zithromax (azithromycin) is a bit like Heineken for piggies (reaches the parts other antibiotics can;t reach)

If your vet wants to talk to someone about zithromax then Simon Maddox from Cat abd Rabbit Clinic Dunston Northampton is a keen supporter of this and has had many successes prescribing it with piggies with abcesses and deep-seated infections...however I don;t know when he is back from holiday.....

Happy to help in the interim by talking to your vet........just Pm me.

x

 

[*SRH*]

She went to the vets today and they think it is the abcess coming back but they said not to worry as long as she is happy and eating etc...

She was given baytrill for 7-10 days so hopefully it should sort it out. The managed to flush some of it away and there is no longer any gunk coming out.

I've just got to keep my fingers crossed and hope she pulls through.

 

[*SRH*]

Sorry to keep on asking questions but I feel that the abcess was discovered quite quickly. Could this make the abcess easier to treat as it would mean that it would not have spread as far into her? She was treated quite late with her last one and since it was so close to her skull, it meant that it could only be drained.

 

[GuineaPigMom]

Pebble -- I live in the US and am caring for my son's cavy -- a sweet little fella who has a lingering ear infection. Baytril (oral and ear drops) have proved ineffective. Our vet tells us she is sure the infection is encapsulated and requires surgery -- and in the US, even suggesting Zithromax for cavies is taboo. Lab reports advise against it, and exotic pet vets (ours, at least) start hyperventilating at the very mention of it. As it is, our little "guinea dog" is on daily doses of Baytril, for what appears likely to be the rest of his life.
While I think it's worth at least trying, I'm not a vet and cannot write the prescription. This is a "Just so you know..." sort of post in case there are others in the US who, like us, cannot find veterinarians who will prescribe Zithromax for cavies, but see it mentioned in these forums.