Full spay on 12 month old sow.

[Lazw]

Hi all, so my lovely 12 month old agouti sow bramble has gone in for a full spay this morning as she's been incredibly hormonal and the vet suspected some sort of cystic activity. I've just had the call to say the surgery is done, she was stable throughout the anaesthetic and that they'd been able to successfully remove both ovaries and the uterus. I'm a little shocked to hear there was already an infection in her uterus which was enlarged, with small ovarian cysts on both sides. She's only just gone a year old the poor mite, my question is-given there was clearly a lot more going on that we anticipated pre spay, is there anything more she might need in terms of recovery support at home? She's got to stay in for monitoring for at least another 6 hours, she's had IV antibiotics and K-laser treatment on both incisions (she's had bilateral flank surgery) and will be coming home on cotrimoxazole, loxicom and cisapride for 5 days. I intend to keep her warm and on fleece bedding, but is there anything else to consider?
Thanks in advance

 

[Sue and Smartie]

One of mine recently had the same surgery. The vet thought she would not be able to reach her wounds to chew at her stitches but she is more agile than the vet expected and managed to chew out all her stitches. Just watch out for that as we had to go back a couple of times to have her glued back together again!
Mine is 3 years old, with yours being younger I'd say you have every chance of her bouncing back in no time. Kanga was back to her usual demanding self within 24 hours of the op.

 

[Merab]

Glad the surgery went well.
Priscilla had a full spay a few weeks ago but fortunately no infection. They did give her some antibiotics for a possible respiratory infection but that turned out to be nothing more than dust in her airways.
She was on Loxicom for a week.
I kept her with her cage mates so she wouldn’t get stressed.
I made sure her bedding was clean to minimise the risk of the wound being infected.
I gave her some syringe feeding for the first couple of days to encourage her to start eating properly but by the 2nd day she was resisting the syringe and beginning to eat well.
She’s probably about 3.5 years old and has bounced back with no problems.

Just keep a careful eye on Bramble as she recovers and if you notice anything that concerns you go back to the vet.
Remember it takes a couple of days for the anaesthetic to work out the system so being a bit dopey and wobbly is to be expected.

Hope Bramble recovers quickly and well.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all, so my lovely 12 month old agouti sow bramble has gone in for a full spay this morning as she's been incredibly hormonal and the vet suspected some sort of cystic activity. I've just had the call to say the surgery is done, she was stable throughout the anaesthetic and that they'd been able to successfully remove both ovaries and the uterus. I'm a little shocked to hear there was already an infection in her uterus which was enlarged, with small ovarian cysts on both sides. She's only just gone a year old the poor mite, my question is-given there was clearly a lot more going on that we anticipated pre spay, is there anything more she might need in terms of recovery support at home? She's got to stay in for monitoring for at least another 6 hours, she's had IV antibiotics and K-laser treatment on both incisions (she's had bilateral flank surgery) and will be coming home on cotrimoxazole, loxicom and cisapride for 5 days. I intend to keep her warm and on fleece bedding, but is there anything else to consider?
Thanks in advance

Hi!

Good that you have caught whatever was going on very early on. I suspect a genetic disposition. She will hopefully will have a long and happy life because of that. At this young age, she is healing a lot faster compared to the mostly older sows that need a medical spaying op, so her chances of a problem-free recovery are accordingly higher, too.

Here is our detailed practical post-op care advice. If you haven't got any recovery formula at home, please ask your vet whether they could provide you with a bit, just in case because of the upcoming bank holiday. However, I sincerely hope that she will make a full and quick recovery.
Tips For Post-operative Care

Here is our Emergency and Crisis Care advice, just in case. Don't hesitate to contact an out-of-hours clinic if something is not right.
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

I would recommend to bookmark both links; especially the second one which contains all the necessary information so you do not have to spend hours on searching while in a panic.

 

[Lazw]

One of mine recently had the same surgery. The vet thought she would not be able to reach her wounds to chew at her stitches but she is more agile than the vet expected and managed to chew out all her stitches. Just watch out for that as we had to go back a couple of times to have her glued back together again!
Mine is 3 years old, with yours being younger I'd say you have every chance of her bouncing back in no time. Kanga was back to her usual demanding self within 24 hours of the op.

Thank you for your response. I'll keep an eye on this then because brvle is quite the agile piggy too!

 

[Lazw]

Glad the surgery went well.
Priscilla had a full spay a few weeks ago but fortunately no infection. They did give her some antibiotics for a possible respiratory infection but that turned out to be nothing more than dust in her airways.
She was on Loxicom for a week.
I kept her with her cage mates so she wouldn’t get stressed.
I made sure her bedding was clean to minimise the risk of the wound being infected.
I gave her some syringe feeding for the first couple of days to encourage her to start eating properly but by the 2nd day she was resisting the syringe and beginning to eat well.
She’s probably about 3.5 years old and has bounced back with no problems.

Just keep a careful eye on Bramble as she recovers and if you notice anything that concerns you go back to the vet.
Remember it takes a couple of days for the anaesthetic to work out the system so being a bit dopey and wobbly is to be expected.

Hope Bramble recovers quickly and well.

Thank you for your response. I'm going to keep her on her favourite noodle bath mats whilst she recovers, I'm just waiting to collect her now. I hope she does bounce back bless her

 

[Lazw]

Hi!

Good that you have caught whatever was going on very early on. I suspect a genetic disposition. She will hopefully will have a long and happy life because of that. At this young age, she is healing a lot faster compared to the mostly older sows that need a medical spaying op, so her chances of a problem-free recovery are accordingly higher, too.

Here is our detailed practical post-op care advice. If you haven't got any recovery formula at home, please ask your vet whether they could provide you with a bit, just in case because of the upcoming bank holiday. However, I sincerely hope that she will make a full and quick recovery.
Tips For Post-operative Care

Here is our Emergency and Crisis Care advice, just in case. Don't hesitate to contact an out-of-hours clinic if something is not right.
Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

I would recommend to bookmark both links; especially the second one which contains all the necessary information so you do not have to spend hours on searching while in a panic.

Thank you for your response. I will check these out now, and I hope that whatever it was we've caught it early enough and that the spay will make her more comfortable. Thankfully the vets are brilliant and very cavy savvy, and also a 24 hour emergency hospital so it's good to know I can contact them if I need to

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for your response. I will check these out now, and I hope that whatever it was we've caught it early enough and that the spay will make her more comfortable. Thankfully the vets are brilliant and very cavy savvy, and also a 24 hour emergency hospital so it's good to know I can contact them if I need to

That is great!

 

[Lazw]

That is great!

They are really great, I found them on these forums and I'm so glad I did . I'm a little confused however-on the loxicom bottle it says to start the course this evening, on the recovery advice sheet they gave me it says "your pet has had 2 different painkillers today and does not need any more at home"..... Do you have any idea what the usual protocol is on this?!

 

[Wiebke]

They are really great, I found them on these forums and I'm so glad I did . I'm a little confused however-on the loxicom bottle it says to start the course this evening, on the recovery advice sheet they gave me it says "your pet has had 2 different painkillers today and does not need any more at home"..... Do you have any idea what the usual protocol is on this?!

If you are in doubt, please ring the clinic. Post-op drugs should have time to be worked out of the system but guinea pigs have a faster metabolism than most common pets so it depends on whether the sheet specifically applies to guinea pigs, too, and what the dosage is. If in any doubt, please leave it off until tomorrow morning.

 

[Lazw]

If you are in doubt, please ring the clinic. Post-op drugs should have time to be worked out of the system but guinea pigs have a faster metabolism than most common pets so it depends on whether the sheet specifically applies to guinea pigs, too, and what the dosage is. If in any doubt, please leave it off until tomorrow morning.

Thanks, I just called them and they confirmed she needs it this evening and to ignore the helpsheet- I think I've been given one for dogs by mistake which is why it says dont give any more today!

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks, I just called them and they confirmed she needs it this evening and to ignore the helpsheet- I think I've been given one for dogs by mistake which is why it says dont give any more today!

No, you have been given the right metacam. Guinea pigs do better on dog strength than on cat strength, which is three time weaker and you need a syringe full to give a comparable dosage.

 

[Lazw]

No, you have been given the right metacam. Guinea pigs do better on dog strength than on cat strength, which is three time weaker and you need a syringe full to give a comparable dosage.

She LOVES it which is making medicine time much easier

 

[Wiebke]

She LOVES it which is making medicine time much easier ❤

Metacam contains a little honey. Pain medication needs to go down even a pet is not feeling like taking anything, so it is usually the best tasting thing.

 

[Lazw]

She LOVES it which is making medicine time much easier ❤

Metacam contains a little honey. Pain medication needs to go down even a pet is not feeling like taking anything, so it is usually the best tasting thing.

Update this morning - she's had all 3 of her meds again no issues and eaten a massive sprig of coriander afterwards, she's been up and about in her cage too and I've seen her eating her burgess pellets. There are quite a few poops with pointy ends on so ill keep an eye on this, but I think these may actually have come from her cage mate who obviously found yesterday really stressful too. She's back in her fleecy sleeping bag now so I'm leaving her be

 

[Lazw]

Update this morning - she's had all 3 of her meds again no issues and eaten a massive sprig of coriander afterwards, she's been up and about in her cage too and I've seen her eating her burgess pellets. There are quite a few poops with pointy ends on so ill keep an eye on this, but I think these may actually have come from her cage mate who obviously found yesterday really stressful too. She's back in her fleecy sleeping bag now so I'm leaving her be ❤

There's a little swelling under both flank incisions, I'm guessing this is a fairly normal reaction? She's got an appointment first thi g tomorrow morning anyway with the vet that did her surgery as she wanted to see her again within 48 hours of the surgery

 

[Wiebke]

Update this morning - she's had all 3 of her meds again no issues and eaten a massive sprig of coriander afterwards, she's been up and about in her cage too and I've seen her eating her burgess pellets. There are quite a few poops with pointy ends on so ill keep an eye on this, but I think these may actually have come from her cage mate who obviously found yesterday really stressful too. She's back in her fleecy sleeping bag now so I'm leaving her be ❤

Keep in mind that the poo output is always running one or even two days behind the event; that is why weighing daily at the same time is so important - it gives you up to date information about the food intake. Poos are always funny at first after an operation due to the operation cocktail and the feeding gap. Our post-op care link (in my first post) explains this. Well worth reading so you worry less!

Also keep in mind that unlimited hay is making around 80% of what a piggy needs to eat in a day (crucial for keeping the chewing back teeth ground down and the gut microbiome happy that is laid out for breaking grass/hay fibre down in two runs through the gut). Veg and 1 tablespoon of pellets per piggy per day are basically only taking the role of wild green forage for supplementing the vitamins, minerals and trace elements that do not come with fresh grass and hay. You cannot judge the hay intake by eye and have to switch from the normal weekly weigh-in and body check to weighing daily at the same the time in the feeding cycle. The weight swing over the course of 24 hours is about 30-40g, so you want to cut that out. Regular weighing allows you to step in much quicker and more nuanced with feeding support whenever necessary. It is one of the best tools we have for ill and recovering piggies.
Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[Lazw]

Thanks for this @Wiebke, I've just started to supplement her food intake with critical care as she's not really keen on coming out of the fleecy sleeping bag she's got. She's taking the critical care quite well straight from the syringe as I've mixed it with pro c probiotics and water which she seems to enjoy. As I'm typing this she's just plopped out of the sleeping bag and is eating her pellets from the bowl now actually . Her weight has decreased slightly (40g) since pre op so I will keep a close eye on this. She's a very lovely girl and I've taken a full week off work to nurse her next week, she will be sick of me after this! Thanks for the signpost to the articles, they're reassuring me that I'm more or less on the right track in terms of aftercare.

 

[Merab]

Sounds as if you’re doing everything right in caring for Bramble
I put a small dish of Critical Care with some banana mashed in into the cage just to help encourage eating.
Good to hear that she’s started eating for herself.
Your vet sounds excellent - which vet did you go to?

 

[Lazw]

Sounds as if you’re doing everything right in caring for Bramble
I put a small dish of Critical Care with some banana mashed in into the cage just to help encourage eating.
Good to hear that she’s started eating for herself.
Your vet sounds excellent - which vet did you go to?

I hope it's a positive sign, it was almost like after she'd had the syringe feed she thought "oh I do fancy something to eat actually" .

The vets are fantastic, it's Holly House veterinary hospital in Leeds. The vet I see usually is Agata Witkowska and she did the surgery, but I also see Richard Battersby there and have seen a vet called Ellie too. They're all exotics vets and I thoroughly recommend them . I found them on this forum actually x

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for this @Wiebke, I've just started to supplement her food intake with critical care as she's not really keen on coming out of the fleecy sleeping bag she's got. She's taking the critical care quite well straight from the syringe as I've mixed it with pro c probiotics and water which she seems to enjoy. As I'm typing this she's just plopped out of the sleeping bag and is eating her pellets from the bowl now actually . Her weight has decreased slightly (40g) since pre op so I will keep a close eye on this. She's a very lovely girl and I've taken a full week off work to nurse her next week, she will be sick of me after this! Thanks for the signpost to the articles, they're reassuring me that I'm more or less on the right track in terms of aftercare.

Hi!

That is about the weight of what has come out in the operation or the difference between before and after dinner, so she is doing really well! Just to help you put things into perspective...

 

[Lazw]

Hi!

That is about the weight of what has come out in the operation or the difference between before and after dinner, so she is doing really well! Just to help you put things into perspective...

I hope so..... She's a little quieter this evening but she was very enthusiastic at dinner time and she ate a bit of everything I put in. Ive had a better look at the incisions this evening too as I've just given her all the medications and they're both closed and look neat, they look dry too-one is completely flat, the other is swollen directly underneath the incision. She has the vets in 12 hours-I'm so glad they wanted to check her again within 48 hours of the surgery.