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I think Fitz has an Abscess

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Niki

Niki

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I've just been weighing everyone & was "inspecting." Fitz seemed to have what looked like a tiny patch of "matted hair" under his tum, it looked a bit like a graze on his skin, but it was a hardened mass, approx 1.5cm long, i squeezed it & out came pus & blood & has left a 3mm hole. I am mortified that i didn't discover this earlier, i just didn't see it yesterday but it must've been there.

I've given him 0.3ml of Baytril & have flushed the hole with salt water, nothing else has come out of it but the surrounding skin is rather red, he's not off his food & is behaving no differently to normal (I wouldn't 've known there was anything wrong with him).

He also had a "plug" in his penis, the past few days Arthur has been mounting him quite a lot so am assuming this is why the plug was there but could this abscess, i'm assuming that's what it is, have been caused by a bite or is it just "one of those things?"

I've separated them; Fitz is indoors on vet bed & i'll be taking him to the vets Monday, is there anything i should be doing for him or to the "wound?"

If it wasn't caused by a bite will it be ok for Arthur to join him indoors or should they stay separated? i don't want him to fret for Arthur if they don't need to be apart, i don't know what to do for the best :-\

These are the best pics i could get of it

FitzAbscess13107.jpg

FitzAbscess13107-1.jpg
 
Aw poor Fitz, dont feel guilty, Ralfies did come up within hours so fitz may have just got this today. I'm sure he'll be fine with a bit of baytril and a few flushes, get better soon Fitz xxxxxx
 
Looks like an abcess.Salt water is fine,or you could you diluted Hibiscrub.I would give 0.4ml of Baytril.I sometimes pack the hole of an abcess with High Potency Manuka Honey.


Give a vitimin c supplement for a few days to help fight the infection.

It should clear up in less than a week.
 
I don't think it will have been caused by a bite, its seems an awkward place for Arthur to reach? i think you'd be ok to bring Arthur in too, maybe he's grazed it on a bit of wood or bedding or something as he's been walking? xx
 
jnenbnb said:
I don't think it will have been caused by a bite, its seems an awkward place for Arthur to reach? i think you'd be ok to bring Arthur in too, maybe he's grazed it on a bit of wood or bedding or something as he's been walking? xx
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Thanks Emma, i did think it a strange place for Arthur to have bitten him but lately he's been a "mounting menace" ::)
 
maryh said:
Looks like an abcess.Salt water is fine,or you could you diluted Hibiscrub.I would give 0.4ml of Baytril.I sometimes pack the hole of an abcess with High Potency Manuka Honey.


Give a vitimin c supplement for a few days to help fight the infection.

It should clear up in less than a week.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much Mary - am i right in keeping him indoors on vetbed until it heals?
 
Yes,but you will not be able to put him back outdoors again as the nights are getting colder now and piggies do not deal with temperature change very well.
 
maryh said:
Yes,but you will not be able to put him back outdoors again as the nights are getting colder now and piggies do not deal with temperature change very well.
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The piggies all live in a shed in hutches with woollen curtains at the fronts to keep draughts out, the indoor cage i have isn't really big enough to keep 2 in all the time, i only use it for "hospitalisation" :-\
 
Another option is to flush with Baytril (as well as giving orally). I used Manuka on a boars abscess once but he kept licking it off- which was fine but I didn't like taking the chance of him ingesting any pus, I think it would all be accidental and I'm just paranoid but they do love Manuka. Licking would probably aid the healing process too so I don't know :D

If your heating isn't on he'll probably adjust OK :)
 
karenrgpr said:
Another option is to flush with Baytril (as well as giving orally). I used Manuka on a boars abscess once but he kept licking it off- which was fine but I didn't like taking the chance of him ingesting any pus, I think it would all be accidental and I'm just paranoid but they do love Manuka. Licking would probably aid the healing process too so I don't know :D

If your heating isn't on he'll probably adjust OK :)
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No heating on in the bedroom, which is where he is (quiet & away from the dogs) :)

How many times a day should i be flushing it & with how much Baytril?

Sorry for all the questions but i've no experience of an abscess/cyst (whichever it is) :-\
 
We flushed Ralfies twice a day with a formula from the vets, dont know what kind of reputation this formula has but it worked with Ralfies x
 
I flush them twice daily at first (except for the really bad ones).

I used Haartmans Solution (10ml) with 1ml of Baytril- I think, I don't have the notes to hand but am pretty sure thats the amount of Baytril used ::) Haartmans can be substituted with Ringers or whatever your vet uses, invest in a 10 ml syringe and some blue canulas. This method worked very well and quick for a tooth root abscess one of my pigs had.
That said you may need half the amount of solution to flush it, remember to half the Baytril if you half the Haartmans.
 
karenrgpr said:
I flush them twice daily at first (except for the really bad ones).

I used Haartmans Solution (10ml) with 1ml of Baytril- I think, I don't have the notes to hand but am pretty sure thats the amount of Baytril used ::) Haartmans can be substituted with Ringers or whatever your vet uses, invest in a 10 ml syringe and some blue canulas. This method worked very well and quick for a tooth root abscess one of my pigs had.
That said you may need half the amount of solution to flush it, remember to half the Baytril if you half the Haartmans.
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Thanks Karen :)
I have a variety of syringes & will ask the vet for blue canulas, failing that i might have to take a trip to my ward at the hosp ;D ;D
 
Oh Niki we're sorry to hear about Fitz and see the nasty result :tickedoff: :tickedoff: :tickedoff: i hate abscesses >:(

Duke is sending lots of manly wheeks and brrrrrrrrrrrrrr's for his little friend :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
and i'm sending gentle kisses on those cute ears and nose of his :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
He's doing marvellously :smitten: :smitten:

He has twice daily salt washes (sit him in a bowl) & then i flush it - it'd healed over this morning but i opened it back up & it's bleeding bright red blood which i take to be a good sign.

Do they have a "core?"

I've been able to see "something" but didn't know what it was, this morning i shaved him to prevent hair getting into it & tonight whilst flushing this "worm" thing came out - it was a pinky/white colour & sank to the bottom of my bowl. I did think it may have been a piece of hay but the hay he'd had on his leg floated. :-\

Snoopy had to investigate it & thought it was hair - so my question now is Do piggies get ingrowing hairs? Could this have caused it, like it does in humans?
 
I don't know the answer to that, Niki.

Really glad that you are managing so well O0
 
:o :o :o oh wow, a core, mmmmm do you think it might've been puss and hair together?
Good that it's bleeding clear and no gunk O0
Sending healing wheeks and lots of looooooves for the darling Fitz :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
is Uncle Arthur still looking after him? :smitten: :smitten:
 
Glynis said:
:o :o :o oh wow, a core, mmmmm do you think it might've been puss and hair together?
Good that it's bleeding clear and no gunk O0
Sending healing wheeks and lots of looooooves for the darling Fitz :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
is Uncle Arthur still looking after him? :smitten: :smitten:
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It could quite well have been pus & hair - there was lump of something on there.

Uncle Arthur is being an absolute 0:) I made the pair of them a run out of a playpen so they're not stuck in a 1m cage all day. Had to bulldog clip a sheet all around it so they can't get thru' the bars - it looks like a bedouin tent :smitten: :smitten:
 
When Ralfie had his the vet said abscesses come from the skin being weak, either due to a bite or wound or through sitting in wee (like Ralfie) and she said the wound gets infected so a hard bit of skin forms as a kind of barrier to infection because the skin was weak in the 1st place and thats why they're quite hard to keep open (I'm probably not making sense here) she showed me the hard skin and it was on the inside of the abscess so could it have been this that broke off or something? i dont think it would be a bad thing if it was x
 
jnenbnb said:
When Ralfie had his the vet said abscesses come from the skin being weak, either due to a bite or wound or through sitting in wee (like Ralfie) and she said the wound gets infected so a hard bit of skin forms as a kind of barrier to infection because the skin was weak in the 1st place and thats why they're quite hard to keep open (I'm probably not making sense here) she showed me the hard skin and it was on the inside of the abscess so could it have been this that broke off or something? i dont think it would be a bad thing if it was x
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It could have been that Emma, i could see it like at the side at the bottom but couldn't get a hold, this makes total sense too - i'm glad it's out whatever it was :)
 
Oh Niki it sounds like they had so much fun :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
LOL a bedouin tent ;D ;D ;D ;D
 
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