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Specialist Lump On Tummy

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I am so very sorry! I hope that there is no infection in her body. :(

Fingers very firmly crossed! And all the best for tomorrow!
 
Just weighed her after this fourth big feed and she has only lost 2g but there has been a downward trend. Worried and trying everything so if anyone has any hints that worked would love to hear them. Have given her a toilet roll tube filled with hay which she has had a gnaw at, she did eat a 'slice' of sweet corn in the night and, as I say, has small nibbles of hay and grass.
 
You are doing what you can - that is unfortunately all you can do right now. It is always so tough after such a major operation.
 
Thank you for you supportive words. You wouldn't believe how much I wanted to hear that tonight. X
 
Pogwen said:
Thank you for you supportive words. You wouldn't believe how much I wanted to hear that tonight. X
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I have been there myself with piggies of mine and know how dark the places can be when a piggy is starting to go downhill again despite your best efforts. :(

HUGS
 
So sorry to read your little pig is having such a rough time. When my Fred was on Zithromax he refused to eat anything himself. I had to syringe him thoughout the whole course I really do hope you will see a big improvement once the course is finished. It wasn't instant it took a week for him to return back to normal after the antibiotic course finished. I hope this is the same for your little one.
 
Thank you @flintstones How much did you feed him every day and of what? Also, did you feed him throughout the night? I'm feeding her every two hours in the day but am worried about her weight x
 
Fred had a jaw abscess, so slightly different locations he was also quite a good patient.

I normally get about 60ml's - 80ml's in a day and it can be a struggle. I always aim for 120ml's but have never got there. It depends is she eating anything herself? If she's nibbling that will make up some food. I'd just give her as much as you can. You've been given excellent advice on this thread. I know how draining it is but it'll be worth it when she recovers.

I was feeding Fred critical care - I would imagine she is losing some weight as she's not eating if it's not to big a loss I wouldn't worry to much.

Your doing a brilliant job.
 
Thanks for your help and lovely words. I will up it again today- she has already had over 20mls and will give her another 10+ in the next half hour. Just sitting with her on the lawn in the sun for a few minutes as being on the grass having a little nibble does revive her :-)
 
Oh bless she's lovely and she certainly has a caring owner. Hopefully once the antibiotics are finished she'll be feeling better.
 
Pogwen said:
Thank you @flintstones How much did you feed him every day and of what? Also, did you feed him throughout the night? I'm feeding her every two hours in the day but am worried about her weight x
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If you feed every two hours as much as she will take, you should be able to get a fair amount in. A perfectly healthy young adult guinea pig needs around 120ml in either hand feed or solids to keep their weight long term. This decreases with age; very old piggies for instance only need about 40 ml in a day to keep them going.

However, unless they are dental piggies or not able to chew for other reasons, they won't eat as much while they are ill. Your aim is to support your piggies as much as possible through the phase when their appetite is not or not fully there, but there is no fixed amount.

We have tried to formulate some rough guidelines in our hand feeding guide: https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/complete-hand-feeding-guide.115359/
They are based on the realistic experiences from people with plenty of practice in looking after dental, old and very ill piggies.
 
Hello: update. She still losing a bit of weight despite being fed about 65g and eating a bit of sweet corn, grass and hay yesterday. managed to speak to vet today. She is due in tomorrow first thing and will be admitted to have blood tests and possibly an X-ray to check if kidneys are functioning correctly, if the abscess wall is adhering to internal organs and all sorts of other things. This feels positive for me and hopefully we will understand what is going on with my beautiful little one. She is not as perky today.
 
Just heard from vet. My gorgeous little girl has come round from GA AND IS NIBBLING ON HAY. Stitches that kept the wound open have been removed- which was niggling her I think as she kept on going for them. All the blood tests are ok (apart from a slight elevation in liver enzymes which could be down to the not eating- but she can go on a supplement for that). No infection obvious in bloods but there is a small possibility that some infections cannot be detected. GOOD NEWS was last night she actually put on 4g - I had fed her 81mls in the day and she had nibbled on grass and hay and a little bit of broccoli, celery and sweet corn. So picking her up at 3 (just got home from dropping her off, getting a coffee and am starting out again in half an hour!) when she will be on an additional anti inflammatory and liver supplement as well as continuing with metacam and antibiotics (and manuka honey in the wound!). Will also be keeping up with the high energy powder (Emeraid) and Recovery food and mashed up pellets as hand feeding. Think that's everything! Thank you for all your support peeps! X
 
Great news, everything is looking up. Keep us updated on her progress your doing an amazing job. Your little girl is a very lucky piggy to have such a dedicated slave.

Give her a gentle cuddle from me, hope she gets better soon.
 
It does sound like the Zithromax knocked her appetite back. I have 3 piggies, all have had it at some stage, but one, Petal does not tolerate it at all well so much so that we have decided (The vet & I) that we won't use it as an antibiotic for her again, because of the side effects, one being loss of appetite & the other being that it really upsets her tummy after about 4 days :( Emeraid is expensive but is a really good high calorie supplement, you don't need to give as much as Recovery or Critical Care. I would not worry about her weight loss of 4g at all. In a day mine can fluctuate between a 20-30g weight difference depending on whether they have eaten, or just had a poop or a wee :) What dose of Metacam is she on & is it the cat or dog one? The most major thing I have noticed that suppresses their appetites is pain; get the pain meds balanced right & she will start eating better :)
 
Pogwen said:
Just heard from vet. My gorgeous little girl has come round from GA AND IS NIBBLING ON HAY. Stitches that kept the wound open have been removed- which was niggling her I think as she kept on going for them. All the blood tests are ok (apart from a slight elevation in liver enzymes which could be down to the not eating- but she can go on a supplement for that). No infection obvious in bloods but there is a small possibility that some infections cannot be detected. GOOD NEWS was last night she actually put on 4g - I had fed her 81mls in the day and she had nibbled on grass and hay and a little bit of broccoli, celery and sweet corn. So picking her up at 3 (just got home from dropping her off, getting a coffee and am starting out again in half an hour!) when she will be on an additional anti inflammatory and liver supplement as well as continuing with metacam and antibiotics (and manuka honey in the wound!). Will also be keeping up with the high energy powder (Emeraid) and Recovery food and mashed up pellets as hand feeding. Think that's everything! Thank you for all your support peeps! X
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That is very encouraging news! Hopefully, your gorgeous Dwynwen will be able to recover from that and feel soon better in herself. She has been through a major operation, and being on strong antibiotics won't have helped her appetite. All the best!

Please be aware that it can take a few weeks until the weight is coming back fully.
 
Poppy'sMum said:
It does sound like the Zithromax knocked her appetite back. I have 3 piggies, all have had it at some stage, but one, Petal does not tolerate it at all well so much so that we have decided (The vet & I) that we won't use it as an antibiotic for her again, because of the side effects, one being loss of appetite & the other being that it really upsets her tummy after about 4 days :( Emeraid is expensive but is a really good high calorie supplement, you don't need to give as much as Recovery or Critical Care. I would not worry about her weight loss of 4g at all. In a day mine can fluctuate between a 20-30g weight difference depending on whether they have eaten, or just had a poop or a wee :) What dose of Metacam is she on & is it the cat or dog one? The most major thing I have noticed that suppresses their appetites is pain; get the pain meds balanced right & she will start eating better :)
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Thanks for your comments. She's on 4.5ml metacam- don't know if it is dog or cat. My worry was more that she had lost 40g in the week but the last day actually put on 4 so I am starting to feel better as long as I keep up feeding her now the blood tests have been done x
 
Wiebke said:
That is very encouraging news! Hopefully, your gorgeous Dwynwen will be able to recover from that and feel soon better in herself. She has been through a major operation, and being on strong antibiotics won't have helped her appetite. All the best!

Please be aware that it can take a few weeks until the weight is coming back fully.
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Thanks Wiebke, hopefully it will start creeping up or at least stay the same for now and that she may start getting her appetite back x
 
Thought you'd like to see her chilling as soon as she got home. She's been next to me on the settee since she got home having regular syringes and nibbles of hay. I could only interest her in a celery leaf otherwise...oh, and a bit of grass of course! Part of me is so glad it has happened when the grass has started growing!

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Poor girl, that is a large wound! Glad that she is back home with you and hopefully recovering for good.

I would recommend that you try to tickle her taste buds with grass, fresh dandelion (dog/fox pee free) and fresh herbs like coriander, parsley or dill. The herbs can additionally help to perk her up with minerals and trace elements. These are generally the foods that go down best during recovery.
 
I didn't see your picture earlier that is a big wound indeed. Although she doesn't seem to phased by it all bless her. She's very chilled, wishing her a quick recovery.
 
All the herbs are tried on a regular basis and occasionally I get lucky and she eats a single leaf then doesn't want to know the next day so it's on to the next herb! I'm sure she's playing me :-)
 
How long does she have left on Zithromax? I'm convinced it stopped my Fred eating although it saved his life so was definitely worth sticking the course out.
 
Pogwen said:
All the herbs are tried on a regular basis and occasionally I get lucky and she eats a single leaf then doesn't want to know the next day so it's on to the next herb! I'm sure she's playing me :-)
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This is typical for an iffy appetite. Just be patient and carry on hand feeding; that is the main thing you can do right now. It gives her the strength to hang in there and to fight back. :(
 
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