Need Some Help

[Anon--]

I'm new to this site and to the situation my guinea pig is in, but anyway to start things off I need to explain everything.

So about a week ago my guinea pig, Blake, had to be spayed to remove an ovarian cyst. The operation went fine and everything after that was going well, long story short she recently opened her wound a little and our vet had to put a restrictive body wrap on her to keep it from opening again and getting infected, and she absolutely hates it and started freaking out as soon as we brought her home. I've managed to calm her down for now, but any advice on how to keep her calm and how to deal with this kind of thing would be greatly appreciated. If you need me to explain a little more I will do the best I can.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Oh bless her. It can be very scary having to see these reactions but it's for her own good. I've not experienced a piggy having to have wounds covered but I know other forum members have so hopefully it won't be too long before someone can give you some more information

 

[Anon--]

Oh bless her. It can be very scary having to see these reactions but it's for her own good. I've not experienced a piggy having to have wounds covered but I know other forum members have so hopefully it won't be too long before someone can give you some more information

Thank you for your reply, it gives me hope that people will see this.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Thank you for your reply, it gives me hope that people will see this.

People will definitely see this. At least one of the health experts on here receives notifications for all posts in this section.

I take it your piggy is on pain relief still to keep her as comfortable as possible? I've had to have a piggy spayed in the past as an emergency due to ovarian cysts, it's so worrying to put them through

 

[Anon--]

People will definitely see this. At least one of the health experts on here receives notifications for all posts in this section.

I take it your piggy is on pain relief still to keep her as comfortable as possible? I've had to have a piggy spayed in the past as an emergency due to ovarian cysts, it's so worrying to put them through

We did have her on pain killers for the first few days after the surgery but as of recently the only thing they've administered is antibiotics because despite the wound she was acting normal.

Oh I know, this has honestly been the hardest thing for me to deal with when it comes to my time of owning guinea pigs. I haven't really dealt with a guinea pig who has gone through surgery, the last one we had that needed surgery made it through the operation but shortly passed away after it was done. She had cancer and it had already spread through her body, so as you can tell I'm pretty inexperienced as far as this process goes.

 

[piggieminder]

I'm not qualified to give you any advice on this but I send your piggy lots of healing vibes. I'm sure a qualified person will be along soon.

 

[Anon--]

I'm not qualified to give you any advice on this but I send your piggy lots of healing vibes. I'm sure a qualified person will be along soon.

Thank you.

 

[Wiebke]

I am very sorry; the fact that she is trying to re-open her wound is worrying, as it means that it is either not healing and/or there is a pain/major discomfort or another underlying issue that prevents smooth healing. I would ask the vets whether a painkiller may help.

A body wrap can freak out a guinea pig, as it can make it feel trapped. Unfortunately, it is important that she cannot get at her wound. Hopefully she will calm down once she realises that nothing bad is happening to her.
You can try to hold her in your arms and see whether she calms down a bit more, but she may still try to get rid of the wrap as soon as she is back in her cage. Please keep her in her usual surroundings and her normal daily routine as much as possible.

Here is our general guide for post-op care, but you are doing everything right by the sound of it. It can be a rather tense time: Tips For Post-operative Care

 

[Anon--]

I am very sorry; the fact that she is trying to re-open her wound is worrying, as it means that it is either not healing and/or there is a pain/major discomfort or another underlying issue that prevents smooth healing. I would ask the vets whether a painkiller may help.

A body wrap can freak out a guinea pig, as it can make it feel trapped. Unfortunately, it is important that she cannot get at her wound. Hopefully she will calm down once she realises that nothing bad is happening to her.
You can try to hold her in your arms and see whether she calms down a bit more, but she may still try to get rid of the wrap as soon as she is back in her cage. Please keep her in her usual surroundings and her normal daily routine as much as possible.

Here is our general guide for post-op care, but you are doing everything right by the sound of it. It can be a rather tense time: Tips For Post-operative Care

Thank you for the advice and the response, they told us everything seemed fine aside from the fact that it had reopened, but I'll talk to our vet and see if we can get some painkillers for her. She's going back to get the wrap removed and the scar checked in a few days, I just hope she can hold out until then.

I held her for a bit and she did manage to calm down a little more, but as soon as she's back in her cage I'll be sure to stick beside it in case she starts freaking out again. And thank you for the guide.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for the advice and the response, they told us everything seemed fine aside from the fact that it had reopened, but I'll talk to our vet and see if we can get some painkillers for her. She's going back to get the wrap removed and the scar checked in a few days, I just hope she can hold out until then.

I held her for a bit and she did manage to calm down a little more, but as soon as she's back in her cage I'll be sure to stick beside it in case she starts freaking out again. And thank you for the guide.

has she gnawed it open or is it more of an accident? The first argues that there is something not right because piggies with a normal recovery just ignore the operation scar; the second just needs protection to heal shut.

My 5 year old Iola had a spay for two large ovarian cysts in May. She is the latest of my sows to be spayed.

 

[Anon--]

has she gnawed it open or is it more of an accident? The first argues that there is something not right because piggies with a normal recovery just ignore the operation scar; the second just needs protection to heal shut.

My 5 year old Iola had a spay for two large ovarian cysts in May. She is the latest of my sows to be spayed.
View attachment 72530

I believe it was an accident, I had watched her closely since we began bringing her out and she hasn't really bothered with her scar she had been just occupied with exploring again. It looked fresh so it might have happened early this morning.

I hope she's doing well now.

 

[DM030819]

I would speak to the vet about the possibility of removing the wrap and upping the pain relief.

I've had two pigs open wounds. Neither time did they have to be wrapped. The first pig had it closed again by the vet as it was on his underneath. The second pig had his wound left open to heal and he did fine.