Post op

[Lovelypigys]

Hello, my Guinea pig Chandler was just neutered this morning. I’m just wondering if it’s normal for them to be more skittish for a while after surgery? We brought him in for 8:30 and picked him up at 1pm it is now 11pm. He has been snacking but he won’t eat a full amount and he hides if there’s a noise or I walk up to the cage. I haven’t seen him drink any water yet but I thought it might be normal the day of surgery. If it continues later tomorrow I will call it in but has anyone else experienced this?
Thanks.

 

[Piggies&buns]

It’s quite normal for them to be quiet or out of sorts in the hours immediately following anaesthetic.
Make sure you ensure he is eating hay properly.

The meds they give them during surgery would still be in his system but have you been given pain meds to give him at once home the surgery meds have worn off?

Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care

 

[Lovelypigys]

It’s quite normal for them to be quiet or out of sorts in the hours immediately following anaesthetic.
Make sure you ensure he is eating hay properly.

The meds they give them during surgery would still be in his system but have you been given pain meds to give him at once home the surgery meds have worn off?

Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care

I have seen him eat hay a couple times throughout the day and he has been prescribed pain meds for the next while. I’m just more worried about his water intake.

 

[Piggies&buns]

If he is moving around and otherwise happy then he will drink what he needs to. You can wet his veg to help increase his water intake if you are worried but they will only drink the amount they need and wetting veg and giving watery veg can stop them needing to drink from the bottle.

Continue monitor his weight to ensure he really is eating enough hay while he is recovering

 

[Lovelypigys]

If he is moving around and otherwise happy then he will drink what he needs to. You can wet his veg to help increase his water intake if you are worried but they will only drink the amount they need and wetting veg and giving watery veg can stop them needing to drink from the bottle.

Continue monitor his weight to ensure he really is eating enough hay while he is recovering

His veg is always thoroughly rinsed so water does stick, he has had veg three times today so I guess that could make sense of why he’s only been eating about half. I will continue to monitor him and if this continues I will be calling our wonderful vet! I just noticed he still hasn’t eaten his treat from when he got home today, poor baby must really not feel good
thank you so much.

 

[Wiebke]

His veg is always thoroughly rinsed so water does stick, he has had veg three times today so I guess that could make sense of why he’s only been eating about half. I will continue to monitor him and if this continues I will be calling our wonderful vet! I just noticed he still hasn’t eaten his treat from when he got home today, poor baby must really not feel good
thank you so much.

Hi

Please follow our practical post-op care advice. Here is our general link for post-op care: Tips For Post-operative Care

Switch to weighing daily first thing in the morning for best day-to-day comparison and if needed step in with either full-on feeding support or topping up feed, depending on what the scales are telling you. Keep in mind that the poo out is running 1-2 days behind and will initially reflect the operation gap, the ops drug cocktail and then recovery with usually some funny poos. Your kitchen scales will give you instant feedback and allow you to stay on top of the game right from the start.
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

You can find more information on post-neutering op care and the most common complications via our neutering guide which has been linked into the first post. Please take the time to read the information. It contains all the how-to advice and practical tips as well as the necessary in-depth information to help you assess your boy's state and know what to do.

All the best.