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terramycin and guinea pigs

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choloe

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firstly, i am in australia, zoe is nearly 3.5 years old and before chrissy we noticed she was acting out of character so took to the vet. he said she was getting too much sugar. so we cut out all the sweets, about 2 weeks later zoe started to bleed it wasn't coming from where she urinates nor where she passes faeces it was just below this. this was on a saturday around 5.00pm. no vets up here were open so had to go 40kms to the emergency vet who knew nothing about guinea pigs. so we left her in over night. they treated her for an infection of uterus where she had to have 3 injections of terramycin spread 1 every 3 days. well she got better and was like a baby again. last injection was chrissy eve. well janauary 2nd she started to bleed again, had no penion until pension came in but our vet always lets us pay when we can. she got another injection and were told to go to the animal hopsital at trinity gardens-40kms away, well they wouldn't see her as we had no money. so we ended up taking her to a vet up here, who said she could feel a mass in zoe's abdomen size of index finger to the knuckle. she said 3 opitions x-rays which wouldn't show much, ultra sound, or surgery. to come back on saturday for another injection. which we did, this was same vet surgery but different vet, she said she could feel different lumps to what the other vet felt, and suggested xrays and she gave zoe 100mls of terrmycin in her back, zoe weighs 0.9kgs. is this too much terrimycin? i don't know what it is like where you live but here in south australia we can't find vets that know about guinea pigs, we had one but for some reason he retired. the reason zoe got the injection today was just to give them time to do research in how to treat zoe. zoe i sindoors and is here with me with the fan on as it is 37C here today-am so over summer, cool change tomorrow but back to 41C by thursday. i feel they are using zoe as a guinea pig and don't know what they are doing. zoe has never had 100mls of terrmycin before and has always had it in the neck not on her back. i have about 20 guinea pig books but could find nothing there to help me. any help would be gratefully appreciated. sorry for the lost post. :tickedoff:
 
Hi, sorry to hear you are having so many problems :-\ I found this info on the drug used-if it is this then they shouldnt have administered it as it is from the penicillin family and this should never be used on guineas :(
I am sure someone more knowledgeable will be along soon, hope she is ok.

http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/oxytetracycline.htm
 
My sow was treated with Baytril for a womb infection.

She could have an abscess in her abdomen or tumour. I've had an abdominal abscess successfully removed, but don't think there's a lot you can do for tumours?

Has she had pain killers? Is she eating OK?
 
yes zoe is okay so far, she is eating, drink and active as can be with the heat we're having. she has had terrimycin before just never such a large dose. and she has never had it in/near her rump before. before christmas she was on metcam. she isn't in any pain unless you touch her private area. the vets are trying to work out what is the matter with her they are leading towards her uterus/ovaries as she has never had a litter. they feel she may have to remove her uterus. will find out more tuesday was just worried about the injection. thanking you for your replies. :)feel free to email me. you are so lucky in the Uk where so much is known on guinea pigs. here in australia while they are popular very little is known by vets.
 
What sweets were you giving her?,piggies should have nothing with sugar in.Any treats you give should be favourite veg.
Does she has symptoms of ovarian cyst, i.e. bilateral hair loss on the sides,hair loss on the tummy, and humping other sows.

I feel an x ray should be done because this would show up any tumour.If a tumour is present, surgery may be the only answer.Hysterectomy is a very big op for a gp,so you would have to weigh up age,weight ,general condition.If the bleeding is definately coming from the vagina,it is quite likely that it is a tumour.

Baytril is a safe antibiotic for piggies and can be given orally.
 
A hysterectomy isn't needed for cysts, a Chorulon injection much less intrusive. Personally I wouldn't let my sows have a Hysterectomy even for a tumour, I feel its too invasive, but its up to you :)

I wonder if the blood is coming from the bladder if she cries when they touch her genitals, could be there's a stone there, would have thought they'd check for that though, worth a mention and I agree with Mary H about a scan/xray.

07721 026401 to text/phone your message to Vedra at the Cambridge Cavy Trust for dosage of Chorulon. That a UK mobile number so you'll probably need a code in front of it?
First you need to find out what it is.
 
hello sweets were sweetcorn, watermelon and rockmelon rind, apple.
you have the private area where there is a small opening which is where the urine come out, then you have a larger opening where she opens her bowels. well the bleeding is coming just below that. as soon as they put her on the terramycin(usually smaller dose) the bleeding stops in less than 24 hours.
keep all the suggestions coming and i will let the vet know things to consider. they did mention xrays and scans, but said that xrays most probably would show anything as it would be hard to tell what is a lump, wind etc.
the blood is NOT coming out with the urine nor with the bowels it just seems to flow out a small amount a red/brown colour. hoping this helps. will be back later to check for response at it is 2.45am sunday or feel free to email me. forgot, she is losing hair like molting but isn't humping anyone else as she is by herself, the cage is halved with jessie on the other side. and it is usually zoe that gets humped by jessie and choloe until choloe passed away 2 years ago.
thanking you in advance. :o
 
Awwww poor little girl :( Hope she stops bleeding as thats quite bad :P

So shes eating fine and drinking fine ?
If its below any of the openings then maybe its just dripping down from one of them or maybe she has a cut there as blood cant come from no where ;D

Lets hope the vets know exactly what they are doing 100% before they do anything to her O0 Its strange how a different vet gave her more of a dosage and in a different place though ? sounds like they know nothing about guinea pigs :-\
 
Sounds like blood from the womb then if it doesn't come out with urine?

Are there balding patches of hairloss or just ordinary hairloss?
 
iloveanimals
you made me laugh and cry when you said hope they know about guinea pigs, this is australia, vets aren't trained to treat guinea pigs and most people think why take a guinea pig to the vet and waste money when it is cheaper to just buy a new one.
we have had guinea pigs for years and haven't found a piggy vet, if you go to the thread on bloat you can read how we lost one of our babies because of bad vets. one had the nerve to ask me if petal had thrown up.
anyway back to zoe it would have been about 2 weeks before the bleeding started she started to wet herself and around that area she had lost hair, but hair has grown back and she has stopped wetting herself.
i wished we did live in the UK where vets see guinea pigsnearly every day, vets here hardly ever see a guinea pig. so my guinea pig zoe is a guinea pig, this is why she was given an injection of terramycin instead of finding out what is causing the bleeding (which has stopped) to give the vets time to do research on how to treat zoe. they have no idea what so ever. and i have rung over 30 vets and they all hardly ever see guinea pigs so don't know how to treat them. it is shocking here. guinea pigs, rabbits and birds haven't s decent vet. it is all dogs, cats, horses and stock. and it ticks me off! :tickedoff:
 
but maryh
you are in the UK i am in australia. i do think that is a bit far to go for a vet visit. though i do have lots of cousins i have never met in nork yorkshire. i would be the happiest person on the planet if i could find a guinea pig vet. but here in south australia they are a rare breed. and its the poor animals that suffer. :tickedoff:
 
I am not suggesting you visit UK!.
If you read the pm I have sent,you will understand what I mean.
 
hi,
i am sorry, i thought i would add a bit of humour. and your message wan't here when i checked. and as i only joined a few hours ago i had to find where the messages were. i will email anne now, our vet is ringing us tomorrow monday, they are reading books doing research on how to treat zoe. i enjoyed his book you could feel the love he had for GP's as you read the words. and i adored his hutch going all the way along the room. thank you for your help, is your vet open on sundays? as with the time difference our vet will ring before anne gets my message. to give you an idea it is 5.12am sunday morning here. all of you have been amazing and i wish this forum exsisted before. it may have saved petal and rosie, not choloe as she had a tumour wrapped around her little bladder, so we had to decide not to let her wake up from the surgery. but maybe we can help zoe and i want to say thank you. :smitten:
 
Thats great, I hope Marys vet can help you :) Keep us posted and let us know what the problem is :)
 
hi all,
maryh's vet and ours have emailed eachother, zoe was suppossed to get an ultrasound today but the lady who does them was ill. so zoe goes back tonight 7.00pm our time to get another terramycin injection. half of us want to know what is wrong with zoe but then the other part doesn't want to know. zoe is still eating, drinking, relieving herself nicely and not losing blood. there is still talk by our vet that if it is zoe's ovaries or uterus zoe will have surgery so am hoping maryh's vet can change our vets mind on that one.
before i close i just want to thank you all for all your replies and friendy nature and your willingness to help. you are all amazing and i am so happy i found this site and all you wonderful people and cavies. :)
 
I don't have much experience yet with my new guinea but I can tell you, the people on this board have been so helpful to me with my sick guinea. I don't know what I would have done without them. I'm sure you are going to get wonderful advice. I will be sending wishes your way for your baby! I hope they find out the problem. I'm sorry you can't get an experienced guinea pet. I have to say, here in the states, they have wonderful exotic animal vets, but you will have to pay twice as much as a regular vet. I hope you find someone to take good care of your little one. Here come some wishes to you..............
:smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
thank you annie,
thanks to the wonderful maryh her vet is corresponding with my vet and hopefully zoe will get the ultrasound on friday, the vet is leading towards zoe's ovaries, which if so zoe will be treated with cholurun(spelling) and if that doesn't work surgery. zoe has also a rabbit's problem a blocked tear duct so am washing it our with cold tea twice a day.
i quite agree with you about the wonderful caring people on this forum and their knowledge of their guinea pigs blows me away. hope you too get the help for your angel.
enjoy your evening i think it is wednesday where you are as it is early thursday morning here-3.36am. zoe is still happy, eating, drinking and you would never know she was sick.
thanks again. :) :smitten: :smitten:
 
can anyone explain to me(like i told you i am eager to learn) how could 3 vets feel a mass in zoe's abdomen and then last night POOF it's no longer there.
how could this happen? also if it is zoe's ovaries i can't see where that explains the weight lost. hoping you or anne can clear this up for me as it as usual has me stumped.
zoe is booked in for tomorrow for her ultrasound. it is 1755 here in australia january 10th. will post agin once we know more. thank you all again. ? :o :)
 
just got back with zoe from the vet. frankly we aren't any better off! the ultrasound showed she had wind in her stomach due to the antibiotics, for this she is on 1 gram in 1 litre of water of protexin powder.
a guinea pig's ovaries and tubes and uterus are roughly 1mm wide zoe's is 3mm's wide. it looked as if the left ovary was attached to the kidney. also behind the reproductive organs there is a 3mm long mass which looks like tissue but has a solid mass in the centre.
the vet is talking about removing her reproductive organs but wants to talk to anne first so will have to wait until monday so they can decide on a course of action that is best for zoe and less stressful for her.
because we handle zoe alot they didn't even need to sedate her for the ultra sound she behaved like an angel until put back in her carry bag and she tugged the hell out of her bag. as to whether the mass is a tumor the vet doubts it but isn't ruling it out.
will let you know more when we know more. :-\ :-\ :-\
 
awwww love as i said in my pm to you ((((((((((((HUGS))))))))) for you and heaps of gentle kisses on Zoe's nose and ears from us :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
I really hope they can find what is wrong :-\
Big hugs for you and little Zoe :smitten: :smitten:
 
hello all, zoe had an ultrasound last friday south australia time, it showed her ovaries and uterus were cystsic(spelling) and that she had a mass behing these organs the size of 3mm. with the help of maryh's vet emailing our vet, faxing etc, zoe is going to have the surgery tomorrow noon our time. she is going to have her reproductive organs removed and the mass, this will cost $400-$700.00AUD and an extra $150.00AUD if the mass has to be tested. all will depend cost wise how long the surgery takes and how zoe copes with it all.
here are copies of our vets emails to us; Have spoken to anne re surgery and she is in agreement and thinks that surgery is the way to go in defining and resolving this problem
She has given me some tips and assistance but I think it is now time to set a date for surgery. With withdraw food 3 hrs pre operatively and then will preform an exploratory cost is difficult to define but between 400 and 700 dependant on what the mass is how difficult to remove whether you want histopathology on the mass ( this add 150.00ish) and basically is very dependant on time. We would treat her as any patient at any time with respect and dignity she is as valuable to us as the most expensive show dog and the smallest kitten.
Please let us know what you would like to do next
Best Wishes Kirsty

Hi guys thursday is best day for us. we currently think her risks are low apart from the standard rsik all gps rate as being small easilystressed etc. the mass itself appears discrete and we are hopefulit will remove easily but that always remains to be seen Yes wre have not withheld food in the past that was annes recommendationa nd yes she can come in the surgery at say 9 am and stay until surgeyr without food for 3 hrs so surgery at 12 pm and then go from tehre if we need to analyse mass that can often be done later lets cross that one as needed
I have high hopes for her as I know she is very dear to you both.
let me know if that suits
Thanks Kirsty

so will have to wait and see. will keep you updated. thanks for all your replies and support and a special thank you to maryh and her vet anne, and to glynis for her support too.

:( :( :( closest i could get to scared and worried.
 
:) Firstly I don't withdraw food from my pigs, 3 hours without food is OK, but what if an emergency comes in and your guineas op is put back? What if she doesn't start to eat straight away? Do they know about syringe feeding :) ? Our vet just rinses the mouth out before surgery, they have food in with them all the time.

Personally I think a hysterectomy is too invasive for sows, this is a big operation for a sow. I suppose the only choices are the op or to have her put to sleep when the time comes as there is a mass outside the organ. Very difficult for you :)

Wishing Zoe luck tomorrow :)
 
yes, our vet does know as soon as surgery is over and if zoe survives, to get her eating asap. and if zoe won't eat they will syringe feed. the not feeding for 3 hours was suggested by anne in the UK. she use to work with peter gurney so she knows what she is talking about. as time draws close-less than 24 hours we are getting more scared. to think in 24 hours the surgery will be over-either zoe is in piggy heaven or survived or survived and the mass is cancerous. we is a mass of nerves, we are home here watching the cricket and spending time with zoe. we will drop her off at 9.00am and we will be back at the vets at noon for the surgery. so if zoe survives she will be fed either by herself or syringe. oh how i wish tomorrw was over but then i don't want it to start if you know what i mean. thanks for your wishes, if it wasn't for the mass zoe would NOT be having sugery, she would have injections. it is the mystery 3mm mass that is making zoe have her surgery. oh god let zoe be alright! :'( :'( :'(
 
(((((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))) sweetie, will have paws crossed for you .... so it'll be 12.30 our time allowing for the 1/2 difference O0
paws will be crossed and Duke sends some encouraging wheeks and piggie kisses for Zoe :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
I agree with Karen about the food issue,I know what she is saying.The reason Anne prefers to withhold food for 3 hours is that if the gut is full it will press up against other organs,and make the surgery more difficult.When Anne has a gp in for surgery she workd out the time of the op ,and makes sure the gp is done at that time.Another vet would have to deal with emergency.,but of course that can only work if there is more than one vet on the premises,which there always is at my surgery.

As gps are grazers they cannot go for more than 5 - 6 hours without eating.After this time the digestive system will start to close down.There is also the risk of ketosis if food is withheld for too long.

Anne has operated on several of my pigs and they have all been fine,postoperatively and after.I do know of a lot of other pigs she has operated on and they have been o.k.
 
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