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Neutering/Spaying Just got my Guinea Pig neutered Monday, now not acting right...

caitlinn

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has anyone had their guinea pig neutered that could give me some advice for helping them get back to their regular self? I had my piggie neutered monday. They told me he would be very sleep for the rest of the evening after i picked him up which he was didnt have much motion or really the care to do anything. He ate about 1 spinach leaf that night (thats his favorite).

Tuesday morning still not much progress although they had told me hed bounce back around 10 or 11 monday night... so tuesday evening i took him in to be seen (the vet didnt specialize in exotics but because i was worried she said she would see him anyways). So she gave him 2 fluid packs in his back and told me they should help get him re-hydrated and that the piggies GI tracts can be very sensitive to these processes and that the anestesia is hard on them so he may take a little longer to bounce back.

Went back in Wednesday morning to see my regular vet. she gave him another fluid pack under the skin, gave me an antibiotic to help with his bloating and gas.

Well, it is now Thursday morning and he still is not back up to himself. :( He began to eat just a few pellets this morning took one nibble off of a baby carrot and ate a few pieces of timothy hay. I have been feeding him water through a syringe he doesnt drink it on his own and i am worried about him getting too dehydrated. im wondering if anyone else has had this process? can give me some advice or tips. i did read that massaging the tummy can help with bloatedness and i will try that with him when i get home. i feel so bad for my poor baby, he has been sleeping in my room each night on his little (dog) bed i got for him to lay in... he loves this on a normal basis because it is so soft. hes having a very slow recovery i didnt anticipate it be like this... :(
 

foggycreekcavy

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Be careful if massaging his stomach. It's probably really tender down there.

Usually pigs bounce back much more quickly than this, you are right. Is he on any pain meds?

You will need to give him more than water with a syringe--you will need to handfeed. See if the vet has Critical Care. If not, you can crush pellets and add water, and give him that.
 

mufasa

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Sending good thoughts your way for your guinea pig. I hope he's back to himself very soon. I have a boar and sow (kept separately) and will likely get the male neutered, but surgery on such a small animal makes me nervous. It sounds like you're giving your boy the best possible care. Please update us on how he's doing.
 

caitlinn

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Yes, he is on an antibiotic (orange toothpaste like paste) he takes a very small amount twice a day which of course he hates, he is also on critical care. he wont take in much of anything, and he hardly eats on his own. i do know as of last night his behavior is becoming a bit more lively because he purred when i set him around my girl. he LOVES her which is why i chose to get him fixed was because of his behavior mainly with her which of course wont totally go away but maybe neutering him wont cause him to be AS affectionate if you know what i mean. I really hope he bounces back. id hate to have to continue going back to the vet its getting expensive... another thing is he isnt leaving behind much pellets in fact he has hardly gone at all (then again he isnt eating much) but he also isnt peeing much either. in fact it is sort of "leeking" ive noticed.
 

caitlinn

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Sending good thoughts your way for your guinea pig. I hope he's back to himself very soon. I have a boar and sow (kept separately) and will likely get the male neutered, but surgery on such a small animal makes me nervous. It sounds like you're giving your boy the best possible care. Please update us on how he's doing.

yes, its very concerning. :( im so worried about the little guy. i would though recommend the male over the female. im not sure how your male acts around your female now though. I dont let mine get too close however i do let them out together while i watch between the two. also, after the neutering process i was told he is still fertile for up to two months so you must still keep them seperate. i cant wait till they can play together.
 

mufasa

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My two don't get close yet (quarantine stage) but eventually they will be caged right next to each other and put out in a large pen made of grids with a center divider for floor time. If they seem to get along, Borat gets snipped. If they're iffy, they can just stay as next door neighbors.

I'll be interested to know how to goes when you introduce your two once he's not fertile anymore. I hope the poor little guy is feeling better very, very soon.
 

caitlinn

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My two don't get close yet (quarantine stage) but eventually they will be caged right next to each other and put out in a large pen made of grids with a center divider for floor time. If they seem to get along, Borat gets snipped. If they're iffy, they can just stay as next door neighbors.

I'll be interested to know how to goes when you introduce your two once he's not fertile anymore. I hope the poor little guy is feeling better very, very soon.

thank you i appreciate your concern. yes, my boy is very calm hes such a sweetheart, my girl however is very hiper. she gets mad at him when he annoys her haha. they have just been cage neighbors for a while. i bought the grids recently (on sale 20pcs for $10 @ walmart) and im hoping to set up they're areas soon once hes recovered. ive never seen that caging idea until on this website its very creative! let me know how yours turns out!
 

lissie

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caitlinn

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Don't put him with the girls yet, even supervised. He could get too excited and pop his stitches. He should be kept in a confined area until his wound heals.

How much critical care are you feeding him and how often? Is he eating any hay?

Have you read these pages?
https://www.guinealynx.info/postop.html
https://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html
Guinea Pig Neutering, How to Neuter your Guinea Pigs

i honestly never thought about that... thanks for the advice. i feed him 3tbl mixed with 6 tbl of water 3 times a day until he is eating his food on his own again. i will check out those websites thank you!
 

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What's the name of the meds he's on? Is your vet charging you each time you bring him back in? When my male was neutered, all follow ups for the neutering were free of charge. The only thing I paid for was any additional meds needed. How are the incisions looking? Are you giving him a probiotic in addition to the antibiotic and pain meds? My male developed bloat after the surgery, so I'd get him on a probiotic if he's not on one.
 
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foggycreekcavy

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Perhaps I missed it, but I don't see where you mention pain medication.
 

caitlinn

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What's the name of the meds he's on? Is your vet charging you each time you bring him back in? When my male was neutered, all follow ups for the neutering were free of charge. The only thing I paid for was any additional meds needed. How are the incisions looking? Are you giving him a probiotic in addition to the antibiotic and pain meds? My male developed bloat after the surgery, so I'd get him on a probiotic if he's not on one.

he is on Meloxicam for pain, tomorrow morning will be his last dose. Yes, they are charging me for office visits whenever needed to bring him in, as well as all meds, (fluid packs, probiotics, antibiotics). Im not certain of the name of his probiotic (im not home right now) but can look at it later. The incisions look great. He has not picked at them or anything, no oozing of any sorts, no tears, just fine. they said he was very bloated and i believe the probiotic helps a little he is just recovering alot slowly. what scares me most is stories i have read of guinea pigs passing during or after surgery or even during recovery at home. i hate seeing him out of the ordinary. the main progress i have seen is he is moving (walking) a little more since this morning. before he would just sit...and sit.. its a matter of getting more food in him. i read on one of those websites to try feeding them pure baby food? should i feed it alone or mixed with the critter care? my vet never mentioned any of this, mind you i do have a vet that specializes in exotics.. hm..
 

caitlinn

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Perhaps I missed it, but I don't see where you mention pain medication.

not sure if i mentioned it but yes, meloxicam, tomorrow morning is his last dose. they gave me 4 to give to him each morning. (ive been waking up around 5 to give it to him before he felt much pain im hoping).
 

caitlinn

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What's the name of the meds he's on? Is your vet charging you each time you bring him back in? When my male was neutered, all follow ups for the neutering were free of charge. The only thing I paid for was any additional meds needed. How are the incisions looking? Are you giving him a probiotic in addition to the antibiotic and pain meds? My male developed bloat after the surgery, so I'd get him on a probiotic if he's not on one.

when your male was neutered about how long of a recovery did he have until he was FULLY bounced back? did you go into the vet to have the stitches removed or did you let them dissolve?
 

pinky

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when your male was neutered about how long of a recovery did he have until he was FULLY bounced back? did you go into the vet to have the stitches removed or did you let them dissolve?

My guinea pig had the incision glued closed. He was active the following day and everything looked good until he developed the abscess. I checked the incision every day and it looked fine and then one morning, it looked like it was bleeding a bit so I took him back in. I thought he might have scratched at it. My vet hadn't prescribed and antibiotic after surgery so when he was finally put on it, the abscess healed up quickly but he developed bloat because I didn't have him on a probiotic. Once I had him on that, he perked up quickly.
 

caitlinn

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My guinea pig had the incision glued closed. He was active the following day and everything looked good until he developed the abscess. I checked the incision every day and it looked fine and then one morning, it looked like it was bleeding a bit so I took him back in. I thought he might have scratched at it. My vet hadn't prescribed and antibiotic after surgery so when he was finally put on it, the abscess healed up quickly but he developed bloat because I didn't have him on a probiotic. Once I had him on that, he perked up quickly.

oh i see so the abcess was caused you think because he was never on any antibiotics or just for unknown reasons? the other thing ive noticed about mine is he like "leeks" pee... or so i believe thats what it is, its very faint yellow but smells horribly strong. im constantly wiping him down with baby wipes or animal wipes i have, and changing his towels and washing everything like twice a day so far to get rid of the strong odor. did you notice this at all?
 

pinky

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oh i see so the abcess was caused you think because he was never on any antibiotics or just for unknown reasons? the other thing ive noticed about mine is he like "leeks" pee... or so i believe thats what it is, its very faint yellow but smells horribly strong. im constantly wiping him down with baby wipes or animal wipes i have, and changing his towels and washing everything like twice a day so far to get rid of the strong odor. did you notice this at all?

He might have a urinary tract infection. You might want to post something about that on guinealynx. Mine developed the abscess because he wasn't on antibiotics after the surgery.
 

caitlinn

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Well, some good news... just got home from work, and there are finally some pellets :) :) i see hes eaten just a little but hey, anythings progress :) I hope he improves even more by tonight and tomorrow! Still the strong odor.. so going to give the vet a call and see what she thinks about that.
 

kananaka

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Sending healing thoughts to your piggy, glad there is some improvement.
 
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