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Infection Swollen Face

soccer_gurl43

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Hi,
I have two piggies both are 2 and a half. I noticed this morning when I went in to feed them their morning meal that one of my piggies suddenly had a swollen face on one side. Her eye is completely unaffected it is just below her eye and looks like a small golf ball on the right side. She is still eating and drinking and running around. She looks completely fine other than the golf ball on the side of her face. I am obviously going to take her to the veteranarian, but my town only has one veteranarian that will look at piggies, and they have a reputation of doing excessive costly tests because there is no one else. Any thoughts as to what I should do or what it could be? I was thinking an infection?
 

pinky

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Sounds like it could be an abscess or some sort of mass. I'd get her to a vet as soon as possible. If it's an abscess, it can burst. I had one with an abscess on her forehead. It developed very quickly and was due to a guinea pig bite. The can be drained, cleaned out and an antibiotic given to help eliminate the infection. If you get an antibiotic, make sure you also give a probiotic with it. My vet said abscesses on the head often look larger because the bone structure of their face results in the pus pocket growing more outward and being more noticeable.
 

foggycreekcavy

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It could be an abscess or tumor, but neither would grow that fast. Are you sure it wasn't there before?

A very fast swelling like that could mean an insect bite.

Please keep us posted.
 

soccer_gurl43

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I am going to take her to the vet tomorrow. There is nothing open here on Sunday's. I am sure she was not like that before because she just had her nails trimmed on Monday, and I would have definitely noticed while trimming her front paws. The only thing we noticed the day before the lump appeared was she was having a hard time taking food from us. Normally when I feed her she grabs her favourite thing from me right away but she was having a hard time picking it up. Then today we noticed her face. I guess I will take her to the vet and see what's up. I'll let you know what happens when we get back tomorrow. Thanks for all the help. I will keep an eye on her until then.
 

Onetwo

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Well Monday was a long time to grow. You should be doing daily quick checks and weekly complete checks. Hopefully all is well and it is just an absess. Absesses are not too difficult to treat but you will have to do cleanings several times a day to keep it open, puss free and clean...

(broken link removed)[/COLOR][/U]

https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=136

https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25794

https://www.guinealynx.info/antibiotics.html

There are many more things you can read on that site about what your piggy could possibly have and how to treat it. Start with the first article and work your way through everything...

Good luck
 

soccer_gurl43

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Thanks, Monday was the last time we had a thorough look at her, but we feed her everyday, twice a day, and we hand feed her, her favourite stuff. I would have noticed, it has been there a day at the most. There is nothing on the outside of her face at all. It looks like she has a golf ball stuffed in her cheek. I'm thinking there is an infection inside her mouth, there's no way it's a tumor because like I said it just randomly appeared. If I wasn't living in Northern Ontario in the middle of winter I would think it was a reaction to an insect bite or something. Do you know any kind of fruit or vegetable (herbal remedy) that I can feed her until tomorrow that might help decrease the swelling for her comfort?
 

foggycreekcavy

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I don't believe there is anything you can do until you get to the vet, except perhaps hand feed her if she's unable to eat normally. Weigh her daily to make sure she's not losing any weight.

One of my pigs has an abscess right along her lower jaw. I disagree with Onetwo--abscesses can be very hard to deal with. Guinea pig pus is very thick and doesn't drain easily. My vet x-rayed the area to see if it was a dental abscess (it wasn't), then lanced and drained it, butterflying it open (guinea pigs heal quickly and the infection gets trapped inside) so I could flush it out several times a day. The pus was cultured to make sure we were giving the correct antibiotic. She's on two--Bactrim and another I can't remember right now.

Your vet will likely use a needle to take out some tissue to see what the lump is. Infection inside the mouth would be an abscess. Don't rule out a tumor yet, they can grow quite fast. Most likely, however, is that whatever it is was there for some time, but small enough that you didn't notice it. Especially if it was up underneath the jawbone.
 

soccer_gurl43

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Hi,
We went to the vet today. She has a huge tooth abscess, they are unsure of the extent. She has to have surgery tomorrow to have it drained and have all of her teeth trimmed. They think her teeth are overgrown because she wasn't eating enough hay. The vet said that as long as she starts to eat hay after her surgery she should recover fine and be able to keep her teeth a proper length. We have to cut back on the fresh leafy greens because they believe she was only eating the veggies and not the hay. (I have 2 pigs so it's hard to tell who eats what) and her back teeth became overgrown. We left her overnight at the vet and I will talk more with them tomorrow. The only concern the vet has is that she actually doesn't like hay, and her teeth will quickly become overgrown again. I will keep everyone updated. Hopefully all goes well, and we can get her back to eating hay. Thanks for all your help!
 

pinky

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I've never known a guinea pig that didn't like hay. What kind of hay are you feeding her? As long as it's soft and green, they should eat it. If you only feed the recommended amount of pellets and offer the veggies once or twice during the day, she should be grazing on hay the rest of the day, after the other stuff is eaten. I keep a large amount of hay in there all the time so it's available whenever mine want it.
 

RubyRain

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Glad you found the cause, though it's too bad your pig has to deal with that! Hope all goes well!
You might try orchard grass as an alternative to hay, it tends to be softer. My pigs love both but the orchard grass disappears faster.
 

soccer_gurl43

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Thanks, my vet told me she has seen lots of piggies that dont like hay. They have access to timothy hay all day every day and they were being fed fresh veggies with a little fruit twice a day. When we pick her up today we are going to get some different kinds of hay for both Mia for once she's feeling better and my other one (Tessa) who hopefully doesn't develop the same thing. I will definitely try orchard grass. We are getting Tessa's back molars checked once Mia (the sick one) comes home. I just spoke the vet she said Mia didn't eat any hay over night but she wasn't surprised because her mouth was so swollen and sore. They are taking x-rays once the abscess has been drained because it's too big to get a good look at her mouth. Anyways, again I'll keep everyone posted once she gets back home tonight. We have to house her separately for the first little bit to make sure she's eating and drinking enough. Thanks again for the tips! Much appreciated.
 

Onetwo

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Awww poor baby. Glad you got it figured out and on a good treatment.

Foggycreekcavy-I didnt mean that absesseces were super easy to take care of. But they arn't as difficult as other health issues like unknown weight loss with no other symptoms or heart pigs or cancer. Absesseces are not too difficult because they can be diagnosed fairly easily in house and treated that day. Dont need to wait for a specialist or extensive test results.

To the OP I have had difficult piggies but have never had one that didnt like hay! Haha yes definately change the hay. Kaytee is junk and so if pretty much everything else. Oxbow is the second best and Kleenmamas is the best. Kleenmamas is online only but in the long run it will be the cheapest. KMs 2nd cut timothy is good as well as the bluegrass. Its getting to be the end of the season so supplies are running short everywhere. Plus this year wasn't a good year for hay and tends to be really brown and yucky. Just keep trying because hay is the most important thing. There might be unlying causes as to why the piggy is not eating hay like tumers in stomach or other intestional issue. Have you noticed any odd shaped poops? (smaller, harder, clumped together poops?) Hopefully this is the end of her issues and there is nothing else going on. I'm sending good healing vibes your way. Good luck and please keep us posted on how she is doing!
 

foggycreekcavy

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Sounds similar to my girl. It's likely that the abscessed tooth made eating painful so she stopped eating the harder stuff, which then caused her teeth to overgrow.

I hope the vet gave you pain meds for her. She won't want to eat because of the pain, so her teeth will just get long again.

It may take her awhile before she can eat normally. Usually you need to hand feed Critical Care. Weigh her daily to make sure she's getting enough to eat and not losing any weight.

She'll need to eat. I wouldn't limit greens and vegetables until she is eating normally. Get her some grass--it's just as good as hay for wearing down teeth. It's the silica in it. And it helps to increase the appetite.

Will you be flushing the abcsess? What antibiotic is she on?
 

kathlaaron

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Dear Soccer_gurl43,

I just wanted to say I hope your precious Mia feels better soon ! Oh man..tooth abscess, I just remember how much pain I was in when I had to have a root canal and just feel so bad for her, she must be in so much pain ! I hope your vet does like foggycreekcavy mentioned and your vet gives her pain meds ! Poor baby.....warm wishes and prayers are being sent your way ! Please keep us posted on how she is doing, o.k. ?
 

soccer_gurl43

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Hi,
Sorry I haven't replied quickly we've been busy with Mia. She is on both pain meds and antibiotics. We are feeding her critical care 4 times a day and she is feeding really well. She just started drinking on her own today from the water dispenser. (Before we were having to syringe water into her mouth as well). She has had a few leafs of greens, she had trouble eating last night but today she gobbled down a green leaf. She still has not eaten any hay. We are giving her orchard, timothy and oat hay and nothing. It could be that her mouth is still really sore. We are not draining the abscess, she was at the vet again yesterday because it started to bleed again, they monitored her all day yesterday and are happy with the way it looks. She seems better today and is loving the critical care. She's even biting down on the syringe as we feed her. We are checking back in with the vet on Monday and are going to buy some western timothy hay because the vet told us she had a bite or two of it right after surgery, so we are thinking maybe she likes that? Apparently the vet was jumping for joy when she came out a nibbled on some hay during her recovery. We are still unsure if she will recover, they were unable to get to one of the roots that was extremely over grown. Apparently she has a really small mouth even for a guinea pig. If she doesn't start eating hay within the next week or so the vet doesn't think she will make it. Tessa's teeth are completely fine, so she must have been eating all of the hay. We are hoping she will continue to do better, she already looks like she has put on some weight since we brought her home. Thanks for the healing thoughts, keep them coming!
 

Onetwo

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Awww so sorry Sg43 I hope she starts eating and things get better for her. Its a good thing that she is eating the CC and veggies. Have you tried cutting the veggies into strips like shredded with a shredder. When my piggy broke his tooth on another guineas skull in a fight (aggg what a mess darn stubborn males) I was given that tip and it worked fantastic. He was able to slirp it up like a piece of spegetty. I fed him his hay this way too. Try Oxbow wenstern timothy hay as it is softer and longer blades of grass. If you are in a warm climate I would also try getting some long strands of wild orchard grass (or other tall grass) It will be easier and softer on the teeth but its really the silica in the grass (dry or fresh) that grinds down the teeth...

Good luck to you and your piggy and I will be sending healing vibes to you!
 

foggycreekcavy

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Can you get some grass for her? Grass is fine for grinding down the teeth, and most pigs love it. If you don't have any in your yard you can buy wheat grass from the grocery store.
 

soccer_gurl43

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We are actually going to buy oxbow western timothy hay tomorrow. I don't have access to grass, I'm in Northern Ontario, Canada in the middle of winter. I'll check the grocery store for wheat grass tomorrow. The problem with the veggies is the vet doesn't want her eating too much of them because that's what caused this huge tooth issue to begin with, all she eats is veggies and no hay. So we're really trying to get her onto the hay because she said her teeth can re-grow out in three weeks and we will be back at square one. I know her mouth is probably sore, which is most likely why she's refusing to eat the hay, any other thoughts as to what I can give her other than grass to get her to start grinding her teeth down?
 

Cogni

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You are doing a great job caring for your piggie. I'm impressed.

If you have a sunny window (well, if Ontario gets any sun during the winter) you can grow a little pot of wheat or oat grass in the window. I have a little tray that was packaged and marketed as ready-to-grow cat grass, and the label says it is oat grass. I just sprinkled the seeds and watered and it sprouted within a few days and soon it will be ready for the piggies to eat.

Western Timothy hay is the best kind of hay for them, as it is a coarse grass quite similar to the tough Peruvian grasses they evolved to eat. I sincerely hope your little girl eats her hay and gets better.

As to what your vet said about piggies and hay: it is true that with the kind of dried out straw-like hay that many piggies get (pet store hay), they might prefer to eat veggies and junk-food pellets instead of hay. Poor piggies, never knowing the taste and smell of good fresh green hay they can bury their little faces in.
 

Onetwo

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You can buy wheat berries in bulk at most grocery stores in the natural section or at natural food stores. Just take a plastic storage container sprinkle in some carefresh Instead of dirt which could be contaminated with pesticides and fertilizers) and then sprinkle on top the wheat berries. Water generiously and you will have a harvest of wheat grass in a week or two. I've tried a few times but I have young kids who kept screwing around with it and the seeds kept getting too buried and never growed... Hahaha I'm pretty sure that there threads about it on the forum here or on guinealynx...
 
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