Hello! My two year old guinea pig, Sweet Pea, has an open wound on her lower left backside. A lump 2-3cm in diameter with a scabbish plug appeared earlier this year (March?), but it never grew and didn't seem to faze her. She still ate, drank, voided and played as she always had. Having previously lost another pig to cancer, I kept a close eye on it. Then, two days ago, while I was bathing both my pigs I noticed red on the towel. A quick inspection revealed that the lump had opened and was oozing a waxy material along with a bit of dark red blood. I donned some gloves and attempted to express the material within, but Sweet Pea was not having it. I washed the area with Johnson's baby shampoo and warm water and made an appt with the Vet for the day after next. I monitored her habits and mood over the next 24 hours, no change.
Today we saw the vet. She weighed Sweet Pea, performed a physical exam (I'm thrilled to say I have an otherwise healthy pig!) and presented her diagnosis: Ruptured Cyst. The vet took Sweet Pea in the back to express the rest of the lump's contents. When she returned my girl to the exam room the mild looking lump had become an erupting volcano! It was angry looking and bleeding freely. Her beautiful snowy fur had a distinct cherry tinge in the area. The vet shared that they had to open the wound up a little more. I was alarmed and asked if it was okay to leave the thing open to the air and if it needed flushing or cleansing, but the vet told me it wasn't necessary to wash it and to just leave it as is. Okay...
She prescribed 2 medications and 1 probiotic: Metacam for pain, Baytril for infection prevention and Bene-Bac for happy intestinal flora.
That was at 10:45am. It is now 5:30pm and the site is still moist, red and draining. There appears to be a dark red, almost black 1.5cm clot in the center of the "volcano." Sweet Pea is still in with her cagemate, Domino, since the vet said it was be okay for them to stay roomies as long as Domino doesn't try to groom around the wound. Sweet Pea received her first dose of all 3 meds at 11:15am. She has taken up residence in a corner of the cage away from Domino, but has ventured out for water and timothy hay. So questions I have...
1. Is it really okay to just leave the wound alone and not cleanse/flush/cover it..?
2. Can a vet tell just by looking and feeling that this is indeed a commonplace cyst?
3. Should I separate my pigs? Domino has not shown the slightest bit of interest and neither one is a groomer.
4. Should I restrict Sweet Pea's movement until the thing has healed a bit?
Thank you for taking the time to read my novel- er, post! Please let me know if you need any additional background information/pictures. Sweet Pea & I appreciate any advice you can give!!
Today we saw the vet. She weighed Sweet Pea, performed a physical exam (I'm thrilled to say I have an otherwise healthy pig!) and presented her diagnosis: Ruptured Cyst. The vet took Sweet Pea in the back to express the rest of the lump's contents. When she returned my girl to the exam room the mild looking lump had become an erupting volcano! It was angry looking and bleeding freely. Her beautiful snowy fur had a distinct cherry tinge in the area. The vet shared that they had to open the wound up a little more. I was alarmed and asked if it was okay to leave the thing open to the air and if it needed flushing or cleansing, but the vet told me it wasn't necessary to wash it and to just leave it as is. Okay...
She prescribed 2 medications and 1 probiotic: Metacam for pain, Baytril for infection prevention and Bene-Bac for happy intestinal flora.
That was at 10:45am. It is now 5:30pm and the site is still moist, red and draining. There appears to be a dark red, almost black 1.5cm clot in the center of the "volcano." Sweet Pea is still in with her cagemate, Domino, since the vet said it was be okay for them to stay roomies as long as Domino doesn't try to groom around the wound. Sweet Pea received her first dose of all 3 meds at 11:15am. She has taken up residence in a corner of the cage away from Domino, but has ventured out for water and timothy hay. So questions I have...
1. Is it really okay to just leave the wound alone and not cleanse/flush/cover it..?
2. Can a vet tell just by looking and feeling that this is indeed a commonplace cyst?
3. Should I separate my pigs? Domino has not shown the slightest bit of interest and neither one is a groomer.
4. Should I restrict Sweet Pea's movement until the thing has healed a bit?
Thank you for taking the time to read my novel- er, post! Please let me know if you need any additional background information/pictures. Sweet Pea & I appreciate any advice you can give!!