Snowball is a 6-year-old female guinea pig- I adopted her from a rescue in November 2014 when she was approximately 8 months old.
She's been getting quite a few ailments now and I thought I should document it to get my thoughts in order.
A couple months ago, Snowball started doing the bunny hop. She runs normal for the most part, but when she gets up after laying down for too long, she'll hop with her back legs. I know there's not much that can done about it, so I've been feeding her more bell peppers and administering some extra liquid vitamin C. I've also been putting a balm on her feet to soften them up since the carpet can be rough to walk on.
Recently, Snowball's cage mate died and I've been trying to pair her up with another guinea pig. It did not go so well as she came away with bite wounds (you can read more about that here.) I immediately flushed it out with saltwater and tried packing some Neosporin in. I could tell Snowball was shaken up by the ordeal and they're being kept in separate cages.
I don't think I did enough when I cleaned the wound since it occurred to me way later an abscess could form. I took her to the vet today (her regular vet was unavailable today) and asked if I should remove the scabbing. She recommended against it and said I should just rinse the area with a Nolvasan solution, dab a teensy bit of Muricin around the scab, and give her antibiotics with Metacam. I'm not comfortable with the antibiotics though because I had just gotten her off Baytril this weekend for a minor respiratory infection. The vet was aware she could get stasis, so she prescribed Septra. Seemed like a lot of unnecessary medication, but I'm keeping it handy in case it looks worse. This wound happened just yesterday and I've been anxious about what to do all day.
I've also mentioned her aggression issues- Snowball has always had a history of aggression and two previous vets found nothing immediately wrong with her when I brought it up. This new vet did a thorough check and felt something hard under her abdomen. She recommended an ultrasound to determine ovarian cysts. I need to wait for my next paycheck to pay for that, but I will have our regular vet get this checked soon.
Snowball's Medical Thread
Here are some pictures of Snowball's injury. Any input would be appreciated. I've been really conflicted on what advice I should be taking.
The immediate bite: big puncture wound by her nose, scratched across her nose, and (not pictured) a cut at the edge of lower lip.
https://imgur.com/oLCFArk
1st day of the scab drying up:
https://imgur.com/RupTgXs
2nd day:
https://imgur.com/KQecHJr
The immediate bite: big puncture wound by her nose, scratched across her nose, and (not pictured) a cut at the edge of lower lip.
https://imgur.com/oLCFArk
1st day of the scab drying up:
https://imgur.com/RupTgXs
2nd day:
https://imgur.com/KQecHJr
-
Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
Hard to tell how serious it is. The depth of the injury is the crux.
I would be tempted to soak off the scab of any injury you are particularly worried about, flush it with sterile saline once or twice a day, and let it close naturally, perhaps without antibiotics (so long as there are no signs of infection).
She may have arthritis (the hopping when getting up. There is a master sticky with a link to the arthritis topic.
I think I mentioned possible ovarian cysts (due to the behavior). I think you ruled it out. Putting the link here again anyway.
www.guinealynx.info/ovarian_cysts.html
I would be tempted to soak off the scab of any injury you are particularly worried about, flush it with sterile saline once or twice a day, and let it close naturally, perhaps without antibiotics (so long as there are no signs of infection).
She may have arthritis (the hopping when getting up. There is a master sticky with a link to the arthritis topic.
I think I mentioned possible ovarian cysts (due to the behavior). I think you ruled it out. Putting the link here again anyway.
www.guinealynx.info/ovarian_cysts.html
The scab is starting to look bigger today so I think I will go ahead and pluck that thing out! The vet said it was infected, but I couldn't tell myself?? It looked normal to me! I'd still rather not use it. The most important thing is that she's still eating and drinking normal, so if she's dropping too much weight, I'll give her some of the antibiotic.
I'm pretty sure she has arthritis and cysts this time around. I'm so crushed over it but I understand this is what happens when any animal gets older. I'm going to make her comfortable as possible!
I'm pretty sure she has arthritis and cysts this time around. I'm so crushed over it but I understand this is what happens when any animal gets older. I'm going to make her comfortable as possible!
Tried plucking it out but I think it's still healing. She bled where I picked at, but nothing else came out. I don't think the puncture is deep at all, considering she got bit by her nose. She started eating hay right when I put her down, then yawned a couple times before taking a snooze. She's a trooper around her inexperienced human, haha! I think I need to stop worrying and let nature do it's thing.
Nervous guinea pig mom back at it again!
I leave home for an hour to get ice cream and Snowball's eye turns out to be reaaaally wet when I get back. No redness, swelling, or hay sticking out. I have no idea what happened. She may have gotten into another fight with the new pig or scratched her own eye too hard. It did not get better today and she was closing it more. I'm taking her to the vet to get it checked out because I can't tell what it is.
Her face wound healed up not too long ago and now this!
I leave home for an hour to get ice cream and Snowball's eye turns out to be reaaaally wet when I get back. No redness, swelling, or hay sticking out. I have no idea what happened. She may have gotten into another fight with the new pig or scratched her own eye too hard. It did not get better today and she was closing it more. I'm taking her to the vet to get it checked out because I can't tell what it is.
Her face wound healed up not too long ago and now this!
Got some eye drops for Snowball, an eye stain test showed she did have a scratch in her left eye.
However, I did bring up my concerns about her belly and the vet felt something hard as well. She took an x-ray and found a "mysterious mass" around her liver and bladder area. She even did an ultrasound just to be sure it wasn't babies or a cyst. She recommended a biopsy to determine what it is. I'll be going back in a couple weeks to get this done. (I will also try and get a copy of the x-ray to share!)
Her heart and lungs were normal, uterus was intact but nothing looked unusual, stomach had a little gas. We did confirm Snowball does in fact have arthritis in her back legs. She prescribed Meloxicam for pain relief, but the dosage seemed like too much to be giving every day? I'm going to look into other remedies for this.
I feel bad, Snowball is going through all sorts of pain in her old age, but she eats and drinks normally. There's been no major shift in her weight this past month either. I'm determined to give her the best quality of life possible!
However, I did bring up my concerns about her belly and the vet felt something hard as well. She took an x-ray and found a "mysterious mass" around her liver and bladder area. She even did an ultrasound just to be sure it wasn't babies or a cyst. She recommended a biopsy to determine what it is. I'll be going back in a couple weeks to get this done. (I will also try and get a copy of the x-ray to share!)
Her heart and lungs were normal, uterus was intact but nothing looked unusual, stomach had a little gas. We did confirm Snowball does in fact have arthritis in her back legs. She prescribed Meloxicam for pain relief, but the dosage seemed like too much to be giving every day? I'm going to look into other remedies for this.
I feel bad, Snowball is going through all sorts of pain in her old age, but she eats and drinks normally. There's been no major shift in her weight this past month either. I'm determined to give her the best quality of life possible!
SHOP AMAZON