I noticed a small lump on Gilligan's snout today when I changed his bedding. He and Skipper had a bit of a brush up yesterday so I figured that maybe he got bit and decided to keep an eye on it. Tonight, I noticed that it was much bigger and took a closer look at it. When I was feeling it, it started oozing out very thick white puss. I very gently continued to run my finger over it and a large bunch of thick puss came out of it. It's the weekend, so Monday is the soonest I can get ahold of a vet and hope he gets seen.
The good news is that he's eating, drinking, pooping and peeing normally. He is just as active as he normally is. It doesn't seem to be causing him any pain or discomfort either. The lump is gone down after all of the puss came out. It was halfway between his nose and his eye and just off to one side. I'm not seeing any discharge from his eye or nostril. I'll have to keep a very close eye on him until I can get ahold of the vet on Monday. Maybe we'll get lucky and it will be ok since it was drained already. I'm not counting on it though.
I have a little bit of orbax, but I'm not inclined to give it to him just yet for a couple of reasons. For one, I don't know what type of abscess it is or what caused it and second, I don't have enough for a full course. I have enough for 2, maybe 3 doses. If this is one of those abscesses that needs to be left open to heal from the inside out, it's going to be very uncomfortable for Gilligan because of where it is located. I suppose it could be from his teeth, but it seems a little bit forward of where his molars are and behind his incisors. Plus he's not having any problems chewing his food. I'm not ruling it out either.
Gilligan
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Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
If this was an injury from a scuffle yesterday, I don't think it would have become infected so quickly - though I could be wrong.
I think you are right not to start on antibiotics. Better under veterinary supervision and with a complete course of treatment.
And yes, a photo could be helpful. Esp if you have a before photo.
I think you are right not to start on antibiotics. Better under veterinary supervision and with a complete course of treatment.
And yes, a photo could be helpful. Esp if you have a before photo.
I knew as soon as that much puss coming out wasn't from a bite he got the day before. It takes a considerable amount of time to build up that much. Plus there was no sign of a fresh puncture wound.
You can see the lump , even though it is still quite a bit smaller than it was before it drained last night. He had just finished eating his veggies, so there is some moisture around his mouth from that. I suppose it could be from Skipper nipping him sometime and it's been festering. I see all of my guinea pigs multiple times daily but if there was a small enough puncture wound from Skippers incisor, I could have missed it. There's still the possibility that the cage nibbling he does to get food and attention could have caused a problem with the roots of his teeth. There's also the possibility that he picked up some kind of parasite from the last time he went outside to graze and it burrowed into his skin.
I just hope I can get him into the vet tomorrow. I could always have Ava look at it if Dr Hardy is booked too far out although they'll probably have to refer him out. At the very least, maybe they'll be able to recognize the infection and get him started on antibiotics. If it is parasitic, I'm sure they're knowledge of local parasites will be useful in recommending treatment. It's helping that his appetite and activity is unchanged and he doesn't appear to be having any pain or discomfort. Still no discharge from his nostril. His eye does have a tiny bit of white stuff in the corner of it which you can see.
You can see the lump , even though it is still quite a bit smaller than it was before it drained last night. He had just finished eating his veggies, so there is some moisture around his mouth from that. I suppose it could be from Skipper nipping him sometime and it's been festering. I see all of my guinea pigs multiple times daily but if there was a small enough puncture wound from Skippers incisor, I could have missed it. There's still the possibility that the cage nibbling he does to get food and attention could have caused a problem with the roots of his teeth. There's also the possibility that he picked up some kind of parasite from the last time he went outside to graze and it burrowed into his skin.
I just hope I can get him into the vet tomorrow. I could always have Ava look at it if Dr Hardy is booked too far out although they'll probably have to refer him out. At the very least, maybe they'll be able to recognize the infection and get him started on antibiotics. If it is parasitic, I'm sure they're knowledge of local parasites will be useful in recommending treatment. It's helping that his appetite and activity is unchanged and he doesn't appear to be having any pain or discomfort. Still no discharge from his nostril. His eye does have a tiny bit of white stuff in the corner of it which you can see.
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bpatters
- And got the T-shirt
It could well be cervical lymphadenitis, which is extremely contagious. Be careful when handling the pus, and keep it away from any other pigs. If that's what it is, it will likely require a surgical removal to get the entire sac out.
See viewtopic.php?p=160439#160439
See viewtopic.php?p=160439#160439
That's interesting. I sure hope it's not that.
This is from the page you linked to. Does it matter that the abscess is on his nose and not his neck? Are there even any lymph nodes in or around the area of his abscess?1. What is CL?
Cervical Lymphadenitis is a swelling or abscess of the cervical lymph nodes in a guinea pig's neck.
Looked at this thread because of the lump on Gilligan. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=78322
After reading what was posted by bpat about hard vs soft, I'm a little bit relieved that Gilligan's is soft. It also ruptured and drained. When I say ruptured I don't mean popped like a pimple. It was more like an ooze to start with and gentle pressure from my finger easily pushed out the puss and there was a lot of it. If I had to wager a guess I'd say between a half and a whole teaspoon, although I can't swear to the amount.
After reading what was posted by bpat about hard vs soft, I'm a little bit relieved that Gilligan's is soft. It also ruptured and drained. When I say ruptured I don't mean popped like a pimple. It was more like an ooze to start with and gentle pressure from my finger easily pushed out the puss and there was a lot of it. If I had to wager a guess I'd say between a half and a whole teaspoon, although I can't swear to the amount.
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Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
That is a lot. Glad you are having this looked at.
If there is a hole where the puss came out, you might even be able to flush it gently with a curved tip syringe and warm sterile saline solution. If you do so, watch for any unusual drainage. Because of the location, there may be communication with the oral cavity.
If there is a hole where the puss came out, you might even be able to flush it gently with a curved tip syringe and warm sterile saline solution. If you do so, watch for any unusual drainage. Because of the location, there may be communication with the oral cavity.
I haven't noticed any communication with the oral cavity or his sinuses. Tonight I got a little more than half of what came out last night. It doesn't require very much pressure on the lump to get it to drain. Not any more than when I pet him and it doesn't squirt like it's under pressure. It oozes out. This time I took a picture before I cleaned it up and irrigated it with saline solution. It doesn't seem to cause him and pain or discomfort when it drains either. Still eating and acting totally fine.
I'm sorry for the grotesqueness of the picture, but this is what I'm getting out of a small hole in his skin. Notice that the lump has gone down once the puss is out. You can't see because it's underneath the clump of puss, but there's a small trace of blood in it.
I'm sorry for the grotesqueness of the picture, but this is what I'm getting out of a small hole in his skin. Notice that the lump has gone down once the puss is out. You can't see because it's underneath the clump of puss, but there's a small trace of blood in it.
It looks to be in his subcutaneous layer (between the skin and muscle if I'm not mistaken). I imagine that daily draining, cleaning it and an antibiotic would be appropriate to treat this, but I won't know until the vet calls me back. Yes, you read that right. Once again waiting for the vet to call me, which won't be until late this evening. The clinic is booked up full until the 19th, so I'm hoping that he'll recognize the type of abscess from the picture and can get him started on antibiotics until then. I guess I could take him to the vet from hell and hope he doesn't suffer the same fate as Sammy. I'll make that decision after I talk to Dr Hardy. In the meantime my guinea pig has to hang on, which he should be able to do for one more day. At least he's not suffering any pain and he's able to eat and drink normally. He seems to be interested in his surroundings and he's cleaning himself so that's good.
Spoke with Dr Hardy and he's pretty sure that he's going to prescribe baytril for Gilligan. He's looking over the photo and will call me in the morning to let me know. He'll also try to expedite the clinical visit. He said that they might have to open up the abscess at some point. He would like to have Gilligan on antibiotics for a few days before opening it and removing the abscess; much like a dentist or surgeon would do before operating. I'll find out more in the morning.
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Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
Good to know he got back to you. I think it is so helpful to be able to send a vet a picture. He/she can often get the idea of exactly what is going on from an image. Meanwhile, I would keep flushing it, if you can. We often tell people that abscesses heal from the inside out so if you can flush out the pus, that can help with the healing.
It hasn't filled up nearly as much as it did the last 2 days. There's some in there to drain, so I'll try to do that the best I can without hurting him. So far it hasn't taken much to drain it, but that is probably because it's been so full of pus. With less in there it may take more to drain it, so I have to be very careful. It it takes too much to drain it, I might skip it until I speak with Dr Hardy tomorrow.
So I got Gillian's abscess to drain pretty easily. The hole it drains from is noticeable now. I have to pull back his fur to see it, but it's there. It's about the size that a guinea pig incisor would make. I don't know if it is from Skipper biting him or if it is from the first rupture of the abscess two days ago and it's gotten bigger from draining. There was a lot less pus in there than the last two times, so it appears that it's getting better on its own. I'm optimistic now that antibiotics will knock it out.
I should also note that the drain hole is about in the middle of the pocket of infection, so I have to run from his nose back and from his eye forward to get all of the pus out. Gilligan lets out a little squeak now once the pocket is empty. Tonight is the first time that's happened. It also bled a little bit. Not profusely, but it did ooze a spot or two. Not sure if that's good or bad, but I know that in humans it is good for an infected wound to bleed.
I should also note that the drain hole is about in the middle of the pocket of infection, so I have to run from his nose back and from his eye forward to get all of the pus out. Gilligan lets out a little squeak now once the pocket is empty. Tonight is the first time that's happened. It also bled a little bit. Not profusely, but it did ooze a spot or two. Not sure if that's good or bad, but I know that in humans it is good for an infected wound to bleed.
The saline bottle has a small opening that makes for pretty good flushing of wounds. Not as good as that syringe, but it does the job until I can get one. Wouldn't you know it; Dr Hardy never got back to me today. He emailed me last night asking Gilligan's weight, which is 2 lbs, 6 ounces, but nothing after that. I left him messages on his phone, in the office and through email. So it's yet another day without antibiotic for his abscess. Maybe he'll get back to me tomorrow.
The hole on his face where the abscess drains scabbed over, but what little pus that was in there came out around it and it came off when I flushed the wound. There is still no change in appetite or activities. He loves his carrot treat and forgives me for torturing him. Skipper is the lucky recipient of a carrot to keep him from stealing Gilligan's. The carrot they get is in addition to the daily treat all of the guinea pigs get.
The hole on his face where the abscess drains scabbed over, but what little pus that was in there came out around it and it came off when I flushed the wound. There is still no change in appetite or activities. He loves his carrot treat and forgives me for torturing him. Skipper is the lucky recipient of a carrot to keep him from stealing Gilligan's. The carrot they get is in addition to the daily treat all of the guinea pigs get.
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Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
If it is helpful to you, I don't believe all abscesses are treated with antibiotics. With abscesses similar to this one, you remove the scab, continuing to flush, until it heals from the inside out. Hard to heal abscesses can require surgical removal of the wall of the abscess (to stop the continued production of pus).