Zoe's Medical Thread
- Delaine
- Supporter in '14
bpatters She is moving around the cage. Do you think I should make a small run and sit with her for maybe 5 minutes a couple of times a day? I have a closet full of extra grids. Maybe the exercise would encourage her to drink some water??
If I don't see her out every hour or so I remove the house for a little while to get her moving.
If I don't see her out every hour or so I remove the house for a little while to get her moving.
- Delaine
- Supporter in '14
Thanks bpatters: I want to do the very best for Zoe and I can learn from others experiences. What you said makes sense and sounds like a good plan.
The small cage is convenient for so many reasons. One of the reasons I haven't mentioned is cleanliness. I have many, many fleece pads with a flannel center so I can change her bedding every hour to make sure she is always kept spotless. I wouldn't have the same control if she was in her regular cage with Abbey.
The small cage is convenient for so many reasons. One of the reasons I haven't mentioned is cleanliness. I have many, many fleece pads with a flannel center so I can change her bedding every hour to make sure she is always kept spotless. I wouldn't have the same control if she was in her regular cage with Abbey.
- Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
We had recommended 2 or three weeks alone (perhaps nearby but smaller cage) and restricted movement after major surgery to help prevent adhesions (tears at the incision site - scarring). I would leave her in the small cage.
Last edited by Lynx on Thu Mar 26, 2015 2:40 pm, edited 2 times in total.
- GP_mum
- Supporter in '13
My sow was pretty inactive after her spay. For the 1st day back she was very dopey as the vet had prescribed a stronger pain med. I discontinued after 1.5 days and moved to the other pain meds. This was after she had ended up sleeping in her pellet dish while eating her pellets and generally alseep more often than awake.
After the surgery, she just moved a short distance from her hidey to the hay pile and her water bottle.
I agree with bpatters that the limited activity for a week or so should be ok.
She sounds like she is recovering well as she's eating, drinking and moving about.
After the surgery, she just moved a short distance from her hidey to the hay pile and her water bottle.
I agree with bpatters that the limited activity for a week or so should be ok.
She sounds like she is recovering well as she's eating, drinking and moving about.
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- You can quote me
Ditto to the advice you have received. For surgery as major as a spay, I'd keep her in the small cage for at least a week, maybe 9 or 10 days if not more, unless she really starts to get too agitated or hyper. For a spay, the longer the better.
They get humans up and moving around quickly because our bodies heal differently. Guinea pigs are prone to developing adhesions (as Lynx mentions, tough, gnarly scar tissue) and they can be EXTREMELY painful, continually, AFTER healing. (One of my vets had severe adhesions in her abdominal area and they were very, very uncomfortable. She would periodically have surgery to loosen and break them up, but then they'd just reform. Not fun, and guinea pigs form them more readily postop than we do.)
That wasn't anywhere near enough pain medication (how would you feel if you'd had a complete ovariohysterectomy and they sent you home with a couple of Motrin?), but if she's doing okay now, it's moot. "Okay now" is the most important thing. :-)
They get humans up and moving around quickly because our bodies heal differently. Guinea pigs are prone to developing adhesions (as Lynx mentions, tough, gnarly scar tissue) and they can be EXTREMELY painful, continually, AFTER healing. (One of my vets had severe adhesions in her abdominal area and they were very, very uncomfortable. She would periodically have surgery to loosen and break them up, but then they'd just reform. Not fun, and guinea pigs form them more readily postop than we do.)
That wasn't anywhere near enough pain medication (how would you feel if you'd had a complete ovariohysterectomy and they sent you home with a couple of Motrin?), but if she's doing okay now, it's moot. "Okay now" is the most important thing. :-)
- Delaine
- Supporter in '14
Good information Talishan. Thank you.
What would you recommend for pain medication, how much and how often? I trusted the amount her vet sent home would be adequate so I never questioned her. I wish I had asked you about pain control before Zoe's surgery. She has one more dose of Metacam tomorrow at noon and then she is done. Should she be on pain medication longer than that?
The only time I thought she looked uncomfortable was first thing this morning but once she started eating and moving around she improved quickly and after her noon meds. she really dug into the hay, pellets and water.
What would you recommend for pain medication, how much and how often? I trusted the amount her vet sent home would be adequate so I never questioned her. I wish I had asked you about pain control before Zoe's surgery. She has one more dose of Metacam tomorrow at noon and then she is done. Should she be on pain medication longer than that?
The only time I thought she looked uncomfortable was first thing this morning but once she started eating and moving around she improved quickly and after her noon meds. she really dug into the hay, pellets and water.
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- You can quote me
At this point she'll probably be fine. Ask for more Metacam if she starts to seem to need it, but I doubt she will at this point. Your vet is an extremely good surgeon, which helps enormously.
That said, many vets (not all -- the two main vets I use know the importance of pain medication -- but many) think that pain medication dopes them up too much to eat. Well, severe pain makes them not eat, too, duh.
For major surgery (defined arbitrarily by me as a bladderstone on up in terms of invasiveness), I ask for BOTH buprenorphine (or Tramadol at the least) AND Metacam. These can be used together.
I give BOTH to start; Metacam to reduce swelling and the narcotic for pain control. Then I ramp up the narcotic if needed. As the pig improves I ramp the narcotic down and the NSAID UP, then ramp the NSAID down as the pig continues to improve.
NSAIDs don't have the painkilling power of narcotics, but they'll do the job once the pig is over the initial hump.
Again,this is my protocol only. YMMV. A skilled surgeon who is able to do the surgery with minimal disturbance to the surrounding tissues makes a huge difference in the amount of analgesia needed postop.
That said, many vets (not all -- the two main vets I use know the importance of pain medication -- but many) think that pain medication dopes them up too much to eat. Well, severe pain makes them not eat, too, duh.
For major surgery (defined arbitrarily by me as a bladderstone on up in terms of invasiveness), I ask for BOTH buprenorphine (or Tramadol at the least) AND Metacam. These can be used together.
I give BOTH to start; Metacam to reduce swelling and the narcotic for pain control. Then I ramp up the narcotic if needed. As the pig improves I ramp the narcotic down and the NSAID UP, then ramp the NSAID down as the pig continues to improve.
NSAIDs don't have the painkilling power of narcotics, but they'll do the job once the pig is over the initial hump.
Again,this is my protocol only. YMMV. A skilled surgeon who is able to do the surgery with minimal disturbance to the surrounding tissues makes a huge difference in the amount of analgesia needed postop.
- Catie Cavy
- Supporter 2011-2020
I’m so glad Zoe’s recovery is going well. You’re lucky to have access to such an experienced surgeon. Strange about the lack of cysts. It will be interesting to see if she still rumbles like she used to. Still, it’s good that you had her spayed when she is relatively young. It would be much more risky on a 5 or 6 year old.