EMERGENCY! Impaction???

mickey363

Post   » Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:37 pm


I washed my 3 year old male guinea pig today and I felt something hard and fecal like in his back? I immediately panicked and checked later on and couldn't exactly find where his poop chute is? I looked up some symptoms and found impaction, I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it does like his butt is being covered by something hard? I tried using warm water to soften it up, but only a little debris fell off. Right now I'm checking to see if he is pooping. Not sure if this is important but he was neutered last year after our female gpig kept getting pregnant. My family did notice him being a lot less heavy than the female one. I'm really worried and would appreciate any help. If pictures are needed i'll take some.

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:40 pm


Impaction happens within the anal sac. It's not something that would be on his back. More likely it's a dirty grease gland if it's at the base of his back, roughly where a tail would normally be. Posting a picture would be helpful.

mickey363

Post   » Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:50 pm


I think that's it, it's directly below his tail bone.
Here's some pictures, I wasn't sure exactly what to take it of, but I can't find the anal area anywhere.
Image
Image
Image

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sat Jan 20, 2018 11:07 pm


Rub it with some coconut oil or vaseline and let it set for an hour or so. Then wash his back end thoroughly with warm water, using a drop or two of Dawn dish soap. Rinse very thoroughly. And then keep an eye on it so it doesn't get so gunky again,

But since he's a male, you do need to check his anal sac regularly. Only clean if it needs it, however.

One of our users made this video on cleaning the anal sac:

mickey363

Post   » Sat Jan 20, 2018 11:22 pm


Thank you so much!

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Jan 21, 2018 8:48 am


Start weighing your guinea pig weekly - and do so daily right now. If you have noticed significant weight loss, there is something wrong that just cleaning him may not help. Read over:
handfeeding.html
emergency.html

I am confused by the last picture. Trim the hair around the area. Examine what normal genitals look like. I wonder if there is an abscess or prolapse of some sort if the inguinal ring has not been properly closed. Abscesses can happen months after a neuter surgery (It happened a year post-neuter for one member). I would see a vet asap.
sexing.html

Let me know if you'd like your photos added permanently to your thread for future readers.

mickey363

Post   » Sun Jan 21, 2018 9:49 am


Alright, thank you for the explanation. I’ll take those factors in consideration. Something I forgot to mention was that he has been stinking a lot- which makes me think it’s the grease gland. We’re going to schedule a vet visit soon.

User avatar
Kimera

Post   » Sun Jan 21, 2018 11:11 am


That is a dirty grease gland, nothing serious, at least in medical sense. The resin-like substance can be softened with any oil, coconut or mineral, and then washed off. Bad smell may be caused by old urine in his butt hair. Clean your pig's backside and trim his hair in the area.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Jan 21, 2018 11:26 am


Dirty grease glands do not smell. Infection smells and boarly release of their special "frangrance" stinks. Special poops can stink too. Smegma (the whitish substance inside the anal sack) smells also, I believe.

Follow bpatter's advice and get him cleaned up. Soak his behind for a while in warm water to soften things.

mickey363

Post   » Sun Jan 21, 2018 11:51 am


Thank you again.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Jan 21, 2018 12:38 pm


I encourage you to post another picture after you have soaked his behind and cleaned him up (and trimmed butt hairs).

mickey363

Post   » Sun Jan 21, 2018 9:19 pm


Sorry if it's not really clear. This was after I cleaned the dark area/ gland. It's definitely not dirty like before but I'll continue to check up on it.
https://ton.twitter.com/1.1/ton/data/dm ... .jpg:large
https://ton.twitter.com/1.1/ton/data/dm ... .jpg:large

plus an extra pic! he's happily eating some veggies now.
https://ton.twitter.com/1.1/ton/data/dm ... .jpg:large

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