Hector’s medical thread

Manor1420

Post   » Wed Feb 28, 2018 8:23 am


My guinea pig had bladder stone surgery on Monday but is still in a lot of discomfort and squealing when he urinates or does droppings.

He had been squealing when he did droppings and so we took him to the vet who did an x-ray about a month ago. The x-ray was clear but the Hector was still in discomfort and on Monday I noticed some blood where he had peed and he stopped eating so we were syringe feeding him Oxbow Critical Care. We took him straight back to the vet who did another x-ray and found a stone in the urethra. He operated and got the stone out and Hector seems to have recovered well from the operation except that he is still squealing when he passes pellets and urinates and although he is eating a bit - it’s nithing like what he used to eat before he got ill. We are still doing the Oxbow syringing. But he doesn’t seem to be as keen to let us do that. The vet has given him Baytril (5 days) and Loxicon. The Loxicon doesn’t seem to be stopping him being in pain when he goes to the toilet though. Can anyone help?
Many thanks

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Feb 28, 2018 5:26 pm


I would ask your vet about a different analgesic to help with the pain. There is some very valuable post-op advice with links to even more:
www.guinealynx.info/postop.html

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Wed Feb 28, 2018 5:43 pm


Sounds to me like there's still a stone in there. I'd want another x-ray.

Manor1420

Post   » Thu Mar 01, 2018 6:19 am


Thanks. The post-op thread was helpful and I’ll call the vet and ask about another x-ray. He showed me the x-ray on Monday and there was definitely nothing visible then except the stone they removed but I know that things can change quickly and certainly the stone must have been there a month ago when he had the first x-ray which showed nothing. Are vets generally happy to operate again within a few days if there is another stone? Hector is 4 but he’s lost a lot of weight recently so I’m concerned that he might not be an ideal candidate for a second operation so quickly.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Mar 01, 2018 9:59 am


I don't know that they would like to operate so quickly but it will help you to know what is going on.
www.guinealynx.info/stones.html

The weight loss may be partly due to pain or there may be something else going on.

Manor1420

Post   » Sat Mar 03, 2018 6:59 am


Thanks for the advice so far. Hector went back to the vet and had another x-ray there are definitely no more stones left. He still isn’t eating at all voluntarily- we are syringe feeding him Oxbow Critical Care. The vet said that he doesn’t seem in pain when he touches the area where the stone was - he seems in more discomfort around his genital area. He inspected Hecotor’s penis and cleaned it and gave us some solution to wash it with. at home. It doesn’t seem to explain why he won’t eat though and I’m worried that he is becoming weak despite the Oxbow feed.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sat Mar 03, 2018 12:26 pm


How much food are you getting into him?

A pig that's not eating anything at all needs 100+ cc a day of Critical Care or pellet slurry for every kilogram it weighs, divided into 6-8 feedings through the day and night. Adjust up or down according to his weight, and down if he's eating some things on his own.

Pigs can live for years on syringe feedings, but you've GOT to get enough into him for him to do that.

Manor1420

Post   » Sat Mar 03, 2018 1:24 pm


wow I didn't realise that you could keep syringe feeding long term like that. He's certainly getting the 6-8 feeds I'll make sure I give him at least what you suggest. Thanks! That's really helpful.

Manor1420

Post   » Mon Mar 05, 2018 5:26 am


Unfortunately Hector is really deteriorating. He is clearly in terrible pain when he tries to pass pellets despite being on pain medication from the vet. I am taking him back to the vet now but I’m terribly worried that he will be euthanised. Is there anything that could be causing his difficulties. I would be sure he had another stone if he hadn’t been x-rated again the other day. I think he’s going to die and I feel so helpless

Manor1420

Post   » Mon Mar 05, 2018 7:14 am


Hector has died. Sadly we couldn’t save him. Thanks to this site I feel we did what we could. The information here is such a wonderful resource.

Thank you for trying to help

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Mar 05, 2018 7:17 am


I was writing a post when you posted. I am so terribly sorry for you and Hector. You did all you could You have all our sympathy. I know how hard it is to lose one of these little guys.

Manor1420

Post   » Mon Mar 05, 2018 7:39 am


Thank you. Thank you for all you do for Guinea pigs and the people who love them

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