Penny's Med Thread

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Sep 24, 2021 10:13 pm


I think one of the few times I actually saw a cecal poop was once when trying to give a butt bath to a guinea pig. One kind of slid out. The greenness and smelliness was noticeable! Good to know she has occasionally eaten them from the floor.

I would imagine having her separated would also mean her cagemate will not steal them from her (some guinea pigs do this).

Your explanation of the incision was helpful. Note that sometimes theoretically "dissolvable" sutures can protrude and/or not dissolve. You have the benefit of the incision being in a fairly easy location to monitor.

Annapox

Post   » Fri Sep 24, 2021 10:24 pm


Thanks for the info! Unfortunately, Penny escaped from the cone while I wasn't looking; I think it loosened over time. On to Plan B: Anti-itch cream. We don't have Preparation H (which is mentioned on the post-op care page) in the house, but we do have an anti-itch cream with the same active ingredient in the same concentration, so I'm hoping that'll help.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Sep 25, 2021 8:58 am


You may have to look over the warnings on the anti-itch cream and see if there are any warnings about ingesting it. Your trying to keep it open to the air is excellent (the best way to heal vs. bandaging which can hold in moisture) especially in this case where you don't have to worry about dirt as much.

Annapox

Post   » Sat Sep 25, 2021 9:29 am


Ooh, good point. Yeah, the anti-itch stuff I was going to use has a warning about ingesting it. I'll see if we have anything that doesn't have such a warning. If not, I will probably need to go to the store.

I realized this morning that Penny's poop has been slightly off since the surgery. (Delayed realization, I know.) She's still pooping plenty, but her poop doesn't dry up over time like it normally does; it stays squishy. I think it might also be slightly bigger than usual. (I'd compare the size against Lily's poop, but Lily's poop is always pretty small, which is probably because Lily herself is so small.) Could this be a side effect of the meloxicam? Her weight has been stable, and she's still eating and drinking normally. She's also getting harder to medicate, which I usually take as a good sign.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Sep 25, 2021 9:55 am


I always think of things like stress interfering with digestion too and surgery can be stressful. I don't recall soft poops being related to metacam but it is possible. While soft poops can be an irritation, it is runny poops and diarrhea that are more dangerous.

Look for a product you can use on babies. I think there are also over the counter oral anesthetics for teething babies that might address the itching.

Annapox

Post   » Sat Sep 25, 2021 2:32 pm


I got some Baby Orajel to put on Penny's incision, so hopefully that will help. She's still eating all of her food and still seems happy, but she's lost 46 grams (4% of her body weight) since yesterday. I called the vet, and they're going to have a vet tech call me back. Why would she be losing weight if she's eating the same amount of food as usual? I suppose she could be eating less hay or drinking less water, but I see her do both fairly frequently.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sat Sep 25, 2021 7:13 pm


It's not at all uncommon for a pig to lose weight after surgery. I wouldn't worry about it unless she continues to lose.

Annapox

Post   » Fri Oct 01, 2021 1:36 pm


Penny's weight has been stable for the past few days. She's about 50 grams lighter than she was before the surgery, but I imagine that's because she's missing an organ now. She doesn't try to scratch her incision anymore, and her poop is back to normal at this point, so I'd say her recovery is going very well.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Oct 01, 2021 9:29 pm


Sounds like she is recovering nicely!

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Fri Oct 01, 2021 10:51 pm


Thanks for the update, it sounds like she's doing well.

Annapox

Post   » Sun Oct 03, 2021 8:06 pm


I spoke too soon. Penny must have started scratching her incision again, because it now looks like this. It's a brighter red than before. The brown stuff at either end of the incision is crusty stuff that I was unable to get off with a damp paper towel and didn't try anything more aggressive on for fear of hurting the incision.

Image

The vet wants to re-check it, and I was told to make her wear an old sock between now and her appointment on 10/7 (the earliest opening the vet had). While we're on the topic of Penny's incision, what should I do about the crusty stuff around it? Penny got rid of some of it herself, hence the crust-less patch in the middle.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Oct 03, 2021 11:13 pm


I can't see it too well. Perhaps looking at how my guinea pig's incision granulated might help? There are some similarities. I thought she was coming apart and the vet was pleased with how it was granulating. Click on the larger image to see things better.

https://www.guinealynx.info/spay.html

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