Abscesses

Abscesses are common in guinea pigs and often the result of a wound or dental disease. They can prove to be problematic to treat and cure, but it is important to know what treatment options may be available.
 

An abscess is a walled-off pocket of infection, which contains pus filled with bacteria. They can appear anywhere on the body, both externally and internally.
 

External abscesses are normally obvious and present as a firm swelling on an area of the body. They can form after a bite wound, injury or as a complication of dental disease. In this case, they are found around the jaw or head.

Abscesses can appear suddenly and can reach a large size. Sometimes they can rupture and you will see thick pus coming from the abscesses. Your guinea pig may feel quite poorly. They may go off their food and become depressed and lethargic.
 

If you notice an abscess or think your guinea pig may have one, you should consult your vet as soon as possible, even if the guinea pig doesn’t seem to be bothered by it and is acting normally, they should not be ignored. Guinea pigs will hide signs of pain and illness very well.
 

Abscesses are designed to wall off infection and stop it spreading into the blood stream; whilst this is a great idea for preventing spread and further complications, it poses an issue with treatment. As the blood supply to the abscess is therefore poor, this makes using just antibiotics to treat them very unsuccessful.

If possible, the best chance of resolution is to surgically remove the abscess in its entirety; this will require a general anaesthetic. With some abscesses surgical removal isn’t possible due to the location of them, which is frequently the case with dental abscesses. Partial removal of the abscess is unlikely to lead to a cure.

If removal is not possible then opening up the abscess under a general anaesthetic and stitching it open is an option, this is called marsupialization. The wound will then need copious flushing once or twice a day, often for several weeks at home, meaning a lot of dedication as an owner. The problem with this is that guinea pig pus is thick and difficult to flush and even leaving a tiny amount inside the abscess means it will reoccur.

Your vet may recommend taking a swab from the abscesses capsule to send to a lab to see what the bacteria in the abscess is and what antibiotics would be best to use, but as mentioned previously, often abscesses ward off infection so well antibiotics cannot penetrate into the infection well.

Abscesses caused by dental problems will need x-rays or a CT scan to determine if the abscess has started to erode bone or cause osteomyelitis (bone infection).

This may require referral to a specialist exotics vet who is more experienced with the procedure.
 

Depending upon the abscess size, location and treatment you may need to continue with care at home. You may need to medicate your guinea pig with antibiotics, pain relief and gut stimulant medications. If the guinea pig has had the abscesses flushed, you may need to continue to clean this out at home, but your vet will demonstrate how to do this.

Your guinea pig will need to be kept warm, clean and should be housed inside.
 

Abscesses that can be surgically removed in their entirety carry an extremely good prognosis of being curative.

Palliative care may be possible with abscesses that cannot be removed, but where the guinea pig can be kept pain free and comfortable on medications.

Those abscesses associated with dental disease carry a poor prognosis since treatment is unlikely to cure the underlying problem. Reoccurrence is likely in dental related abscesses as they are often associated with the jawbone or joint. In some of these cases, if the guinea pigs welfare is poor and they are in a degree of uncontrolled pain then euthanasia may be the kinder option for your guinea pig.