Charlie and the Elizabethan Collar |
| | Why Charlie needed to wear a collar - The operation |
 | Charlie had to have an operation last year to remove two lipomas (fatty lumps) from the side of her body as they had started to irritate her because of their size. To read more about Charlie's lipomas follow the link. The vets had a very good record with this type of operation in guinea pigs and used isoflurane gas which is the safest anaesthetic gas to use for guinea pigs. As the lumps were only attached to her skin, not deeper or connected to muscles or ligaments, they expected it to go very smoothly. |
| After the Operation |
| The operation went as smoothly as expected and Charlie came round well and was alert and chomping away happily in no time. Guinea pigs aren't animals that are very well suited to wearing the surgical collars because the have very little of a neck and are very close to the ground because of their short legs. A collar can make it difficult for them to move around and also eat. So what they do at many surgeries is keep the guinea pig in for several hours after they come round from the operation and observe them. An guinea pig who is likely to be a chewer and try to take the stitches out will usually try to remove them in those first few hours. If they do chew at them, then a collar is put on, and the owner given instructions on how to make sure they can eat and drink. However, if they leave well alone (as most guinea pigs tend to) then they are allowed home without one. Charlie made no attempt to remove her stitches, which were the dissolvable type, so was allowed home later that evening. Unfortunately curiosity or irritation got the better of her later, and Charlie removed half the stitches from one of the wounds the same night. The wound was gaping open so she went back in to have it restitched. They used dissolvable stitches again secured with one 'proper' stitch. Luckily they managed to do it with local anaesthetic meaning she wasn't subjected to another general anaesthetic. Charlie was given an Elizabethan collar to wear to stop her getting to the stitches again as further interference would impair healing and also increase the chances of the wound geting infected. We were also told to house her alone to stop any of the other pigs chewing on the stitches or the collar. |
| Collar Number One |
 | The first collar we were given was a kitten/ puppy size made of a pliable plastic. The smaller ones they had for rodents wouldn't fit round her neck. A piece of gauze was tied around her neck - tight enough so she couldn't get it off but not so tightly it could have interfered with her breathing. It was tied to one end of the gauze was very long and this was tied around her neck again, but threaded through the loops on the collar to attach it to her neck. |
 | We had very little success with this collar. It make it very difficult for her to move around. We tried bedding her on towels at first but this just provided something for the collar to catch on as she moved around so didn't work. In the end we just lined the cage with newspaper and used no bedding as if we did, this was simply scooped up in the collar towards her face as she moved around. We put some hay around the edges for her to lie on but nothing that could get caught on her collar. |
| Eating and drinking were difficult for her too. I put in a water bottle with an extra long spout so she could get to it, but it was more awkward so I made sure I offered her water by syringe too. I also offered her veggies by hand which she was glad of. The food bowl was near impossible for her to access with the collar so I put the dried food on the floor and she soon adapted a technique of scooping the food up and lifting her head so she could get to it. However it was during developing this technique she figured out that if she walked in to the side of the cage with the collar, the edges of the collar would bend in and allow her to chew on it! Already trying to shake it off and push it off with her paws, this new plan really seemed like a good way to get the dang thing off. I kept her under close observation but she was getting too good at it and managing to chew little pieces off which I didn't want her eating. I tried trimming the collar a bit so it wouldn't bend back so far, but this brought the edge in to closer reach and she wasn't giving up on the idea of chewing it off. |
| Collar Number Two |
 | So, back to the vets! This time we got a smaller rodent collar which was made of much tougher plastic. It didn't actually fit around her neck itself, but using a length of gauze to tie the two ends together, we could get it securely on to her. It didn't reach out as far from her face as the other one which meant she was better able to access food and water, but still unable to get to the stitches. This plan worked much better. She still wasn't at all keen on wearing it of course, but she could get about more easily and it felt more secure which I think made her try to get it off less. We could also use more hay as bedding as there was less of a 'scooping' effect as she moved along. She wore this for eight days - until the wound was healed up enough for the undoing of stitches not to be a problem. I would take it off when I could - always for long periods as it was often the first 15 minutes of having it on that were the worst for her and I didn't want to stress her out by constantly taking it on and off. |
 | When she had the collar off, it was necessary to either have her on your lap, or watch right over her whether she was in the cage or having floor time so you could stop her chewing on the stitches within a second of her trying. It doesn't take long at all to chew them off or pull on them causing damage to the wound. I would take it off for a couple of hours in the morning so she could have a stretch around and eat her fresh veggies in peace. During this time I'd check to make sure there was no irritation around the neck caused by the pressure of the collar. In the evenings where possible I would try and have leave it off for 4-5 hours. |
 | Charlie's always been a snuggly lap pig so most of this was spent happily curled up on someone's lap having a little snooze and munching on some veggies as they went about their business, whether it was watching tv, being on the computer, talking on the phone or doing paperwork. She was certainly relieved to have the collar off for a good stretch of time as it must have been uncomfortable for her to sleep. This system worked well - if someone was going to be in all day then it would be off for longer. I think she quite missed the monopoly on all the cuddles once the collar was off! |
| The End! |
| After eight days, the wound was nicely healed so the collar came off and Charlie was one very relieved pig! The one proper stitch she'd had was also removed at this time. Usually regular stitches are left in place for ten days. The dissolvable ones were still securing the wound, although there wasn't any worry about it re-opening even if she did chew at it or the collar wouldn't have come off. The popcorning frenzy when she was back with her friends and the collar off was quite amusing! She did have another chew at the wound but didn't do enough damage to it for any further treatment to be needed and it coontinued to heal up completely. Phew! |
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