A veterinary nurse wearing blue gloves holds an anaesthesia mask over the face of a black guinea pig during a medical procedure.

This baby guinea pig needed a risky surgery

At just a few months old, guinea pig Frankenstein was living in pain and needed high-risk surgery. Woodgreen were there to help get this piggy back on his paws.

When a male guinea pig managed to escape his enclosure and mingle with his female friends, their owner suddenly found themselves with nine pregnant piggies! Thankfully, they came to Woodgreen for help.

We made sure the pregnant guinea pigs had everything they needed to give birth safely. And once they were old enough, the baby guinea pigs all came into our care to be rehomed.

Two of those guinea pigs were bonded littermates, Frankenstein and Wendigo. Like all the other guinea pig babies, Wendigo was happy and healthy, but Frankenstein was different. We noticed that one of his eyes had ruptured, and it was causing him a lot of pain.

A veterinary nurse wearing blue gloves uses a breathing mask on a small, unconscious dark-coloured animal lying on a clinical pad.

We took Frankenstein to our veterinary team

They examined him carefully and determined that to allow him to live a pain-free life, we would need to remove his injured eye.

For small pets like guinea pigs, we only perform surgery if it’s absolutely necessary, as it can be very complex and high risk.

Not only is anaesthetic very risky for a pet like Frankenstein, but the surgery itself would be delicate and tricky. But knowing we couldn’t leave Frankenstein in pain, we decided to operate.

Thankfully, Frankenstein’s surgery was successful. But the risk wasn’t over – guinea pigs are highly prone to infection, so when we returned him to his unit with Wendigo, we had to make some important adjustments.

“Being so small and low to the ground, we wanted to limit as much dirt or debris as possible getting into the wound,” explained Holly, one of our small pet specialists. “We removed the hay from the floor and offered it in enrichment items such as boxes and paper bags instead.”

A black guinea pig sitting on a brown towel next to a piece of red pepper.

Unfortunately, Frankenstein's wound became infected

We first noticed some discharge and opened stitches, and treated them as quickly as we could. Our vets gave Frankenstein antibiotics and started washing his wounds on a daily basis.

“We organised for the vet to come down to Frankenstein’s unit where possible,” Holly explained. “When a trip to surgery was necessary, we ensured Frankenstein and Wendigo went together and had as little time apart as possible.”

After weeks of dedicated care from our veterinary team, and with Wendigo by his side throughout, Frankenstein finally started to get better.

With the infection cleared and Frankenstein getting used to living life with one eye, there was only one thing left to do – find this pair of piggies a new home!

Luckily, Gary and his daughter Amelie were looking for some guinea pigs to join their family, and Frankenstein and Wendigo were the perfect fit.

"We have changed their names to Puck and Pudding. They are a lot more confident and we have weighed them and they are both a lot heavier. I love to hear them squeak when I cuddle them and I really want to see them pop-corning."

Amelie, Puck and Pudding's new owner