Description

Guinea pigs remain a popular pet among the young and old and are commonly presented in practice requiring veterinary care. As nurses we may feel less confident in monitoring anaesthesia in these species and they do have a few physiological differences which make them more challenging. This lecture will talk through how we can effectively nurse guinea pigs and support them through an anaesthesia safely.

Learning Objectives

• Understand how guinea pigs physiologically differ from our common cat and dogs species in practice
• Why we commonly anaesthetise guinea pigs in practice
• Why pre-stabilisation is important when anaesthetising unwell guinea pigs
• How to effectively monitor guinea pigs under general anaesthesia
• How to nurse guinea pigs in the post operative period