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Abscesses on male guinea pig

abbykat

abbykat

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
May 31, 2020
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Location
North Carolina, USA
Does anyone have experience with abscesses on guinea pigs? Bob is between 4 and 5 years old and has had a large abscess on his cheek for a couple months now that seemed to have appeared quite literally overnight. He also has a small one on his stomach that has been there a while longer. I took him to the vet, and they ran one simple test and told me it didn’t look like a tumor, but they’d need to do over $1000 in testing to try to determine exactly what it is before they could drain it. I simply can’t afford that much on just tests, not even surgery or treatment. The vet also gave us an antibiotic in case it were a tooth infection, but it didn’t do anything. There aren’t many exotic vets in my area, but I’m waiting on a response from another one to find out how they’d go about this.
From what I’ve heard, this is a fairly common issue and it seems a vet should be able to drain them. I’ve had guinea pigs for 10+ years but have never had this problem. Is it normal for a vet to have to do such expensive tests before draining?
I’ve attached photos so you can see the severity of the one on his face. I’ve been watching him closely and he doesn’t seem to have problems eating or moving in general, but it has to be uncomfortable.
 

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Oh my! That is one massive abscess. Poor piggy. This needs to be dealt quickly especially if it's fast growing. Basically it needs to be marsupialised and your piggy must be prescribed by a strong antibiotic. Azithromycin is what usually prescribed by our vet. Where are you located? Maybe other members would be able to direct you to the right vet. This is a UK based forum but we have members all over the world.

@furryfriends (TEAS) might be able to give some insight about abscesses as she has a rescue for guineapigs with dental issues, which mainly caused by abscesses. @Wiebke
 
anyar.dris said:
Oh my! That is one massive abscess. Poor piggy. This needs to be dealt quickly especially if it's fast growing. Where are you located? Maybe other members would be able to direct you to the right vet. This is a UK based forum but we have members all over the world.

@furryfriends (TEAS) might be able to give some insight about abscesses as she has a rescue for guineapigs with dental issues, which mainly caused by abscesses. @Wiebke
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I’m located in the US, near Raleigh, North Carolina. For some reason, none of the vets near me that treat guinea pigs seem to have much info on abscesses. The vet I saw gave me the options of either going through with their $1000+ in tests or euthanasia if I can’t afford the tests, which seems unnecessary for something fairly common. I contacted the only specifically exotic vet near me and am waiting for a response as they’re only open certain days of the week, so hopefully they have more experience in this area.
 
Siikibam said:
Sorry you’re having trouble with it. That looks really bad and I agree you shouldn’t go with euthanasia! I can’t help as I don’t know about cysts/abscesses. But below is a link for vets in North Carolina. I don’t know how current it is but no harm in trying.
Veterinarians: North Carolina - Guinea Lynx Records
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Thank you very much! Luckily the one listed for my county with great reviews is the one I’ve contacted. Hoping for a response tomorrow when they’re open!
 
Ouch- that's quite a significant abscess and it definitely needs to be lanced and drained and treated with a strong antibiotic. I'm glad you have a call into the exotics vet... abscesses are a fairly common problem with guinea pigs and a vet who says they treat guinea pigs but doesn't know how to manage an abscess is probably not a vet whose expertise I would trust! Best of luck and hope the exotics vet can help. Generally abscesses are lanced, the pus drained, and then left open so that you can continue to irrigate the wound while it heals from the inside out. Guinea pig abscesses don't generally clear with antibiotics alone because they have very thick pus and the body can't clear it away. Definitely ask any questions you may have, a lot of us, myself included, have dealt with abscess aftercare! I would also encourage the vet to check the teeth and weigh your pig regularly to make sure he's able to eat well and the teeth are wearing evenly in back. Sometimes the pain from the abscess can make pigs chew oddly and lead to overgrowth of teeth on one side. Hope this helps!
 
Owch that looks painful :(

Grace my 4-5yr old rainbow Bridge Guinea had an abscess on her cheek, the vet prescribed Zithromax (Azithromycin) antibiotics , she had approx 1 week of it then went in for surgery & they marsupialised (stitched open) the wound & cleared as much pus as possible.

I had to keep the abscess hole open & flush it with standard baytril twice daily, I was also giving her the oral Zithromax for approx another 3wks after surgery. She bounced back brilliantly & when her hair grew back you'd never have known she had an abscess there :)

Hopefully if its an abscess they can get the whole capsule out.

Please ask for some metacam/loxicom painkiller to help him (should also keep his appetite more as normal too).

Hopefully the lump on his tummy is a fatty lump, but see if they can test/ remove it at the same time as the abscess.

Let us know how you get on & healing vibes being sent your way xx
 
Thank you everyone for your advice and support!
Thankfully the exotic vet called back and I was able to schedule an appointment for him this week. Will update when we see them :)
 
After Bob’s vet visit today, we unfortunately got the news we were dreading. The lumps on his body were not abscesses as we had assumed and were unable to be drained. We took him to the best exotic vet in the state and she did everything she could to remove them or drain them, but said there was no pus inside no matter how deep she went, and they looked like large and untreatable tumors. The team of vets was wonderful but advised us to euthanize him as they could tell he was in immense pain and had been trying very hard to hide it. The vet gave the option of providing a painkiller for his remaining months, but said he would quickly lose his ability to eat, and soon be unable to move as his illness progressed. The team here seemed much more knowledgeable than our previous vet and truly tried everything in their power to save him, and I trust that they would not have advised us to put him down unless it were absolutely necessary. We didn’t want him to be in pain or to suffer through his last few months, so although it breaks my heart, I feel we did what was best for him.
Thank you to everyone for your love and support and for the advice you provided to find him a knowledge vet.
 
So sorry you lost Bob. You did all you could for him and I'm sure he knew just how much you loved him. Sleep tight little Bob.xx
 
So sorry you lost Bob you are welcome to post a tribute to him in our Rainbow Bridge Section if/when you feel ready.
 
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