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Bann's mysterious lump (and a URI)

Lorcan

Lorcan

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Bann's lump has been growing a little since Cam died, and I looked at it today and felt it's getting too big for my liking, so made the appointment and took him in. About half an hour after I made the appointment for him I realised his breathing sounded clicky.

So his breathing has been checked, he weighed in at a respectable 1.02kg (and peed all over the table a couple of minutes later :))), he's on 0.2ml of Baytril (2.5%) twice a day, but that leaves the lump. It contains blood, no pus or fat cells or anything else so far as the vet could tell. It's very soft, it's mobile, and it's not attached to anything. The most likely option is a fat lump, and he did say it could be one even if it's blood. I'm not convinced I'm reassured, but I don't disbelieve him either.

I'm probably being paranoid, I lost Cam less than a month ago.
 
I’m sorry that Bann is causing you concern 😞 Did the vet mention a fine needle biopsy of the lump so you know for sure?

I’m sorry about his crackly breathing. I hope the baytril nips any potential problem in the bud and that he’s feeling better soon x
 
Claire W said:
I’m sorry that Bann is causing you concern 😞 Did the vet mention a fine needle biopsy of the lump so you know for sure?

I’m sorry about his crackly breathing. I hope the baytril nips any potential problem in the bud and that he’s feeling better soon x
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Yeah, he said if Bann wouldn't let him he wouldn't fight him for it, but that's how we got the blood, he'd been expecting fat cells. He did say if it did grow they'd be happy to remove it because it's not attached to anything.
 
Lorcan said:
Bann's lump has been growing a little since Cam died, and I looked at it today and felt it's getting too big for my liking, so made the appointment and took him in. About half an hour after I made the appointment for him I realised his breathing sounded clicky.

So his breathing has been checked, he weighed in at a respectable 1.02kg (and peed all over the table a couple of minutes later :))), he's on 0.2ml of Baytril (2.5%) twice a day, but that leaves the lump. It contains blood, no pus or fat cells or anything else so far as the vet could tell. It's very soft, it's mobile, and it's not attached to anything. The most likely option is a fat lump, and he did say it could be one even if it's blood. I'm not convinced I'm reassured, but I don't disbelieve him either.

I'm probably being paranoid, I lost Cam less than a month ago.
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HUGS

The post-death jitters are never nice. I guess that all ou can do is keep an eye on the lump. Gethin had a fatty lump like that on his chest that suddenly blew up. Thankfully no cancer and it hadn't gone between the ribs.

Very sorry about the clicking from the lungs.
 
Lorcan said:
Yeah, he said if Bann wouldn't let him he wouldn't fight him for it, but that's how we got the blood, he'd been expecting fat cells. He did say if it did grow they'd be happy to remove it because it's not attached to anything.
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That makes sense. I guess all you can do is keep an eye on it and make any decisions if it grows any more (((hugs))) x
 
Holding you in my thoughts.
Hope the lump is just a fatty lump.
You’re still grieving for Cam so it’s natural to be extra cautious about Bann
 
Oh no poor Bann and poor you - awful to have this worry after Cam
Hopefully Bann will soon be ok and that lump doesn’t get bigger
I can understand not feeling reassured !
I had a cat who had a fatty lump on her side and it was left til it got a bit bigger it contained blood and fat when it was removed and it came back a few years later but it didn’t cause her any problems and she lived till she was 18
 
The lump's just in an awkward place. I'm not sure he's aware of it as such, but at some stage he's probably going to injure it because of where it is and it's more luck than anything else that he hasn't already.

He screamed like a banshee when I picked him up just now and screamed and fought til I managed to extract him from the bed I picked him up in, clicky breathing in my ear, and then took the Baytril without so much as a complaining wheek. In fact he seemed more interested in getting me to put him down again and apparently thought if he could get his meds finished I'd leave him alone 🤨 hopefully that attitude continues tomorrow, or it'll be a very long week.

...and hopefully Mourne doesn't come down with it either.
 
Let’s hope so
I can tell Bobby is feeling a bit better as he’s biting the syringes now
He hates being handled and was quite compliant at the vets and for his first day of meds
 
Bann loves gnawing on a syringe if it has Metacam in it lol. I'm more surprised at the screaming, for a brief moment his lungs sounded perfectly healthy. And then he stopped and the clicking started again. 🤷‍♂️
 
So, mid-course update. He doesn't like Baytril but he has been taking it. I think. He fights less if I hold him with his back to my chest with my left hand and syringe in my right, so there's probably a couple of drops getting lost here and there. I realise this isn't an optimal medication regime, but this is Bann and he could make it much more awkward if he wanted to. His breathing sounds much better too and thankfully his appetite for hay and veggies is unchanged.

Mourne has escaped catching it so far I think. Bann doesn't make much noise so it's easy to hear when his breathing is wrong. Mourne, meanwhile, never shuts up and I don't know if he's fine or if I can't hear it over the constant chatter. But I can't hear it when I'm handling it though so I'm assuming he's fine for now.
 
So, last dose of Baytril was this morning and I think we're both relieved lol. The audible click to his breathing has gone, he's still eating as normal, and he's still talking to me! Sort of, anyway.

Mourne still sounds clear. I think we got lucky there.
 
Now I just get to wonder about the lump and whether to have it removed or not. If he was younger I'd be all for it but...I don't know.
 
Lorcan said:
Now I just get to wonder about the lump and whether to have it removed or not. If he was younger I'd be all for it but...I don't know.
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If it’s not bothering him maybe watch and wait.

If you don’t remove it and something happens you’ll feel bad and if you do remove it and something happens you’ll feel bad.

You know the drill @Lorcan. No easy answer for us piggy parents. You will make the decision that feels right for you and Bann.
 
I know. It doesn't bother him in the slightest from what I can tell, but it's not a small lump and it's in an awkward place, and it's a bit of a miracle he's not injured it at some stage.

But I'm worried with his age, and the recent URI doesn't help.

And also if there's any pig likely to wreck his stitches, especially by accident, it's Bann lol.
 
weepweeps said:
If it’s not bothering him maybe watch and wait.

If you don’t remove it and something happens you’ll feel bad and if you do remove it and something happens you’ll feel bad.

You know the drill @Lorcan. No easy answer for us piggy parents. You will make the decision that feels right for you and Bann.
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I agree
 
Oh my he’s a gorgeous boy ❤️
You know him best Lorcan and will decide what’s best 🥰
 
YvonneBlue said:
You know Bann best and should do what you think is best for him. You can always ask your vet for their opinion too. xx
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I got the impression the vet wasn't too worried about it, even after he got blood and not fat cells from it. His breathing was the more important thing at that point though.
 
I'm still not sure what to do about Bann. After the antibiotics stopped he seemed to just withdraw. He'd eat if the food was in front of him but (unless it's oats) he seems entirely unaware of the existence of said food. He doesn't act like it's pain related and his breathing is still normal.

Then last night the heater was on next to the cages and it was like he'd "woken up", doing everything normal, being a naughty pain in the bum, and putting Mourne in his place.

I have to wonder if it's the heat? The thermostat is set for 20, the room thermometer says it's 20. I'd turn it up but that's then too warm for me upstairs. I still have the electric heater here so I've switched that back on again to see if it helps, but he has me baffled because I don't know if it really could be just the cold, when it's not actually cold.
 
He definitely shouldn't be cold at 20C. We keep our skinnies at 18C without any issues. It might be worth a vet visit to check the URI has completely cleared up.x
 
Lorcan said:
I'm still not sure what to do about Bann. After the antibiotics stopped he seemed to just withdraw. He'd eat if the food was in front of him but (unless it's oats) he seems entirely unaware of the existence of said food. He doesn't act like it's pain related and his breathing is still normal.

Then last night the heater was on next to the cages and it was like he'd "woken up", doing everything normal, being a naughty pain in the bum, and putting Mourne in his place.

I have to wonder if it's the heat? The thermostat is set for 20, the room thermometer says it's 20. I'd turn it up but that's then too warm for me upstairs. I still have the electric heater here so I've switched that back on again to see if it helps, but he has me baffled because I don't know if it really could be just the cold, when it's not actually cold.
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Is the cage on or near the floor? It'll be cooler lower down. Or a bit of a draught which he'll feel more, having no clothes (fur) on. Have you tried a heat pad for Bann?

As far as the posssibilty of Mourne catching Bann's URI is concerned, from what I remember of having URI-prone Zebedee with Squeaks, most respiratory infections are due to stress of some kind reducing the effectiveness of the piggy's immune system against bugs that they carry most of the time. Squeaks was with Zebedee for 2 years but never caught any infection off him.
 
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