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Blocked sweat gland?

T

Twinkle & Sparkle

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
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North Shields, Tyne and Wear
Hi. This is my first post and I'm hoping you can help. About 4 weeks ago I noticed a small lump on my 3.5 year old sows side just above her hip. It wasn't sore to touch and she has been well otherwise. Took her to the vet who took a sample and said it was a blocked sweat gland and drained it. The contents were thick and dark grey so not a cyst or absess. He said it may return in a few months but it is back already. I can't find any information on a blocked sweat gland, only a grease gland but it really doesn't seem to be in the right place for that. Does anyone have any experience of this? The vet told me the only way to get rid of it permanently was to surgically remove it but I don't want to put her through this if we can avoid it. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.
 
Betsy said:
If it was an abscess there is no mistaking the smell its :vom:.

This was Christian's abscess that he had removed did the contents look like this?

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Thankfully I didn't have to smell it but the vet never mentioned a smell. It definitely didn't look like that. It was really thick, not really fluid like, and was very dark grey in colour. She also has no pain with it which I imagine do get with an abscess?
 
Twinkle & Sparkle said:
Thankfully I didn't have to smell it but the vet never mentioned a smell. It definitely didn't look like that. It was really thick, not really fluid like, and was very dark grey in colour. She also has no pain with it which I imagine do get with an abscess?
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Is she a dark haired piggy? Sebecaous cysts are filled with pus reminiscent of cottage cheese and often the pus can be coloured to match skin tone so where there is black hair/skin the pus can be grey in colour. This rather sounds like what could be the issue for your piggy and removing the capsule is the best way to prevent it refilling but to be honest I would be looking for a more cavy savvy vet to minimise the risks of surgery as cysts are very common so, if it is that and the vet didn't know what it was, that would indicate they aren't particularly knowledgeable with piggies
 
Lady Kelly said:
Is she a dark haired piggy? Sebecaous cysts are filled with pus reminiscent of cottage cheese and often the pus can be coloured to match skin tone so where there is black hair/skin the pus can be grey in colour. This rather sounds like what could be the issue for your piggy and removing the capsule is the best way to prevent it refilling but to be honest I would be looking for a more cavy savvy vet to minimise the risks of surgery as cysts are very common so, if it is that and the vet didn't know what it was, that would indicate they aren't particularly knowledgeable with piggies
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She is dark brown in colour so this would make sense. I'll do some research to try and find a specialist vet for her. Thank you.
 
Twinkle & Sparkle said:
She is dark brown in colour so this would make sense. I'll do some research to try and find a specialist vet for her. Thank you.
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I had a black and white piggy with a large cyst but it came up under his black skin and it was grey pus coming out but very, very thick. There was no smell either and I've smelt an abscess too so there is no mistaking! My piggy was fairly old and wobbly (he had progressively got worse with surgeries and had other underlying health problems) so we decided to not operate but that meant I had to attempt to empty the cyst on a fairly regular basis and keep it clean to prevent infection. Definitely not a nice job
 
Lady Kelly said:
I had a black and white piggy with a large cyst but it came up under his black skin and it was grey pus coming out but very, very thick. There was no smell either and I've smelt an abscess too so there is no mistaking! My piggy was fairly old and wobbly (he had progressively got worse with surgeries and had other underlying health problems) so we decided to not operate but that meant I had to attempt to empty the cyst on a fairly regular basis and keep it clean to prevent infection. Definitely not a nice job
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YUCK :vom: :yikes:
 
Lady Kelly said:
I had a black and white piggy with a large cyst but it came up under his black skin and it was grey pus coming out but very, very thick. There was no smell either and I've smelt an abscess too so there is no mistaking! My piggy was fairly old and wobbly (he had progressively got worse with surgeries and had other underlying health problems) so we decided to not operate but that meant I had to attempt to empty the cyst on a fairly regular basis and keep it clean to prevent infection. Definitely not a nice job
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Yeah the vet told me I could do that myself instead of keep taking her back there but my piggy is a wriggler and quite fiesty, I think she would have my hands off if I did it. How do you manage?
 
Twinkle & Sparkle said:
Yeah the vet told me I could do that myself instead of keep taking her back there but my piggy is a wriggler and quite fiesty, I think she would have my hands off if I did it. How do you manage?
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Pete was old and a big softy. He wasn't comfortable with it though but it was on his back so easy to reach and keep clean. If he had been younger and without other health problems I would have had the surgery to remove it as it would have been kinder for him in the long run
 
I had a burst cyst capsule removed on one of mine yesterday. It went two years without refilling but then went a bit yuck. The thought of emptying and cleaning the cyst long-term was unbearable and I needed an extra pair of hands!
 
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