• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Cam's lower jaw.

Lorcan

Lorcan

Forum Buddy
Joined
Nov 26, 2016
Messages
12,840
Reaction score
39,206
Points
2,134
Location
Rochdale
Well I'm a Big Bad Meanie who had to grab Cam out of the cage. He has a bit of a lump on his lower jaw, almost more of a jowl than on his face. I don't know how to describe it and trying to get him to stay put long enough for me to get a look at it...yeah, I couldn't, I had to stand us in front of the bathroom mirror.

If it's hurting him, he's doing a very good job of pretending otherwise. His weight's fine, his appetite's fine, he's not struggling to eat that I can see visually (and I do watch for a few minutes every time they get food anyway). The lump is...I'm not going to explain this very well. It's not hard, and he's not reacting to a gentle palpitation of it. I'm 99% certain he's like Bann and it's a fat lump, but just in a really awkward place. It blends in really well with his jowls.

So I guess my question is, can a fat lump turn up on the lower face like that? It's loose saggy skin, so I guess it wouldn't be a massive surprise that they could, but my experience with those is limited.
 
Apologies for repeated posts, my brain's apparently a few hours behind time tonight.

First one, his face.
Second one, I've marked the area it's in, if it helps. It looks a bit too much like a shadow otherwise.

DSC_1444.webpDSC_1444.webp
 
The weather can't be trusted at the moment which is the biggest problem. He's eating fine, still body checking Bann out of the way for the food, and Bann lost (yet another) tug of war with him over lettuce. And scratched the hell out of me at protesting being picked up twice, heaven forbid.

I'm not trying to avoid the vet by any means, but if it's feasible to wait and see it'd be better for him. Bann's lump hasn't grown since I've first seen it, and Cam...he's always had bigger jowls, and I think I'm just trying to tell myself it's okay not to panic. If he's hiding pain at all then he deserves an Oscar, where that is if it was an abscess it'd be causing him difficulty and the fact that it isn't, well.

Maybe I'm trying to avoid me stressing out at the vets and not just him.
 
Deep breath. Maybe switch to weighing daily for any other indicator that something may not be right and keep a close eye on the lump for any changes/growth. I wouldn't panic if he is still being his usual piggy self and isn't losing weight.

The weather, certainly down this way, seems to be clearing up again from tomorrow so hopefully it won't be long til you feel able to book a vets appointment and get it checked out.
 
We've had sun, rain, hail, rain, hail, sun, rain...there were weather warnings for south Manchester which Rochdale isn't, but I swear we had the same weather anyway, hah. It's the rain that I really don't like, at least if it's cold you can wrap the carrier and stuff more hay in. Rain and hail, not so much. We had a good few days of clear weather there, his timing's awful.

On the bright side they'll both come running over for a pellet, and it's the easiest way to see the other side of his face lol.
 
They wouldn't be guinea pigs unless they saved it for the worst possible timing! I've had Christmas eve abscess draining and bank holiday kidney stones... The whole lot... Always at the worst possible timing
 
To be honest, if they pick a good time to get ill then you really need to worry. It generally means the other ones going to have something wrong within the next fortnight
 
I remember Bann's lump turning up when it was snowing, like that's incredibly helpful lol. I went to get another can of Coke a minute or so after my last post and he was already at the closest corner of the bars to the doors and begging. I'm not convinced he even realises he's got an extra bit on his jaw.

On a more positive note I found the lump when I was trying to see if they'd take the Versele pellets. And they will with the same gusto as their current pellets, so that's one job done.
 
I’m sorry that Cam has a lump as well 😞 I’m not sure if fatty lumps can appear on the jaw but I’m not an expert as I wouldn’t have expected one to have shown up on the hip (Elizabeth). I know what you mean about not wanting to take them out in the weather we’ve been having recently. If you really can’t get him to the vet, I’d keep a close eye on it for any changes as the last think you want is ti end up with an emergency on your hands
 
It's definitely not affecting his behaviour just yet anyway, he was already at the bars before I had the door open when I went in this morning. I have no patience but I'll have to wait and see.
 
Hopefully its nothing to worry about, if it isnt hard, painful or bothering him, but I would have a niggling worry about it being a swollen lymph node so worth a vet check in the next week or two, weather permitting.
We all know lumps can be quite alarming but harmless- old queen Blod has a camel-hump sized back cyst and a very attractive eye wart that mostly cause her no problems- but its worth asking the vet directly "is this a dental abscess or a swollen lymph node" directly just to set your mind at rest, even if it probably isnt x
 
It's barely visible today if I'm honest, although I can't get an up close look because apparently I'm still not forgiven for yesterday. Seeing as I saw it before he was handled yesterday though I should still be able to see it.

It's just in a weird place in his jaw where it could absolutely be a loose skin thing hiding it or making it more obvious or whatever. He's still spent all day screaming at my for food. Nothing wrong with his voice, then.
 
Hazel threw up a lump on he abdomen a few weeks ago. With everything I’ve had going on with Evie and Boris I put it on the back burner and now I can’t find it at all. So these things do sometimes appear and disappear. You are ultra observant. You will know if it changes or anything changes in his behaviour.
 
I agree with everyone else, just keep an eye on it for any changes but maybe look at getting it checked by a vet in the long term just to be sure.
 
Just an update - as of 3 minutes ago when he was trying to gnaw my fingers off to get some coriander, it's gone. Maybe I'd need to sit at a different angle or whatever but looking from the top and side of his head downwards, there's nothing. And my fingers are still intact too, win-win all round.
 
Lorcan said:
Just an update - as of 3 minutes ago when he was trying to gnaw my fingers off to get some coriander, it's gone. Maybe I'd need to sit at a different angle or whatever but looking from the top and side of his head downwards, there's nothing. And my fingers are still intact too, win-win all round.
Click to expand...

That's great, try and catch him in a good mood to have a feel and make sure there's nothing there
 
He's still on bitey turns with my fingers, but he will get practically nose to nose with me for food, including hay, and I definitely can't see anything, or anything even resembling a shadow of something. If that makes sense.

I feel like a bit of an idiot now that it seems to have disappeared, lol. I'll physically check again, more likely this evening, but having slept so much last night he's on the warpath because if I'm asleep I'm not feeding them and apparently that meant I was starving them both. So much bouncing for possible food. But at the same time I know something was there, so I don't feel that stupid. It's not a great place for lumps to turn up.
 
He and Hazel must have something similar - throwing up lumps that vanish again to worry the living daylights out of us!
 
Just caught up with this thread.
Sorry that Cam decided to worry you with a lump but pleased to know it’s gone.
Hope it won’t return.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top