Guinea pig lump

[ally08]

Hey I noticed a large lump that came up suddenly on my guinea pig Ronnie's throat. I took him to the animal trust last Friday who were lovely, but when I got him there I found out they didn't specialize in guinea pigs. They prescribed some antibiotics and said see how he gets on. The lump was a bit bigger and higher up but now appears a bit smaller and has dropped lower. I took him to my local vets this Thursday and he didn't know if it was an abscess or a tumour but wanted to give him anesthetic to sleep and operate to remove and stitch him up. Ronnie is only 6-7 months old. I will attach pictures of his lump. He has been eating and drinking well, and is still very playful and active.
He is booked in next Friday but wondered if it is normal to put guinea pigs under anesthetic for an abscess as I know guinea pigs have higher percentage chance of something going wrong under it compared to other animals.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear of the lump.

Yes it is very normal for an anaesthetic to be used, with the hole stitched open to allow for daily flushing to ensure it doesn’t refill until it heals by itself

This guide will help you further

I hope he is ok.

Thread 'Tips For Post-operative Care'

Feb 7, 2016

1 Preparing for an operation
2 Care tips for freshly operated guinea pigs
- General advice
- Supportive home care and syringe feeding
- Pain relief, gut stimulants and when to see a vet as an emergency
3 Recovery
4 Companionship
- The importance of company
- Tips for medically separated piggies


Ideally, your...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 2
• Forum: Wiebke's Home Care Guides

• 

 

[weepweeps]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I’m sorry your piggy has a lump.

I’ve had a piggy with a tooth root abscess. He had an operation to drain it and stitch it open. I then flushed it twice a day. Zithromax is a great antibiotic for abscesses but it did stop his appetite completely while he was on it.

Good luck. Ask the vet if they are experienced in operating on piggies.

 

[ally08]

Hi thank you both for your advice. Did you flush it with saline water? Just by syringing it in? How long generally would you do this for?

 

[weepweeps]

Hi thank you both for your advice. Did you flush it with saline water? Just by syringing it in? How long generally would you do this for?

I did it for about 10 days before the wound closed up. You have to keep it open as long as possible. Even picking off any scabs that try to form. I used cooled boiled water to flush it. I also used a cotton bud with a clean cloth over the end of it to clean inside. Pepper seemed to like that. lol.

 

[Honey&maple]

Hey. My girl had an abscess and looked pretty similar to yours. She had hers drained at the vets with no anaesthetic or anything and sent home for me to keep the hole open for as long as i could (I didn’t get told to flush it) and a strong dose of Baytril. It has managed to get rid of it completely which was good. They did say if it did come back she would need surgery on it to remove the abscess capsule.

However , all abscesses are different for eg sizes etc so it depends what your vet thinks is the best solution for your pigs

But good luck with it all! I’m sure it will go great

 

[ally08]

Thank you everyone for your advice and sharing your experiences