Lump on abdomen

[JDA85]

Hi,

One of our guinea pigs had what we can only describe as a stroke. He was taken to the vet, and they brought him back from the brink. He is a rescue and has had one before (not in our care). For a while, he lost the use of a front leg but can now use it again. He's suffered from extreme weight loss and hair loss; the latter seems to be resolving itself.
We've taken him to two vets, but they don't know what this growth is. We plan on taking him to an exotic pet vet as the lump continues to grow, but in the meantime, can anyone give us an idea of what it could be?


Thank you

 

[weepweeps]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I’m sorry your piggy has been poorly. That is a big lump and it’s in a very awkward place for him. Good luck getting a third opinion. Whatever it is I would think it will need to be removed as it’s only going to get bigger and cause more issues.

Here is our guide on lumps and bumps.

Guinea Lynx :: Lumps

 

[Claire W]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I’m sorry to hear your boy has been poorly that is a big lump is it over his nipple? If so, it could be a mammary tumour (breast cancer) males can get it too. Or it could be something else. Either way, it will likely need removing. All the best for getting a third opinion from the exotic vet x

 

[JDA85]

Thank you for the responses.
The lump is between his nipples.
I've found an exotic animal vet and will take him in on Wednesday.
Having just lost another, I hope it's something treatable.

 

[Claire W]

Thank you for the responses.
The lump is between his nipples.
I've found an exotic animal vet and will take him in on Wednesday.
Having just lost another, I hope it's something treatable.

Fingers very firmly crossed. I’ll be thinking of you both on Wednesday.

I’m sorry for the loss of your other piggy x

 

[Freela]

Unfortunately there's no real way to tell from looking what a lump could be caused by, but I really hope the next vet can give you a firm diagnosis and a plan to deal with it. Please keep us posted as to what the vet says, and wishing your piggie all the best!

 

[weepweeps]

Good luck. I hope this vet is more knowledgeable.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry, but any variety of lump can go into a runaway mode so it is impossible for us to tell you what it exactly is apart from that it is not a mammary tumor as it is not crowned by a nipple, which would be very visible.

All the best for seeing another vet. Please see whether you can get an emergency slot sooner after the weekend by calling in first thing in the morning as the lump is very large already.

 

[Wheekallweek]

Best of luck! Hope it's nothing serious

 

[JDA85]

Update

We saw an excellent exotic pet vet who wasn't quite sure what it was despite having operated on 10's of thousands of small animals and even lions and tigers!

Spoiler: Don't read if you're eating.

He squeezed the area, and urine, with white chunks, came out.

Could be a hernia where the bladder has popped out of position.

X-Ray and operation next...

 

[weepweeps]

Sending healing vibes

 

[Wiebke]

Update

We saw an excellent exotic pet vet who wasn't quite sure what it was despite having operated on 10's of thousands of small animals and even lions and tigers!

Spoiler: Don't read if you're eating.

He squeezed the area, and urine, with white chunks, came out.

Could be a hernia where the bladder has popped out of position.

X-Ray and operation next...

All the best and fingers crossed for you and your boy.
Tips For Post-operative Care

That lump was like nothing that has ever turned up on here, either, nor have we ever before seen something like what you are dealing with in the nearly 20 years this forum has been around!

No amount of experience will ever stop nature from throwing real curve balls at you. Nature has got a lot more phantasy and time to try things out than we short-lived humans do... and she does it both in the good and in the bad. You learn something new on this forum all the time. Thank you for your updat.

 

[JDA85]

He survived the operation today, and it was, as suspected, a herniated bladder.
Relieved, to say the least - but he's not out of the woods yet.

 

[Wiebke]

He survived the operation today, and it was, as suspected, a herniated bladder.
Relieved, to say the least - but he's not out of the woods yet.

View attachment 267397

OUCH - Fingers firmly crossed for a good recovery.

I've had one of my boys with hernia as a late neutering complication and my hub needing two hernia operations in one year but I must admit that I have never come across a herniated bladder. That is extremely rare!