Lump

[DM190921]

Hello, I’m looking for some advice please. One of my pigs has a lump on the side of her neck area. She’s booked in with vet on Tuesday. It’s either going to be an abscess or tumour. Has anyone had experience with this? My thoughts are that the vet won’t be able to tell unless she’s put under & they go in to check. Maybe I’m wrong & an abscess can be injected to see if it drains first? Can anyone tell me how it’s determined whether it’s an abscess or tumour please & how they would find out? Thank you for reading

 

[Lulum]

Hi, I went to the vet four weeks ago with something like this. My boy was 200g below his normal weight at the time as he had had this problem for longer, but at the previous vet they didn't address it and sent us home and it took a week to get elsewhere. Still, the vet told me the only way to find out what it was to put the guinea pig to sleep (even though it was risky for him at the time), suck the fluid out of the lump and then analyze that somehow.

In my case, the guinea pig had inflammatory cells in the lump and now he's been on antibiotics for two weeks and we're hoping they'll work so he doesn't have to have surgery.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that your piggy gets better soon, and be sure to let us know afterward what it ended up being.

 

[weepweeps]

I hope you get on ok at the vets and it’s nothing too serious.

 

[DM190921]

Hi, I went to the vet four weeks ago with something like this. My boy was 200g below his normal weight at the time as he had had this problem for longer, but at the previous vet they didn't address it and sent us home and it took a week to get elsewhere. Still, the vet told me the only way to find out what it was to put the guinea pig to sleep (even though it was risky for him at the time), suck the fluid out of the lump and then analyze that somehow.

In my case, the guinea pig had inflammatory cells in the lump and now he's been on antibiotics for two weeks and we're hoping they'll work so he doesn't have to have surgery.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that your piggy gets better soon, and be sure to let us know afterward what it ended up being.

Hi, thank you for sharing. I’m sorry your piggy went through this & I hope the antibiotics work. I have noticed princess has lost some weight! I can just tell even without weighing as ours broke. If the vet doesn’t do anything I will refuse to pay & tell them straight it’s not acceptable. I want to know what this lump is & how they will treat it. If it’s a tumour then can you suck fluid out? I thought they would need to go in. It’s so scary the thought of them going under. Is inflammatory cells cancerous? Or does it mean cancer? Thank you I will post when she’s be seen. I hope your piggy feels better soon Xx

 

[DM190921]

I hope you get on ok at the vets and it’s nothing too serious.

Thank you I will update once she’s been to vet xx

 

[Bill & Ted]

My Ginger had a lump on her hip removed last month and has made a brilliant recovery. The lump was a cyst, she also had a wart removed from under her eye at the same time. The most important thing is finding an experienced guinea pig vet that can anaesthetise your guinea pig safely if needed, that takes away most of the risk and a good knowledge of aftercare too

 

[Lulum]

Hi, thank you for sharing. I’m sorry your piggy went through this & I hope the antibiotics work. I have noticed princess has lost some weight! I can just tell even without weighing as ours broke. If the vet doesn’t do anything I will refuse to pay & tell them straight it’s not acceptable. I want to know what this lump is & how they will treat it. If it’s a tumour then can you suck fluid out? I thought they would need to go in. It’s so scary the thought of them going under. Is inflammatory cells cancerous? Or does it mean cancer? Thank you I will post when she’s be seen. I hope your piggy feels better soon Xx

Thank you for the kind words, he is a strong boy, so whatever it is, I believe he will make it.
Definitely demand that Princess gets a proper check-up, where I was I was told they were guinea pig specialists, but after finding out they only learned to grind their teeth and nothing else I went elsewhere to make an appointment.


I also recommend finding someone who really knows the guinea pigs well and will give you a proper diagnosis.
At the other vet they told me that by taking fluid from the lump they would find out if it was an abscess, if there were inflammatory cells which unfortunately could be cancerous or if it was a benign tumour. If I remember what the vet told me correctly, there's a good chance it's cancer if the moment you palpate the lump it sort of holds tight and you can't quite feel the shape of the lump from the back. But don't take that information 100% I'm not sure I'm remembering it right. That momentary lull is very nerve-wracking, especially when they're not at their best. My little guy has a lump further down his neck, but if Princess has it closer to the surface of her skin, maybe they'll offer to give it a try without putting her to sleep for a while.
Definitely, if it's in your power, I would recommend syringe feeding every two hours at least 15-20g of critical care, it worked for me when he was losing weight, it only stopped the weight loss at first but then slowly he started gaining weight too, for me it was worth cancelling two holidays and part-time jobs.

 

[DM190921]

Thank you for the kind words, he is a strong boy, so whatever it is, I believe he will make it.
Definitely demand that Princess gets a proper check-up, where I was I was told they were guinea pig specialists, but after finding out they only learned to grind their teeth and nothing else I went elsewhere to make an appointment.


I also recommend finding someone who really knows the guinea pigs well and will give you a proper diagnosis.
At the other vet they told me that by taking fluid from the lump they would find out if it was an abscess, if there were inflammatory cells which unfortunately could be cancerous or if it was a benign tumour. If I remember what the vet told me correctly, there's a good chance it's cancer if the moment you palpate the lump it sort of holds tight and you can't quite feel the shape of the lump from the back. But don't take that information 100% I'm not sure I'm remembering it right. That momentary lull is very nerve-wracking, especially when they're not at their best. My little guy has a lump further down his neck, but if Princess has it closer to the surface of her skin, maybe they'll offer to give it a try without putting her to sleep for a while.
Definitely, if it's in your power, I would recommend syringe feeding every two hours at least 15-20g of critical care, it worked for me when he was losing weight, it only stopped the weight loss at first but then slowly he started gaining weight too, for me it was worth cancelling two holidays and part-time jobs.

I have critical care here, thank you for that I will start feeding her it. She’s never had it before so hopefully likes it . Unfortunately I’m in Inverness Scotland & there are no guinea pug savvy vets here . Will just need to be the vet in general. I really don’t think it’s an abscess as it’s quite hard but will have to wait till tue to see. If putting her under can be avoided then definitely will do that. Hopefully your boys on the mend with the antibiotics. Thank you for the great advice. She doesn’t like the lump being touched so might see when she settles for s cuddle to try that. Xx

 

[Bill & Ted]

My Bill had a mammary tumour which was removed very successfully, so try not to worry for now what the lump is, lump removal is the same procedure with any animal or human for that matter so a general vet should be fine at this procedure if needed x

 

[DM190921]

My Ginger had a lump on her hip removed last month and has made a brilliant recovery. The lump was a cyst, she also had a wart removed from under her eye at the same time. The most important thing is finding an experienced guinea pig vet that can anaesthetise your guinea pig safely if needed, that takes away most of the risk and a good knowledge of aftercare too
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Hi, I’m sorry to hear about your piggies lumps, that’s great news she’s feeling better . The thing is here where I am there are no guinea pig specialist vets. It’s terrible just vets in general. Can it be normal for a vet to not know how much anaesthetic? I thought they should know as if not that’s terrible she could die! My mum had a rabbit & he had to go under twice but not long after the third time he had a stroke! Mum believes they gave him to much. I’m scared now incase it happens to princess. I will be saying this to them & I want to know prior what amount they will be giving. Xx

 

[DM190921]

My Bill had a mammary tumour which was removed very successfully, so try not to worry for now what the lump is, lump removal is the same procedure with any animal or human for that matter so a general vet should be fine at this procedure if needed x

Ok thank you for sharing & helping me feel less worried. It could be anything this lump so will just have to wait & see. I just wandered how would they know if it was just an abscess or not without trying to drain it xx

 

[Bill & Ted]

Ok thank you for sharing & helping me feel less worried. It could be anything this lump so will just have to wait & see. I just wandered how would they know if it was just an abscess or not without trying to drain it xx

They can often tell if it’s an abscess or not. Some vets will often do a “wait and see” if it’s not betting bigger. You can never tell 100% unless an abscess bursts or weeps out pus. When I took Ginger my vet confirmed it to be an abscess, I had the choice to leave it be or have it removed, I opted for removal as it was in an area with a lot of movement and removing a very larger abscess would have been more difficult as there’s less skin to stitch back up but ai could have left it. I live 300 miles from my vet of choice so I decided to crack on and have them remove it plus the wart which was near her eye for the same reason

 

[DM190921]

Hello, update for princess. She went to vets today & he examined her. The lump has got half the size smaller than it was! He said only way to see what it is is by taking a sample with injection & light sedation (if she will be ok with that) then send away for results. I can’t understand why it go smaller, would you say that’s an abscess then? Or could cysts get smaller. I forgot to ask vet as was in a panic xx

 

[DM190921]

They can often tell if it’s an abscess or not. Some vets will often do a “wait and see” if it’s not betting bigger. You can never tell 100% unless an abscess bursts or weeps out pus. When I took Ginger my vet confirmed it to be an abscess, I had the choice to leave it be or have it removed, I opted for removal as it was in an area with a lot of movement and removing a very larger abscess would have been more difficult as there’s less skin to stitch back up but ai could have left it. I live 300 miles from my vet of choice so I decided to crack on and have them remove it plus the wart which was near her eye for the same reason

Forgot to say he said if she’s eating & drinking & ok I can leave it or have the treatment xx