Possible cyst or abscess

[Kellie]

Hello just posting for some opinions if possible.

Our baby Elmo (2.5 years old) has had lump come up around his left hip area it doesn't seem to be bothering him, still playing with his cage mate eating his carrot tops and drinking well (no weight change) I called our vets (exotic specialist) and they have said not to worry and booked him in for Thursday.

Just wondered from the pictures if anyone has had similar? He lives indoors with us with fleece bedding.

The bump appears to of changed in size slight (now a size of a small pea) but looks like it has blood on the top. First picture is 4 days ago when we noticed it and called for an appointment tonight is the second one along with him having some floor time & veg.

Thanks in advance hoping Thursday comes around quickly.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello just posting for some opinions if possible.

Our baby Elmo (2.5 years old) has had lump come up around his left hip area it doesn't seem to be bothering him, still playing with his cage mate eating his carrot tops and drinking well (no weight change) I called our vets (exotic specialist) and they have said not to worry and booked him in for Thursday.

Just wondered from the pictures if anyone has had similar? He lives indoors with us with fleece bedding.

The bump appears to of changed in size slight (now a size of a small pea) but looks like it has blood on the top. First picture is 4 days ago when we noticed it and called for an appointment tonight is the second one along with him having some floor time & veg.

Thanks in advance hoping Thursday comes around quickly.

Hi

It looks like a potentially burst small cyst or your boy may have scratched it.

I would recommend that you disinfect it with saline solution, which you can make yourself by mixing 1 teaspoon of salt into 250 ml of boiled, cooled water.
First Aid: Immediate Care Measures and Non-medication Products

This is not an emergency. The lump is still very small.

 

[Kellie]

Hi

It looks like a potentially burst small cyst or your boy may have scratched it.

I would recommend that you disinfect it with saline solution, which you can make yourself by mixing 1 teaspoon of salt into 250 ml of boiled, cooled water.
First Aid: Immediate Care Measures and Non-medication Products

This is not an emergency. The lump is still very small.

Hi Wiebke,

Thank you so much for the reassurance we thought perhaps a cyst or abscess vet didn't seem too concerned but just always good to have other experienced piggy owners opinions.

Thank you again I shall try the saline solution tonight. It doesn't appear to of changed in size just colour (bits of blood and almost a scab like on top)

So grateful for this website you always think the worst when it's one of your piggies

Kind regards

Kellie & Elmo

 

[Wiebke]

Hi Wiebke,

Thank you so much for the reassurance we thought perhaps a cyst or abscess vet didn't seem too concerned but just always good to have other experienced piggy owners opinions.

Thank you again I shall try the saline solution tonight. It doesn't appear to of changed in size just colour (bits of blood and almost a scab like on top)

So grateful for this website you always think the worst when it's one of your piggies

Kind regards

Kellie & Elmo

If it was an abscess, it would normally be bigger in order to burst and you would have likely mentioned the characteristic smell, which is pretty unmissable. Fatty lumps tend to sit a bit deeper in the skin and come up very quickly to a certain size and then stop.

I would see a vet sooner if the bleeding continues over the weekend. That is not normal.

 

[Kellie]

If it was an abscess, it would normally be bigger in order to burst and you would have likely mentioned the characteristic smell, which is pretty unmissable. Fatty lumps tend to sit a bit deeper in the skin and come up very quickly to a certain size and then stop.

I would see a vet sooner if the bleeding continues over the weekend. That is not normal.

Thank you they've said to ring in the morning for an on the day appointment if it actively bleeds or he changes in his usual habits at all..there is no smell and nothing leaking from it just looks like he may of picked it and a small scab on top. It's quite hard but he doesn't seem to mind us touching it

Thank you again for your advice we really appreciate it

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you they've said to ring in the morning for an on the day appointment if it actively bleeds or he changes in his usual habits at all..there is no smell and nothing leaking from it just looks like he may of picked it and a small scab on top. It's quite hard but he doesn't seem to mind us touching it

Thank you again for your advice we really appreciate it

You would expect it to be hard at this small size. It rather looks like he may have caught it while scratching.
All the best and try to get some sleep.

 

[Kellie]

Good evening

Just to update our vet has taken some samples from Elmo.... He has said it's a tumor which has rapidly grown in 2 weeks. He's still his happy self eating, drinking and pooing we took a urine sample to the vets earlier. Just wondering if anyone has had any good experiences with surgery as the vet said if it's non malignant they can operate.

Thank you for your time pictures updated with how big it's grown

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

Glad that it is not malign. As long as the lump is sitting in the upper levels of the skin, removal should hopefully not be too tricky. Because it is not cutting deeply into the body, the odds for a good recovery are usually pretty good but it all depends on the vet, the recovery nursing team and what GA drug is used - and for how long.

These links here contain very helpful advice and tips:
Tips For Post-operative Care
Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

This is a picture of my Hafren after she needed a 5 cm (2 in) burst cyst removing with concerns over potential cancer at the bottom (it turned out to be a more uncommon sebaceous cyst with a thick fleshy mantle and a fleshy inclusion. Hafren was just one month short of her 7th birthday. She healed up well and lived for several months longer to die from old age.

With her burst cyst (which promptly put on a last minute spurt and burst while my operating vets were closed for summer holidays), which is much larger when you look closely. We had been keeping it under observation for 2 years because of her age).


The after her operation 2 weeks later - you can see the big hole...


Just as an example of pushing it both in size and age. The sooner your vet can operate, the better if you are dealing with a quick growing lump of any sort. All the best!

 

[Kellie]

In

 

[Kellie]

Hi

Thank you for your quick reply how beautiful your little hafren

The vets have said latest results from 4 cell samples will be Tuesday and they have scheduled in Wednesday to operate pending results it just seems so far away.

We are cleaning him 3 times a day with the solution you recommended and also our vet said a small layer of savlon. Elmo seems settled with it just worried he is 2.5 under a anaesthetic with diabetes but your lovely Hafren was older and clearly done well so that's reassuring thank you so much we will let you know how Elmo gets on

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

Thank you for your quick reply how beautiful your little hafren

The vets have said latest results from 4 cell samples will be Tuesday and they have scheduled in Wednesday to operate pending results it just seems so far away.

We are cleaning him 3 times a day with the solution you recommended and also our vet said a small layer of savlon. Elmo seems settled with it just worried he is 2.5 under a anaesthetic with diabetes but your lovely Hafren was older and clearly done well so that's reassuring thank you so much we will let you know how Elmo gets on

I hope that all goes well. Hafren was seeing a vet specialising in guinea pigs for her op - hence the two weeks' wait. As far as I was concerned it was worth it. Just to make a point on positive outcomes.
Personally, I have significantly more piggies of all ages survive their operation than either die in the operation or after. The first one, a neutering op, dates back to 1981 when we were medically really still back in the stone ages as far as guinea pigs were concerned. Nevertheless my boy lived for another 6 years even then.

The problem with online research is that you inevitably get all the horror stories and miracle cures but what you don't get is the corrective of the vast majority of perfectly unexceptional positive outcomes because they are taken for granted and are not considered worth posting about so your perspective is completely out. Additionally, you get traumatised owners putting 2 and 2 together and getting 267 because they lack the necessary background when they are trying to make sense of what has just happened.
Even on this forum, the ratio is somewhat skewed because we are very often found over a medical problem.