Swollen Kidney

[akatsuki]

Hello all! This is about my 3 years old boar Oreo.
The day before yesterday I could feel a rather round lump next to his left nipple, his lower belly is usually quite flat.
Initially I thought it is his full bladder and didn't given a second thought.
Yesterday night I could feel 2 round lumps, the left one bigger, and it hit me that it may be a swollen kidney.
So I set him aside for a few hours to see if he pees, but he didn't. But usually he don't pee often but in few big loads, so I waited the morning to see if it flatens.
But no, the left lump was still here in the morning.
So I made an appointment with his vet. Who will only be available in 4 days.
Called one near home but upon hearing it was about kidney, they refused to take on saying it would be more complicated than they could handle.
So I will be buying him some cranberry juice during the wait.
He eats and poops and wheeks like usual so today I am setting him aside too to see if I can catch him peeing.

My question is, I know nothing about guinea pig anatomy so I have no idea if it really is a swollen kidney.
It is round and quite stiff to the touch.
The lump is where my finger presses.
He does not wheek when I apply pressure. He is always a good boy and seldom complains.
But sometimes if I handle him in a wrong spot he would wheek as if he is painful. So I think this lump is not causing him much problem, other than I don't know if he's peeing.
But he might be as he has some slight lumping hair in the middle of the belly and some brown pee stain around his left bottom.

Sorry for the long post and thank you for reading.

 

[Freela]

You really need a vet assessment to diagnose any kind of lump. Guinea pigs can get abscesses, cysts, lipomas, tumors, and only a vet can tell you for sure. For what it's worth, although I'm not a vet I'm pretty much positive this has nothing to do with his kidney... I have a pig just diagnosed with a significantly enlarged kidney as an incidental finding after a routine exam... I couldn't feel it, although I hold her every day, and the vet had to palpate pretty deeply to feel her organs, not just a casual pat. Plus kidneys are really not at the midline of the belly. I would just hold off and see what the vet says rather than trying to guess or home treat what you don't know for sure... urinary infections don't cause lumps, kidneys are not located there, and trying to treat with cranberry juice may just muddy the diagnosis for when you do see the vet.

 

[akatsuki]

You really need a vet assessment to diagnose any kind of lump. Guinea pigs can get abscesses, cysts, lipomas, tumors, and only a vet can tell you for sure. For what it's worth, although I'm not a vet I'm pretty much positive this has nothing to do with his kidney... I have a pig just diagnosed with a significantly enlarged kidney as an incidental finding after a routine exam... I couldn't feel it, although I hold her every day, and the vet had to palpate pretty deeply to feel her organs, not just a casual pat. Plus kidneys are really not at the midline of the belly. I would just hold off and see what the vet says rather than trying to guess or home treat what you don't know for sure... urinary infections don't cause lumps, kidneys are not located there, and trying to treat with cranberry juice may just muddy the diagnosis for when you do see the vet.

Thank you for your reply, you remind me of the last time we went to the vet.
He also palpated and sort of squeeze (?) my pig in upright position, instead of how I touch him while he lay on his back.
That time the vet said he had no bladder stone or any significant problem, but that was back in late 2019.
So you are so right. I may just ease at the moment.
My pig tend to overeat so it could have been fatty lumps. That is another headache cause my other piggy is not an eater. Difficult to strike balance.

I really had no idea where the kidneys are located even after some googling.
Now I feel silly about what I told the nurse when I made the appointment.

And too late I already fed them some cranberry juice (2 ml), I will drink the rest myself.
I occasionally (about once in around 3 months) feed them some as a treat and also as supplement.
Don't know why they like it so much, I read somewhere that it should be a bit too sour for their taste.

 

[Siikibam]

Please don’t feed them cranberry juice, it’s not part of their diet. And please don’t put him on his back either.

All the best with the vet and hope it’s something simple.

 

[Freela]

It's definitely still worth a vet check, as lumps should be investigated to make sure it's nothing serious. I'm just betting his kidneys are not to blame! All the best at your appointment and hope it's something simple!

 

[dan3008]

I cant advise on the lump other than to see a vet, but just wanted to comment and say your boy is gorgeous

 

[akatsuki]

I cant advise on the lump other than to see a vet, but just wanted to comment and say your boy is gorgeous

Thank you! My mom just can't agree when I say this derpy potato is cute.

 

[Siikibam]

Have you booked him an appointment yet?

Please can you also update your profile to include your location - county/state or country. It makes it easier when you’re being given information.

 

[Bill & Ted]

A round lump under a nipple could be any number of things. My Bill had a round lump under his nipple and it turned out to be a mammary tumour and he had to have an operation to remove it and also another one was found too. I’m not suggesting that your piggie has the same but you really need to see a vet ASAP to rule this out.
Good luck x Your piggies is gorgeous, he’s very similar in looks to my Bill in my avatar

 

[akatsuki]

Have you booked him an appointment yet?

Please can you also update your profile to include your location - county/state or country. It makes it easier when you’re being given information.

Yes I have, it will be on Wednesday.

 

[akatsuki]

A round lump under a nipple could be any number of things. My Bill had a round lump under his nipple and it turned out to be a mammary tumour and he had to have an operation to remove it and also another one was found too. I’m not suggesting that your piggie has the same but you really need to see a vet ASAP to rule this out.
Good luck x Your piggies is gorgeous, he’s very similar in looks to my Bill in my avatar

His lump is next to the nipple so I don't know if it is related to mammary gland or not.
I hoped for an earlier appointment too after booking with his usual vet, but some other vets I called are fully booked for the next few days.
It is only unfortunate to find out about this problem in times like this.

Best I can do now is set him beside me every day in a makeshift pen but so far I observed nothing funny other than him always asking to be petted.
Everything seems normal. Normal eating, pooping and peeing. Less wheeking maybe.
How was Bill when you found out he had that round lump? Anything out of ordinary?

Yes they kind of look alike! Mine's adopted and I searched online and found he should be sort of a mix of dalmatian.

 

[Eriathwen]

Just to reassure you, that isn't where there kidneys are, theyre up by the spine quite a lot further up the abdomen. Guinea pigs can be quite lumpy animals and its usually benign fatty tissue, but its important to always have lumps checked out just in case. A few have mine have various lumps.. cysts, fatty lipomas or hormone related lumps. My girl Panda had to have a lump removed from her shoulder but she was being spayed anyway so it wasn't a big deal, fingers crossed your boys lumps are nothing serious, all the best for the vet visit!

 

[akatsuki]

Just to reassure you, that isn't where there kidneys are, theyre up by the spine quite a lot further up the abdomen. Guinea pigs can be quite lumpy animals and its usually benign fatty tissue, but its important to always have lumps checked out just in case. A few have mine have various lumps.. cysts, fatty lipomas or hormone related lumps. My girl Panda had to have a lump removed from her shoulder but she was being spayed anyway so it wasn't a big deal, fingers crossed your boys lumps are nothing serious, all the best for the vet visit!

When I adopted my sow I could feel a lump on the back of her neck.
My vet took samples for lab test. He confirmed it was a fatty lump and did not recommend removal due to its location.
He just prescribed painkiller I think, didn't remember clearly. She was acting all normal and could even hold her head up high as if it was nothing.
Hopefully this time too it's just fat from overeating.

Anyways can you point me to the information as to the locations of their internal organs?
I could find nothing useful by Googling. Just drawings about blood vessels and heart and lungs. But not kidneys.
This is the closest I could find but still not a complete one:
Stock Photo - . A laboratory guide in bacteriology, for the use of students, teachers and practitioners. Bacteriology. I08 LABORATORY GUIDE IN BACTERIOLOGY. KIDNEY-— eUAND5 INGUINAL 1 I ^O

 

[Eriathwen]

When I adopted my sow I could feel a lump on the back of her neck.
My vet took samples for lab test. He confirmed it was a fatty lump and did not recommend removal due to its location.
He just prescribed painkiller I think, didn't remember clearly. She was acting all normal and could even hold her head up high as if it was nothing.
Hopefully this time too it's just fat from overeating.

Anyways can you point me to the information as to the locations of their internal organs?
I could find nothing useful by Googling. Just drawings about blood vessels and heart and lungs. But not kidneys.
This is the closest I could find but still not a complete one:
Stock Photo - . A laboratory guide in bacteriology, for the use of students, teachers and practitioners. Bacteriology. I08 LABORATORY GUIDE IN BACTERIOLOGY. KIDNEY-— eUAND5 INGUINAL 1 I ^O

I have this one saved, although its mostly pointing out blood vessels as you say, so the kidney ones are labelled as renal, but I've circled the kidneys for you, theyre the bean shaped organs beneath the liver on the diagram you found but the notation for it has been mostly cut off.
I'll put the plain one ive not drawn on in case you wish to save it for future use, its come in handy for me a couple of times.

 

[Bill & Ted]

His lump is next to the nipple so I don't know if it is related to mammary gland or not.
I hoped for an earlier appointment too after booking with his usual vet, but some other vets I called are fully booked for the next few days.
It is only unfortunate to find out about this problem in times like this.

Best I can do now is set him beside me every day in a makeshift pen but so far I observed nothing funny other than him always asking to be petted.
Everything seems normal. Normal eating, pooping and peeing. Less wheeking maybe.
How was Bill when you found out he had that round lump? Anything out of ordinary?

Yes they kind of look alike! Mine's adopted and I searched online and found he should be sort of a mix of dalmatian.

Bill was in perfect condition, and doing all normal piggie things. I got such a shock, it was a tiny lump right under his nipple. When the vet felt it he said this was very urgent and that he needed to be operated on very soon. The vet also found an even smaller lump just at the side of this nipple too which I had not felt at all. I don’t want to unduly worry you, it may be a little fatty lump or tissue and there are lots of other lumps and bumps it could be too but nether the less it does need prompt attention to find out what it is. I never even considered it being mammary cancer, thought it was something that sows only got but actually boars can get them too so it’s worth getting him checked out.
My Bill made a full recovery after his operation, good luck I hope you can find a vet soon to take a look at him x
Yes Bill was a sort of Dalmatian too he had little spots of black on his body, and a brindled face

 

[akatsuki]

Bill was in perfect condition, and doing all normal piggie things. I got such a shock, it was a tiny lump right under his nipple. When the vet felt it he said this was very urgent and that he needed to be operated on very soon. The vet also found an even smaller lump just at the side of this nipple too which I had not felt at all. I don’t want to unduly worry you, it may be a little fatty lump or tissue and there are lots of other lumps and bumps it could be too but nether the less it does need prompt attention to find out what it is. I never even considered it being mammary cancer, thought it was something that sows only got but actually boars can get them too so it’s worth getting him checked out.
My Bill made a full recovery after his operation, good luck I hope you can find a vet soon to take a look at him x
Yes Bill was a sort of Dalmatian too he had little spots of black on his body, and a brindled face

Just want to share with you our vet visit.
After some deep palpation, the vet concluded it is just fat (judging from its location, and that its density and touch are similar to the fat around the neck).
He suggested observation every 2 - 3 days of any change to his nipple (shape, size and any unusual secretion).
Only then that he will need to proceed with lab test for mutation in the mammary gland.

So here is the boy waiting for his treat of his bravery (he only screamed and twitched when the vet assistant touched his bottom lol).

 

[dan3008]

Aww glad its nothing to worry about