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Absolutely Terrified. Found A Lump On Woody's Back!

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Superpiggies

Superpiggies

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We were cleaning them out .. maybe about 10 minutes ago, and my dad was having a good cudle with Woody and then he found this lump on his back. I was looking on his face, and I felt a sickening feeling inside that something was wrong. He said he felt this lump.. and I slapped his hands away and I had a good feel at it. I am petrified now.. so I just looked in my "my Guinea pig" book and it said it could be a Tumour or Abscess. Currently here in Denmark it is 20:10 and we can't go to the vet until tomorrow evening.... Argh... can Woody wait that long? Or is it really, really, serious? Please please help, some advice would be really appreciated.

Superpiggies x
 
Please do not worry. It could be a harmless fatty lump or cyst. You are right to take him to the vet tomorrow but try not to panic as it does not mean it is anything serious. Good luck tomorrow.
 
Agree completely with Piggyfan, one of ours had a cyst on his back - initially they drained it but when it came back they removed it.

I would take him to the vets as soon as you can, but in the meantime try not to worry yourself too much. As long as he is eating and drinking as normal tomorrow evening will be fine.
 
One of my piggies had a large cyst for about 4 years and it did her no harm at all. them had it diagnosed by the vet. And it needed no treatment. You are right to take your piggie to the vets,me hope it is nothing serious.
 
Don't panic! It is quite likely a sebaceous cyst, which are harmless. Even an abscess can be treated; it is not a death sentence. Tumors are very rare on the back; they are more often further inside the body.

The lump will also keep until tomorrow when you have a vet appointment.
 
Yes, a sebaceous cyst is most likely. I've had 2 in the last 18 months that had these removed successfully & both were back to normal very quickly afterwards. The vet will be most likely draw some fluid out which normally for a sebaceous cyst would be black (sometimes white). An abscess would have yellow pus but these can be treated quite easily too.
 
i had a similar thing happen to me-i was worried sick!
Ellie had a lump on her back by her rear end & would get fidgety if you touched it. i was afraid it was an abscess as i had not noticed it before & it turned out to be a sebaceous cyst.
the vet put a fairly large needle into the lump & drew out a lot of toothpaste'y consistency white stuff. (if it was liquid/pus &smelly probably an abscess) she then squeezed out the cyst& told me to squeeze out some more when i got home before the hole closed over, the lump was almost gone by the end of the day & she didn't mind having it touched again. the vet said it may build up again & but they can be removed if they become a nuisance.
Also it could be a fatty lump, these are not a problem either & lots of piggies have them with no ill effects.

Good luck at the vets. Fingers crossed its easily treated.
Keep us updated,xx
 
As far as I understand worst scenario is more or less simple operation for good vet.We did this operation twice and both times was successful.First guinea pig got fat cyst again and we decided to wait spring to do it.As Ruby was not able to clean herself after first operation due to pain to do it in warm conditions will be less risky.
If you will need to do it I suggest you have vet bed/syringes/recovery etc ready before.Because some guineas stop eating for couple of days.
 
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The vet said it was a cyst. She said we should keep an eye on it. If it becomes infected, we have to come back to get it checked on. How do i know if it gets infected?
 
Phew. Glad you have been reassured. That is good news. I had the same advice from my vet years ago and my piggie lived for many years with her cyst on her back giving her no trouble at all. My vet told me to come back - if it got larger, if it changed in feel or appearance, if the piggie started being bothered by it (scratching, gnawing licking etc) and much as you would look for in humans - redness round it, pus leakage etc. Fingers crossed that it stays as it is.
 
Glad it's just a cyst! One of my pigs had one on her back a few years ago. She did eventually have it removed (the vet lanced it to get a sample of what was inside and it didn't heal over well and was at risk of getting infected since there was an opening there that was not healing) and she did just fine. Just watch for leakage, signs that the pig is chewing/scratching at it, etc.
 
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