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Bump on My Guinea Pig's Lower Back

Spikeandash

Spikeandash

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Nov 3, 2018
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Hello
Just a couple of weeks ago I realized my guinea pig Spike had a small bald spot on his lower back, and I didn't think it was serious and thought he had had some fur pulled out. But just now, when I was trimming his fur (he's an abyssinian, but he has really long fur on his bum), I realized there was a thick fluid stuck in his fur and the bald spot seems like a bump of some kind. I thought it's be best to not touch in fear of spreading bacteria or hurting him but since it had been there a while I wanted to make sure there was nothing wrong. Otherwise he acts normal, he eats, poops, looks happy and can run around just fine.

I feel terrible that I didn't realize it sooner and now I'm really worried about him. I plan on calling the vet but it's almost impossible to get an appointment over the weekends. I'm pretty sure he'll survive, at least until next week but I'm still really scared for him. Does anyone know anything that could help?

IMG_2098.JPG
 
Don’t feel bad. It looks like it could be an abscess or cyst that’s burst.

Best to get a vet to look at it who can correctly diagnose and treat.

Please don’t worry. It isn’t a life or death situation.
 
Yeah, get to the vets next week, they will be able to advise and sort this for him
 
It looks like a burst cyst or abscess. The lower back seems to be a non-uncommon area for this (one of my pigs had one in the same spot.) The vet should be able to either finish off draining it and see if it will heal up, or else the entire abscess capsule may have to be removed (that's what happened with Linney- the skin over top of the cyst dried up after it was opened to lance/drain, so she had a minor procedure to remove the whole cyst, including the walls, and then to stitch the skin back together. Never had a problem again with it, for what it's worth.) Best of luck at the vet next week!
 
Freela said:
It looks like a burst cyst or abscess. The lower back seems to be a non-uncommon area for this (one of my pigs had one in the same spot.) The vet should be able to either finish off draining it and see if it will heal up, or else the entire abscess capsule may have to be removed (that's what happened with Linney- the skin over top of the cyst dried up after it was opened to lance/drain, so she had a minor procedure to remove the whole cyst, including the walls, and then to stitch the skin back together. Never had a problem again with it, for what it's worth.) Best of luck at the vet next week!
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That doesn't sound too bad, I guess there are a lot of things that are worse that could happen to precious little piggies. Thank you.
 
Uptade: Took him to the vet's today. It's a pretty large abscess that they're going to surgically remove on monday next week. They said that since the abscess is just a build up of pus, I could try to squeeze the pus day by day until it's gone, but that it could easily get infected and might not even work.

So chose surgery, which they recommended. After surgery (not that complicated or dangerous) I'll have to keep a close eye on him for the following two weeks to make sure he doesn't stop eating or pooping since these furry little creatures are sensitive and can react badly to surgery. Otherwise he should be fine as long as he eats and poops and the wound doesn't get infected.
 
Sounds a good way to go. He should be fine as long as you keep an eye on things. Christian had abscess surgery earlier on this year. His abscess grew from the side of the top of your thumb to this:-

Christian Abscess 1.JPGChristian Abscess 2.JPG

in less than 7 days:yikes::yikes: so you need to have it removed as it's as abscess.
 
Betsy said:
Sounds a good way to go. He should be fine as long as you keep an eye on things. Christian had abscess surgery earlier on this year. His abscess grew from the side of the top of your thumb to this:-

View attachment 99740View attachment 99741

in less than 7 days:yikes::yikes: so you need to have it removed as it's as abscess.
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Oh my, that's scary! Yes Spike has had it for some time now, but it's been hard to notice it since he has really long fur on his back. But yes I'll keep an eye on him and probably divide their cage. The vet told me that by two weeks he'll be back to his usual self. Hopefully Spike's will never grow that big.
 
Claire W said:
I'm glad that you took him and that he's going to receive the correct treatment @Betsy that photo always makes me want to vom every time I see it 😓 It's hard to believe something that big came from a guinea pig!
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Yes, he's so precious I'd do just about anything for him.
 
I know it was Huuuuuuuuge! He only just survived it too. It was adhered to almost every internal structure too including his stomach, femoral artery, penis shaft .... The vet almost phoned me twice asking for permission to PTS.
 
Betsy said:
I know it was Huuuuuuuuge! He only just survived it too. It was adhered to almost every internal structure too including his stomach, femoral artery, penis shaft .... The vet almost phoned me twice asking for permission to PTS.
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Oh my god, wonderful that he made it! Seems like it's worth it to get it done as soon as possible.
 
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