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Cookie has a lump in her flabby chin

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Cookie22

Guinea pigs are supposed to have a fatty thing on their neck under their chin right? Maisey doesn't have one, or one thats noticeable anyway, but with Cookie she has a big noticable one.
Anyway...that's not the thing I was thinking was a 'lump' but i wanted to know if guinea igs are supposed to have a noticeable flabby bit under their chin anyway...to make sure it's ok.
What I am mostly worried about is. The other day my mum was holding cookie and she was going to stroke her chin, when she felt a lump in the flabby bit. She asked me what it was and I felt it and I don't want what it is. I've not noticed it before.
It's sort of grape sized. I am not sure if it stays in place...if it stays in place and doesn't move around, does it mean it's a cancerous lump?

I am not sure if I want to take her to the vet. I have no money anyway and my parents can't really afford it because my dad will be made redundant soon.

Cookie is about 5 or 6 years old, so is an old pig. And lumps are something you will find on older pigs sooner or later, right? I think I am just going to let nature take it's course. She's ok otherwise, you wouldn't know something is wrong with her til you feel the lump. She's eating and drinking fine.

So maybe it's not cancerous and it's just a cyst. If it's cancerous, the vet can't really do anything. She can't really be operated on, and not at her age, she's likely to die anyway.

I just hope it's not something cancerous and she'll live for a while yet, without bothering her and as long as it's not affecting her eating and drinking, its alright?
 
Is Cookie insured? Why not try the PDSA vets, they are there for people who can't afford vet fees.

My dog had a lump on his leg, which didn't move and that meant it was deeply connected to the vessels, unfortunately this WAS cancer so you need to know for peace of mind. It took a while for me to pluck the courage up to get my dog sorted and I made things a lot worse by not doing, the procedure was so much more involved than it would have been when I first spotted it.

Maybe try and borrow some money, consultations aren't a lot but it is best to let the experts investigate and confirm whether it is a cyst or not.

PS, the jiggly chins are normal by the way. :)
 
my guinea pig had a lump under her chin, it did move around, it was an absess, was a bit bigger than a grape, hope shes ok
 
Lumps in the jaw/neck area do seem to be quite common, although the nature of each lump varies.

It is probably worthwhile sitting back for a short while at least to monitor the lump. The vet can be helped by knowing how much it's grown in what space of time, so keep a check on the size of the lump daily and if it does seem to grow, it really is best that you get it checked out.

P.S. Flabby chin = dewlap. :)
 
I thought that if it was an absess it would have to have a open wound on it. But it hasn't got that. And I've also heard if it's an absess it would smell, but it doesn't smell.
I once had another guinea pig who had a spot typed wound on his side and when we took him to the vet, we were told it was an abcess so he had to have it drained etc. Then it got an infection, so they had to do an operation to cut out the bad area, we thought he would be ok but he died soon afterwards probably from shock of the op.

Laura CCC 4 ~ Yeah I will sit back and check to see if the lump gets bigger, or if it starts to smell or starts to have a wound on it or something. Also i'll check Cookie's behaviour, see if she stops eating or drinking. Then I'll take her to the vet, whether I can't afford it or not.
I am not sure how long she has had the lump there. If it was on her side or her tummy I would've noticed it because when I stroke or pick her up. But because it's under her chin and I rarely stroke her chin, I didn't notice it there. It could've been smaller but then it's grown over weeks/months. Don't know. Still i'll monitor her
 
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The chance of it being malignant is almost nil, so don't worry about that.
It could be an abscess, a sebaceous cyst, an enlarged lymph node, a fibroma, a lipoma or a thyroid tumour.

I cannot think of anything else, at the moment, too late at night!
 
One of my piggies has a noticable "flabby" load of skin under her chin that waddles when she walks and runs about...its well cute to watch. I think it adds to her character of being a chunky monkey.
 
My pig fatty has a lump on her side close to her leg i dont know *** it is.
Also i have no money for the vet and no car. I cant convince my mom to do anything for her.

she is 5 years old what do i do.
 
Sha-jene, sorry to hear your pig has a lump. If the lump has been there unchanged for a long time then I'd understand your mother's thoughts on monitoring the lump and not rushing to the vets, but it's still a concern that she won't even take the guinea to the vets for a basic consultation and diagnosis.

If a lump has come up that has not always been there, especially a lump that continues to grow, then it's not normal, it needs checking out by a vet. Lumps can be anything from harmless sebaceous cysts to abscesses - or even enlarged lymph nodes (indicating infection) depending on the location and qualities of the lump.

She is a good age at 5, but if your mother won't at least take her to the vets for a basic consultation and diagnosis then I would discuss with your mother when she feels a trip to the vet would be necessary, and consider how her answer ties in with the need to prevent the pig suffering whenever possible.
 
2 of my boys have had lumps removed recently.
Ronnie had a lump removed from just behind his left shoulder/front leg (last week), it was pea sized and felt quite hard so I was concerned it was something nasty. It came back from the lab as a lipoma/ benign connective tissue tumour. which they said is relatively common in older guinea pigs.
Ronnie is 5-6yrs old and he came through very well.:)

keep a regular check on the lump and monitor its size and shape.
 
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