Dental Guinea pig lump on jaw

[Pumpkin&Spice]

Hi! I was wondering whether anyone has had any similar experiences with their piggies as below...

I've recently noticed a solid lump in my 12 week old sow piggie's jaw/throat area, which is hard and moves around like a little ball - probably the size of a pea. It's on the inside of her throat area and doesn't show at all on the outside - there's no wound or protruding lump or anything like that. It doesn't seem to hurt her at all, but I saw a vet who suspects it could be an abscess and has prescribed her with some Metacam and antibiotics.

I only received the medication today and she's had her first dose this evening, so it hasn't really had chance to kick in yet, but this evening she seems to have 2 new rock solid lumps right on her jaw line. They almost feel like bone. They don't move at all and again, they don't seem to be hurting her but I can't figure out what they are. I was wondering whether anyone has had any similar experiences and has any insight into what they could be? I've not experienced an abscess on a piggie before - does this sound like it could be an abscess? As I said, her antibotics and inflammatory meds haven't really had chance to kick in yet, so hopefully they'll help, but she's worrying me! She's perfectly fine in herself - she's eating as normal and popcorning around as she normally does.

Thank you so much in advance for any advice!
x

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! I was wondering whether anyone has had any similar experiences with their piggies as below...

I've recently noticed a solid lump in my 12 week old sow piggie's jaw/throat area, which is hard and moves around like a little ball - probably the size of a pea. It's on the inside of her throat area and doesn't show at all on the outside - there's no wound or protruding lump or anything like that. It doesn't seem to hurt her at all, but I saw a vet who suspects it could be an abscess and has prescribed her with some Metacam and antibiotics.

I only received the medication today and she's had her first dose this evening, so it hasn't really had chance to kick in yet, but this evening she seems to have 2 new rock solid lumps right on her jaw line. They almost feel like bone. They don't move at all and again, they don't seem to be hurting her but I can't figure out what they are. I was wondering whether anyone has had any similar experiences and has any insight into what they could be? I've not experienced an abscess on a piggie before - does this sound like it could be an abscess? As I said, her antibotics and inflammatory meds haven't really had chance to kick in yet, so hopefully they'll help, but she's worrying me! She's perfectly fine in herself - she's eating as normal and popcorning around as she normally does.

Thank you so much in advance for any advice!
x

Hi!

My money is still on a dental root or jaw abscess.

Can I please ask what antibiotic and in which dosage you have been given?

@furryfriends (TEAS)

 

[Swissgreys]

Please also bear in mind that an abscess needs to be opened and drained over a period of days (weeks?), even with antibiotics.

 

[Pumpkin&Spice]

Hi!

My money is still on a dental root or jaw abscess.

Can I please ask what antibiotic and in which dosage you have been given?

@furryfriends (TEAS)

Thank you so much, @Wiebke! It says Co-trimazole on the bottle, which is an antibiotics I've never had prescribed for any of my piggies before - they normally get given Baytril or Sulfatrim.

Sorry, forgot to add - she's on 0.15ml of the antibotic

 

[Pumpkin&Spice]

Please also bear in mind that an abscess needs to be opened and drained over a period of days (weeks?), even with antibiotics.

Thank you so much, @Swissgreys! I didn't know that and neither did the vet mention anything about it being drained, so I think I'll take her back. Thank you so much for letting me know, super helpful!

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much, @Wiebke! It says Co-trimazole on the bottle, which is an antibiotics I've never had prescribed for any of my piggies before - they normally get given Baytril or Sulfatrim.

Sorry, forgot to add - she's on 0.15ml of the antibotic

Co-trimazole is a generic brand name for sulfatrim. The dose pretty low and won't stop an abscess. Where in the UK are you?

When Dylan had his jaw abscess last December in the run up to Christmas just before we were booked for a family Christmas abroad, my vet put him on two courses of zithromax plus maximum metacam in the hope that we could get him safely over the holidays into the New Year to allow the abscess to come up fully; in December it was not yet fully developed enough to be lanced and drained.
Thankfully and against expectations, the medication actually got his abscess completely down; it has stayed put since. I did have to syringe feed Dylan for the last week of the course over the New Year though as his appetite went completely - but that was a small price to pay.

If you can get as far as the Cat & Rabbit Care Clinic in Northampton, you will be in safe and experienced hands as many vets underestimate dental root abscesses. My 6 year old Hywel needed two abscess operations in 2016 because his abscess decided to come up again and burst right around a couple of my hub's operations (who was very ill at the same time) and always exactly when Simon Maddock was either on holiday or on a course and I had to make do with my local vets and it took me a full 5 days to get hold of zithromax.
Cat and Rabbit Care Clinic | Northlands Vets

 

[Pumpkin&Spice]

Thank you for this! I'm in Staffordshire in the Midlands, so Northampton isn't completely impossible and I'm sure we would be able to get her there. It's about an hour and a half-ish drive. I always struggle to know where is best in terms of vets to take the piggies, so thank you for letting me know about the Cat & Rabbit Care Clinic. I'll definitely look into this. Just want to get her sorted, especially before it causes her too much trouble!

I really appreciate your help!

 

[Little Ones]

I second Simon at the cat and rabbit clinic. Little was incorrectly treated by a vet that was about 1 1/2 hour drive from me. She was meant to be very good and we were just waiting to see an improvement in Little. After maybe a month - could’ve been slightly less - he had just gotten worse. He was basically on the brink of death honestly. We took him to see Simon, it was a 4 hour trip there on the train more or less during the first lockdown. Simon spotted his jaw abscess right away. He wanted to operate then and there. They removed Little’s bottom incisor as that’s where it was stemming from and the pus just exploded out of it. He said it was the worse pressure he’d ever seen - and he’s seen a lot. He also said Little would’ve been in immense pain and probably wouldn’t have lasted much longer. I owe Simon everything. A month or two later, something wasn’t right so we took Little back and it turned out he had a second jaw abscess under his last bottom incisor, it was the exact same situation but we’d caught it straight away and took Little to the right person.
Simon is so skilled. He’s the best vet you could possibly see. Even though he can sometimes be quite a way away for people, we are so lucky to have him in this country. Definitely go see Simon, he will know exactly what’s wrong and what to do

 

[Pumpkin&Spice]

I second Simon at the cat and rabbit clinic. Little was incorrectly treated by a vet that was about 1 1/2 hour drive from me. She was meant to be very good and we were just waiting to see an improvement in Little. After maybe a month - could’ve been slightly less - he had just gotten worse. He was basically on the brink of death honestly. We took him to see Simon, it was a 4 hour trip there on the train more or less during the first lockdown. Simon spotted his jaw abscess right away. He wanted to operate then and there. They removed Little’s bottom incisor as that’s where it was stemming from and the pus just exploded out of it. He said it was the worse pressure he’d ever seen - and he’s seen a lot. He also said Little would’ve been in immense pain and probably wouldn’t have lasted much longer. I owe Simon everything. A month or two later, something wasn’t right so we took Little back and it turned out he had a second jaw abscess under his last bottom incisor, it was the exact same situation but we’d caught it straight away and took Little to the right person.
Simon is so skilled. He’s the best vet you could possibly see. Even though he can sometimes be quite a way away for people, we are so lucky to have him in this country. Definitely go see Simon, he will know exactly what’s wrong and what to do

That's really reassuring to know, thank you! I'm definitely going to look into taking her there ASAP. Did you find that Little dealt OK with the train journey, if you don't mind me asking? I think the train route from where where I live to Northampton is fairly straight forward, so it could be a good option for me!

Thank you so much

 

[Little Ones]

Little is quite good in that he’ll take water from a syringe whenever he wants some. So usually I wouldn’t have had to worry about dehydration. He also eats his hay too during travelling. When we took him on the train, he was so unwell. He didn’t want to drink or eat or anything. He was just so poorly. Even though it was a hard day for him, and probably kind of scary, taking him was the right thing. The way home, he was drowsy and everything from his operation so he was way out of it until we got home, he probably had no idea what was going on either.
The other times, we’ve managed to get a lift there with a family member in the car. Driving there is a 2 and a half hour drive one way. I think a lot of it depends on your guinea pig. Little is fine with car journeys - as I said, he’ll eat and drink happily. We also took his then-cagemate Peanut with him as he had dental problems that only Simon could correct. Peanut was petrified. We took Peanut when we first got him, and also about 2 weeks before he passed and he was exactly the same the entire time we had him during car rides. He was just terrified. It never changed. He hated them. He wouldn’t eat or drink the whole time.
So I think a lot of it depends on your piggy and what they can cope with. Little is very people-orientated which is why I think he copes so well. But honestly, don’t worry about it though. Put some cucumber in the crate with your piggy and make sure she is able to hide underneath some fleece so she feels safer. She probably won’t eat the cucumber but it’s there if she needs it for hydration. But overall, don’t worry if you can’t get her to eat or drink during your journey as she’ll be alright and will be back to it once she’s home and feels safe. Obviously it’s not ideal, but she’ll be okay and it’s a necessary trip. During Little’s train journey he didn’t drink for the four hours there or the four hours back and he was okay with no adverse effects. I think most piggies deal with travelling well, though!

 

[Pumpkin&Spice]

Little is quite good in that he’ll take water from a syringe whenever he wants some. So usually I wouldn’t have had to worry about dehydration. He also eats his hay too during travelling. When we took him on the train, he was so unwell. He didn’t want to drink or eat or anything. He was just so poorly. Even though it was a hard day for him, and probably kind of scary, taking him was the right thing. The way home, he was drowsy and everything from his operation so he was way out of it until we got home, he probably had no idea what was going on either.
The other times, we’ve managed to get a lift there with a family member in the car. Driving there is a 2 and a half hour drive one way. I think a lot of it depends on your guinea pig. Little is fine with car journeys - as I said, he’ll eat and drink happily. We also took his then-cagemate Peanut with him as he had dental problems that only Simon could correct. Peanut was petrified. We took Peanut when we first got him, and also about 2 weeks before he passed and he was exactly the same the entire time we had him during car rides. He was just terrified. It never changed. He hated them. He wouldn’t eat or drink the whole time.
So I think a lot of it depends on your piggy and what they can cope with. Little is very people-orientated which is why I think he copes so well. But honestly, don’t worry about it though. Put some cucumber in the crate with your piggy and make sure she is able to hide underneath some fleece so she feels safer. She probably won’t eat the cucumber but it’s there if she needs it for hydration. But overall, don’t worry if you can’t get her to eat or drink during your journey as she’ll be alright and will be back to it once she’s home and feels safe. Obviously it’s not ideal, but she’ll be okay and it’s a necessary trip. During Little’s train journey he didn’t drink for the four hours there or the four hours back and he was okay with no adverse effects. I think most piggies deal with travelling well, though!

Thank you so much, that's really helpful! My older piggies are fantastic with car journeys and will munch away - it doesn't seem to phase them at all and taking them to the vets etc. has never been a problem, but we've only had Peaches for about 3 weeks, so I'm not sure how she'll take it! The only journey she's done is coming home. She's a very chilled out piggie though to be fair, so hopefully she'd be OK! It'll probably be scary for her, but I'm positive it'll be worth it!

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for this! I'm in Staffordshire in the Midlands, so Northampton isn't completely impossible and I'm sure we would be able to get her there. It's about an hour and a half-ish drive. I always struggle to know where is best in terms of vets to take the piggies, so thank you for letting me know about the Cat & Rabbit Care Clinic. I'll definitely look into this. Just want to get her sorted, especially before it causes her too much trouble!

I really appreciate your help!

They are are great place for things your local vets are in a bit over their head, like dental problems (which includes dental root abscesses).
Make sure that Peaches has got a companion to travel with; that goes a long way for relaxing. the Cat&Rabbit accepts company even for operations.

 

[Little Ones]

Fingers crossed all goes well. I will also say, don’t be fussy about appointment days and times if you can help it. It’s not very often that Simon has any free slots. Usually you have to book at least two weeks in advance to guarantee yourself an appointment. We have always managed to squeeze ours in though on short notice. If they don’t have any appointments, they may actually give you an emergency appointment as there’s a couple of lumps there and you don’t want to leave it in case she goes downhill and stops eating