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Help with Sandy, cyst?

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idlewildgirl

idlewildgirl

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone, we aquired my Coronet Sandy last week to discover under his beautiful coat he was covered in scabs, they did look like bites from his cage mates due to their locations and shape however he was taken to the vet last saturday for a check over and he treated him with Xeno just to be on the safe side, glad to say his skin is improving well and most of the scabs have now dropped off and everything is nice and clear underneath.

The issue now is that I noticed a small lump in front of his ear a 2 days ago, yesterday on checking him again it now looks to have burst, there is nothing coming out of the scabbed area if I press it and it does look to be clearing up. The skin does look very flaky on the surface though. I have bathed it with warm water and it doesnt seem to be bothering him in any way. My question is does this sound like a cyst or an abcess? How do you tell the difference? And also he has a vets appointment a week tomorrow, would it be ok to leave until then for it to be checked over or should I try and get him seen to sooner?
 
Sorry, I am not experienced in that area to say whether that is a sebaceaous cyst or an abscess, but I'm sure that alcesterpigs will be along later to help you.
 
An abscess typically has noticeable swelling around it, and the smell from the abscess is quite distinctive, you wouldn't mistake it even without a description of the smell! When an abscess bursts of its own accord, it leaves a deep hole from which the pus can be drained.

Sebaceous cysts are generally quite small in size, with no swelling. The contents of the cyst may look pus-like (creamy white or blackish substance, toothpaste consistency) but they have no strong odour to them like the pus of an abscess.

Keep an eye on the area, it should heal over well in which case waiting for the vet appointment next week should be fine. There is a chance it could become infected, watch out for redness, heat and swelling from the area.
 
thanks :) I was panicking last night when I saw it! Like I said he doesnt seem bothered by it and even closed his eyes and pancaked when I was bathing it, hes eating and drinking as normal and still as talkative as ever! We lost our baby rex Patrick to a abscess in his mouth so its bringing back terrible memories :( He was very ill alongside it though x
 
oops, can't edit! Just to add there is no smell and just a small scab where it looks to have burst, its flat and dry. He did have sticky hair but that has also cleaned up today. thanks for your help.
 
Hes still absolutley fine in himself, gave a good old chatter to our alam going off this morning and is still eating well! The lump seems to be scabbing over which I hope is a good sign :)
 
argh, I just got him out to give him a wash and he has picked off the scab! Its a bit bloody and looks like it was way too early for it to come off :S Should I just bathe it?
 
I don't know... I would presume you should keep it clean, have you had him to the vet?

Pebbles had a lump, and they said it was her lymph nobe she was giving a course of baytril which I don't think did anything but it did go away, hopefully you'll get a similiar result!

Does it smell?
 
He has an appointment on saturday, I work long hours during the week which is rubbish :( He did have a quick health check at the roadshow and they said he should be ok to wait until then, it doesnt smell and there is no lump now, just open skin. It looks as healthy as bare skin can do! No pus or anything
 
I just attempted to bathe it and he does wince a bit when you go near it but other than that he seems happy enough, eating and talking as normal, I think as soon as it scabs over again it should heal ok, feel so sorry for him though :(
 
It does seem a nuisance when they scratch them off early, good that there's no smell/pus there, if it was an abscess there would have been more going on underneath the scab.

Do bathe it initially - as you have already done - and keep an eye on it, it may be worth bathing it once a day as he'll probably get it a little mucky from burrowing in his hay, better to rinse any dirt away each day as it heals over. Piggie skin does heal very quickly, it should be doing a lot better in a day or two. :)
 
Thankyou, I'm going to change his bedding once a day until it scabs as well, did look a bit better this morning, looks like he may have a lovely bald patch once its healed!
 
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