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Jaw/Chin abscess

S

Sarah1515

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Dec 6, 2025
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Location
East Yorkshire, England
Hello everyone.
I will try and give as much information as I can, but I’m looking for some reassurance or some advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation as me.

One of my boys (2 years old) had a lump on his jawline/chin. I noticed it last week on Tuesday.
I took him to the vet on Wednesday, and our vet was fairly sure it’s an abscess. Due to its location, she said one of the causes could be dental, but could neither confirm nor deny without an xray.
She took him off to try and drain enough of the contents for a sample at least, but she came back in and said she was able to fully drain it as it was quite watery, as opposed to the usual cottage cheese consistency that she would expect.
She said she would recommend a course of antibiotics, and for me to regularly flush out at home for the next week.
I took him back the next day just so she could double check him, and see if I was managing with the flushing.
She did another flush while I was there, and said it was nice and clear still and she seemed happy.

I must add that on the initial appointment, she had a look at his teeth as best she could, and she said they all looked evenly ground down, and there was food in both sides of the back of his mouth, which is suggesting that he’s happily eating at both sides of his mouth.
He is acting normal in himself, eating, drinking and pestering his cage mate as normal. Had I of not noticed this lump, I wouldn’t have known anything was wrong.

I’m am doing reasonable well I think with the flushing. A couple of times I have flushed out what I can only describe as ‘grey/white bogeys’
I did call the vet to ask if this was some infection flushing out, or if it was from the wound entrance where I’ve had to reopen the skin ( it’s been drying up and scabbing over really quick!) she said it could be a bit of the ‘tissue’ from where things are healing?

I wondered if anyone could share any similar experiences like mine, and offer any reassurance at all? This is the first time of dealing with an abscess, and I’m so devastated and upset that my boy is having to go through this.
I just want him to be ok more than anything.

Thank you for reading, and for any replies xx
 
I've never had to flush an abscess but it sounds like you're doing everything right and it's keeping nice and clean.
I'd say just keep going, it's really good he's still his normal self, and if he's eating normally it may not be dental as such but perhaps in the soft tissues around his jaw and chin.
 
Abscesses are not fun to deal with.
What are you using to flush out the wound ?
My vet recommended Hibiscrub when my Jemimah developed an abscess.
It sounds as if you’re doing everything right and I agree with @Wheekallweek about the nature of the abscess.

Welcome to the forum.
Nice to see someone else from East Yorkshire
 
It sounds to me you’re like doing well.
They do scab quickly but abscesses need to heal from the inside out so keeping it open and flushing as much as possible is a good thing

Aside from that we would recommend more regular weight checks while dealing with a health issue (switching from the routine weekly weight checks to instead doing them daily) just so you can be sure he is definitely eating enough hay and enable you to step in if there is an issue

I hope he recovers well
 
Thank you.
I’ve ordered some scales that will arrive today. They are ones that I can put him straight on to weight. Prior to this I was holding him and weighing us both, then weighing just myself and working out the difference to get his weight.
But I knew I needed something more accurate so have invested in a set! Xx
 
Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry it's in difficult circumstances, but it looks as though your boy is in good hands. You're a very caring piggy mum. I have twoboys too, Ozzie and Rory.
 
Piggies&buns said:
It sounds to me you’re like doing well.
They do scab quickly but abscesses need to heal from the inside out so keeping it open and flushing as much as possible is a good thing

Aside from that we would recommend more regular weight checks while dealing with a health issue (switching from the routine weekly weight checks to instead doing them daily) just so you can be sure he is definitely eating enough hay and enable you to step in if there is an issue

I hope he recovers well
Click to expand...
My scales have arrived.
My vet weighed him at the initial appointment on Wednesday, and he was either 1.22kg, or 1.25kg. She also weighed his buddy too, and these were the weights of them both, I just can’t remember which boy weighed which weight!
I’ve weighed him today, and he’s 1.18kg.
I’m wondering if the drop in his weight is anything to be concerned about? Or could the lower weight be because the abscess is smaller now than it was the other day.
I checked my other boy, incase my scales are not quite as sensitive as the vet ones, and he’s showing 1.26, so he is actually a fraction heavier than the vet!

Sorry for the bombardment of questions, I just want to make sure I’m doing everything I possibly can for my boy.
And I’m so grateful for everyone’s kind and helpful replies ❤️ xx
 
Sarah1515 said:
My scales have arrived.
My vet weighed him at the initial appointment on Wednesday, and he was either 1.22kg, or 1.25kg. She also weighed his buddy too, and these were the weights of them both, I just can’t remember which boy weighed which weight!
I’ve weighed him today, and he’s 1.18kg.
I’m wondering if the drop in his weight is anything to be concerned about? Or could the lower weight be because the abscess is smaller now than it was the other day.
I checked my other boy, incase my scales are not quite as sensitive as the vet ones, and he’s showing 1.26, so he is actually a fraction heavier than the vet!

Sorry for the bombardment of questions, I just want to make sure I’m doing everything I possibly can for my boy.
And I’m so grateful for everyone’s kind and helpful replies ❤️ xx
Click to expand...

So I would say that different scales could be the reason but if you’ve got a similar reading for your other piggy as you were expecting ; then it means that if your piggy with the abscess was 1220g and is now 1180g then that means a 40g drop in weight.

For an accurate reading you should actually weigh them first thing in the morning.
So, I would suggest that you weigh him tomorrow morning (and daily while he has the abscess) and see what it says when compared to the 1180g of today. A drop in weight of 50g is where you get concerned and prepare to step in with support feeding to stop further weight loss.

It’s a little tricky at the moment given this is the first weight reading you’ve got on these scales and it wasn’t done first thing in the morning, but it is possible he isn’t eating enough hay and you should prepare that you may need to step in.

Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support
 
Sarah1515 said:
Thank you so much for your help.
I will check again in the morning and then record the weights each morning after that.
Will ask my vet for some critical care just incase I need some xx
Click to expand...

If you need to feed him and you don’t have critical care, then you can mush their normal pellets with warm water and use that as a syringe feed as an emergency measure.

How to Improvise Feeding Support in an Emergency
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures
 
I have just weighed him again, and he was 1.21kg.
Must just be his normal daily fluctuation? I fed them all about 5.30 and when I weighed him earlier it was before I fed them.
Will still keep a daily morning check though x
 
Just stick to weighing once a day, in the morning.
If you weigh more than once a day you do pick up too much fluctuation and it then becomes completely inaccurate - there is no point in weighing a full stomach!
 
I just wanted to update you.

My boy had surgery yesterday to remove the abscess. He thankfully didn’t need any teeth removing!
He’s home with us with a goody bag full of meds!
Just keeping an eye on his eating and pooping, and he has to stay side by side with his buddy until later today.
I feel so bad for him because he’s chewing at the grids between him and his buddy - he clearly wants to be in his full enclosure and to be with his buddy.
He’s nibbling at hay and food, and he is pooping. Since coming home at around 5.30 last night, I’ve counted 74 poops. I never thought I’d be so happy to see poop!
I’m hoping that when I take the divide from their enclosure later that his appetite picks up a bit, I think he is ready for being with his buddy properly again 😁
The vet did say the divide was only needed while I monitor his eating and pooping, and not because of his wound xx
 
I’m glad he is ok.

If the divide is only needed for you to monitor eating and pooping then i would not divide them at all as that is not how to monitor the food intake.

Unfortunately, monitoring poop is inaccurate and watching them eat hay is deceptive.
Poop is 1-2 days behind food intake so it doesn’t give you up to date information. All you know by his pooping now is that he was eating before his surgery, but not since it.
Seeing them eat hay doesn’t mean they’re eating enough as hay intake can’t be gauged by eye.

The only way you know he is eating enough is by weighing him every morning. That provides the real time information on hay intake and any support feeding that may be required.

Dividing them also causes stress which won’t help recovery, and in some cases can affect the bond. You really want piggies back together immediately upon coming home (unless there is a real medical reason not to reunite them).

If there is no medical reason why they are apart, I would reunite them this morning rather than risk it.
If you reunite them this morning then you hopefully can just remove the divider (provided you haven’t cleaned out the cage and thus the cage still smells of both of them). Leave it longer than a day or so and you can’t just remove a divider and have to go through full neutral territory rebonding instead.

Tips For Post-operative Care
Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support
 
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