I have a female guinea pig who suddenly lost weight and has a lump on her cheek but she’s very excited for her meals and eat veggies and hay well and responds to her surrounding as usual .. what could it be? And will it go by its own ?
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Lump on face
- Thread starter Sheemwon
- Start date
Hi!
Please have your piggy vet checked for a potential dental root abscess, which may need to be lanced, stitched open (marsupialised) and kept flushed twice daily with a mild antiseptic like saline solution, which you can make yourself if needed. It also needs an antibiotic course or two.
For the flushing you have ideally a syringe with a needle tip which you hold at the opening to create enough pressure for the water to wash out any speck of infection. Keep the hole open for as long as possible (5-10 days, the longer, the better) in order to allow the abscess to heal from the inside out.
You can find our saline recipe in the first aid kit: First Aid Kit: Easily available non-medication support products for an emergency
It could be something else but this is the most likely scenario for the location.
Step in with syringe feeding support; you can find information on how to improvise in our emergency guide - we have tried to provide useable options for people around world, seeing that you are located in Saudi Arabia.
Loss of weight means that she isn't eating as much as usual. Keep in mind that hay is making 80% of what a piggy eats in a day (and veg only about 15%) and that you cannot check by eye whether your piggy is just nibbling it or eating it fully. Use your kitchen scales to weigh daily at the same time.
Our information links will hopefully help you with the practical details:
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...bridging-care-until-a-vet-appointment.168403/https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...e-importance-of-syringe-feeding-fibre.152928/https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/weight-monitoring-and-management.168323/
All the best!
You have had great advice from Wiebke, so please do have her seen by a vet.
You may also want to start weighing her daily at the same time until you can get an appointment.
Even piggies who seem enthusiastic about food will not necessarily be eating enough if they have an underlying problem and may be in discomfort.
Please do let us know the outcome.
We are all here to support you and your piggie.
You may also want to start weighing her daily at the same time until you can get an appointment.
Even piggies who seem enthusiastic about food will not necessarily be eating enough if they have an underlying problem and may be in discomfort.
Please do let us know the outcome.
We are all here to support you and your piggie.
Thank you so much ! I will take her to the vet and hopefully they will know how treat her
I agree with Wiebke... a facial mass combined with weight loss may be a dental abscess (I've dealt with a couple of these with two of my past pigs.) It's worth phoning around to find a vet with experience with guinea pig teeth, if at all possible. Because they are rodents with continuously-growing teeth, they have specific needs and the knowledge doesn't care over from general dog and cat vets. Generally these abscesses are opened up, cleaned out, and left open to drain and for you to flush it out. Your pig's back teeth may also require some work to realign them, as they can grow out of normal alignment with an abscess causing the piggie to chew abnormally. Antibiotics will help but really aren't enough to treat an abscess without also opening it up and cleaning out. Best wishes and hope your piggie does well!