Lump

[ChesterThePig]

Hello,
My male guinea pig has had a lump on the side of his neck for about 4 months now. I have brought him to many exotic vets and the vet bills are getting to be a bit pricey.. The one vet said it had something to do with his lymph node and the other said I could pay $1000 USD to have the lump surgically removed (which definitely is not going to happen). Every now and then, the scab will come off and puss will flow out of the lump, but then it eventually heals up and the lump becomes bigger and bigger until it just bursts open again. I am getting worried because the lump has gotten quite large and I cannot find a scab, so I am scared that it won't be able to drain. Again, I am sick of going to vets and them not being able to fix the problem. My pig has been on many medications and none of them have done the trick. Anyone have any advice?

 

[ChesterThePig]

here is a picture of the lump.

 

[HeatherRose]

It sounds like it is an abscess and needs to be treated. I am at the tail end of dealing with a nasty abscess. It took surgery, two different antibiotics, and me flushing the abscess for about two weeks to get it to start healing and stop producing puss. Where do you live? It cost $200 at my vet to remove Anna’s abscess. I live in Kentucky. What medications have you tried and for how long? It took a week before I really noticed an improvement in Anna with the antibiotic, she is still taking it. The vet said 2-3 weeks of antibiotics.

 

[ChesterThePig]

It sounds like it is an abscess and needs to be treated. I am at the tail end of dealing with a nasty abscess. It took surgery, two different antibiotics, and me flushing the abscess for about two weeks to get it to start healing and stop producing puss. Where do you live? It cost $200 at my vet to remove Anna’s abscess. I live in Kentucky. What medications have you tried and for how long? It took a week before I really noticed an improvement in Anna with the antibiotic, she is still taking it. The vet said 2-3 weeks of antibiotics.

I live in Illinois. I had him on Baytril for 2 weeks at .25 and he was on a different medicine a few months back but I cannot remember the name of it. The puss usually comes out and the swelling of the lump will go down alot, but it hasn't drained in a while and I don't want it to kill him.

 

[HeatherRose]

Baytril is what Anna was on first after her surgery and the abscess came back. Now she is on Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim (SMZ/TMP) and it has worked great. It’s also cherry flavored and she loves it! I really think your guinea pig needs surgery to remove the lump or they can lance it or open it up so that the puss can be removed and you can flush it out a few times a day.

 

[ChesterThePig]

Baytril is what Anna was on first after her surgery and the abscess came back. Now she is on Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim (SMZ/TMP) and it has worked great. It’s also cherry flavored and she loves it! I really think your guinea pig needs surgery to remove the lump or they can lance it or open it up so that the puss can be removed and you can flush it out a few times a day.

The vet has shaved back his fur and lanced it a few months back but since then it’s healed and the hair has grown back so it’s tough to see where the initial hole was. I’m just worried about the expense because I am a college student and can’t afford more vet bills

 

[HeatherRose]

The vet has shaved back his fur and lanced it a few months back but since then it’s healed and the hair has grown back so it’s tough to see where the initial hole was. I’m just worried about the expense because I am a college student and can’t afford more vet bills

They can usually do a payment plan. $1000 sounds really high though, have you asked other vets how much it would be (vets that are knowledgeable about guinea pigs of course)? Did they tell you flush it out with a syringe when it was lanced?

 

[ChesterThePig]

They can usually do a payment plan. $1000 sounds really high though, have you asked other vets how much it would be (vets that are knowledgeable about guinea pigs of course)? Did they tell you flush it out with a syringe when it was lanced?

They did not say to flush it out with a syringe. The vet said to apply a warm compress to it a couple times a day along with administering the antibiotic.

 

[Sappyshelly]

Although bladder stone surgery is much different, our close vet originally said into would be a 1000 dollar surgery. We asked the lady we adopted our pigs from what vet she used and we tried it out. Glad to say we have found a new vet. It only cost around $300! Although it’s thirty minutes away, it’s great to save $700! Also the people were sooooo much better.

 

[ChesterThePig]

Although bladder stone surgery is much different, our close vet originally said into would be a 1000 dollar surgery. We asked the lady we adopted our pigs from what vet she used and we tried it out. Glad to say we have found a new vet. It only cost around $300! Although it’s thirty minutes away, it’s great to save $700! Also the people were sooooo much better.

The exotic vet I went to estimated the surgery to be between $800-$1300, which I find to be horribly expensive that’s so great that you were able to save so much money! I got my pig from a pet store and I bet he already had the lump when I bought him back in May. I love him so much and would be devastated if this lump killed him

 

[Wiebke]

here is a picture of the lump.

It sounds like an abscess, which a strong antibiotic, draining, flushing and keeping open for as long as possible to allow it to heal from the inside out. Any spec of infection/pus remaining can cause it to blow up worse than ever.