BertisKing
Teenage Guinea Pig
Sorry- long post!
Dotty has been to the vets tonight so that we could discount pregnancy before I went on holiday leaving her with a very worried pig-sitter.
I had suspected that she wasn't pregnant but has actually got an ovarian cyst, and they have confirmed that she isn't pregnant, thank goodness.
However, the vet brought her back to me saying that they had found a "mass".
I think my reaction threw them a little since I was pleased that my 4 year old wasn't going to be a first time mum while I was 300 miles from home... and that I didn't break down in tears, assume "mass" was a synonym for "cancer" and get them to operate straight away.
Now I'm second guessing myself, but my reasoning was that at the moment she's fit and healthy, no symptoms, eating, drinking and pooping fine. They couldn't say that it was ovarian in origin or that they could successfully remove it (though she did say that if it was ovarian, which is the most likely diagnosis, they stood a good chance of getting it out without a problem)
I know that the older she gets the riskier the surgery will be (although there are plenty of examples of older sows having it done) and if she does become symptomatic there could be more risks as well, but I thought that not jumping the gun a week before I go on holiday and booking her in there and then was not unthinkable, however I sensed the vet either did not agree or did not understand my decision, so I thought I'd bounce my thought process off you guys- do I need to ring them up and get her booked in ASAP, leaving a post operative piggy with someone who, while not inexperienced with the piggies, has not had to deal with any major drama, or is this something that can wait a couple of weeks till I'm home and can look after her myself?
Dotty has been to the vets tonight so that we could discount pregnancy before I went on holiday leaving her with a very worried pig-sitter.
I had suspected that she wasn't pregnant but has actually got an ovarian cyst, and they have confirmed that she isn't pregnant, thank goodness.
However, the vet brought her back to me saying that they had found a "mass".
I think my reaction threw them a little since I was pleased that my 4 year old wasn't going to be a first time mum while I was 300 miles from home... and that I didn't break down in tears, assume "mass" was a synonym for "cancer" and get them to operate straight away.
Now I'm second guessing myself, but my reasoning was that at the moment she's fit and healthy, no symptoms, eating, drinking and pooping fine. They couldn't say that it was ovarian in origin or that they could successfully remove it (though she did say that if it was ovarian, which is the most likely diagnosis, they stood a good chance of getting it out without a problem)
I know that the older she gets the riskier the surgery will be (although there are plenty of examples of older sows having it done) and if she does become symptomatic there could be more risks as well, but I thought that not jumping the gun a week before I go on holiday and booking her in there and then was not unthinkable, however I sensed the vet either did not agree or did not understand my decision, so I thought I'd bounce my thought process off you guys- do I need to ring them up and get her booked in ASAP, leaving a post operative piggy with someone who, while not inexperienced with the piggies, has not had to deal with any major drama, or is this something that can wait a couple of weeks till I'm home and can look after her myself?
