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pleaseeeee help me

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sue 1974

sue 1974

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i have a rescue male guinea pig that i think is about 18/24 mnths old. he is podgy and eats well, he is also castrated. I noticed 2 lumps very near his front legs, one on each side. took him to vets, they didn't know what they were but gave a weeks worth of Baytril to see if that helped. It hasn't i took him back today and the options are now to either leave him and see how the lumps go or to get them removed and sent off to see if anything sinister. the problem with this is that it will cost in the region of £110. with the way everything is at the moment that is a bl***y lot of money.

Really not sure what to do as i love him to bits but it could be these lumps will come to nothing.

I have't got that sort of money and so would have to borrow it?
The vet also said we could put hime to sleep now! told her where to go!
advice great appreciated
 
If they remove the lumps and they are sinister what do they do then?/ Is there anything they can do?
 
I don't envy you this decision it's a tricky one. As Nemo said, if the lumps were found to be sinister I presume that they wouldn't actually be able to offer any further medication? Never having had a piggy with a tumour I can't really offer any advice, but presumably as long as he didn't appear to be suffering and wasn't in pain you could care for him for whatever time he had remaining? Over the years we have had and have known various piggies with cysts and lumps and bumps who have been left untreated and have gone on to live long and happy lives.:)

Do the lumps appear to be bothering him, can he walk properly? If he's on the plump side, could they just be rolls of fat? Sorry for all the questions Sue! I would be inclined to get a second opinion and maybe just watch the areas for a few days.

Hope you get something sorted out, will keep everything crossed for this little chap.
 
Nemo said:
If they remove the lumps and they are sinister what do they do then?/ Is there anything they can do?
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They said if it was cancer there was nothing they could do but hope it hadn't spread. they said he could have a chest x-ray and if that showed it had spread they wouldn't do the op but would put him to sleep. that is an extra £40 on top of the £110!

He is lively and eats well, at the moment the lumps are reasonable small. I have just bonded him with 2 females and so is having the time of his life.

I had considered not having it done, but then feel so quilty like i am putting a price on his life
 
OMG love i'm sorry to hear............. well i'd chat to the vets and have a go, but ask for help maybe in paying? could they also like look a bit further and decide if it could be more sinister, we hope not xx>>>xx>>>
All our love and support for you it's never easy.....but we're all here for you xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>
 
Oh dear it's tricky. But he's not bothered by them by the sound of it, perhaps they may just be fatty lumps?

Ask the vet if you can pay in instalments maybe if you think he should have an op. I think I might wait and see a bit. If it is cancer anyhow, there probably isn't much to be done, but he's not in pain just now and it could turn out to be nothing. Good luck xx
 
2 vets have looked at him and they just don't what they are, they say that if i leave it they might grow and the postion they are in they won't be able to operate if they are to big.

Thankyou all so much for replies i feel better by just sharing it, i thought you would all have a go at me that for the fact that i might not get him operated on. thanks for being kind.
 
sue 1974 said:
They said if it was cancer there was nothing they could do but hope it hadn't spread. they said he could have a chest x-ray and if that showed it had spread they wouldn't do the op but would put him to sleep. that is an extra £40 on top of the £110!

He is lively and eats well, at the moment the lumps are reasonable small. I have just bonded him with 2 females and so is having the time of his life.

I had considered not having it done, but then feel so quilty like i am putting a price on his life
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Well I can't see the point in having them removed if they aren't bothering him and he's okay at the moment and there's nothing they can do anyway. :( I would just let him be happy with his two females and just keep an eye on him and if he does appear to be suffering then consider having him put to sleep then.
 
What a difficult decision for you. If they are not affecting the way he walks or bothering him in anyway then I would leave them alone. Obviously if they became a problem for him (pain, difficulty walking, etc) then he would have to go back to have them removed. My sow was covered in lumps which she had had for a couple of years. They were just fatty lumps.
 
Finances aside any op performed by the best of vets still carries a risk, this I found out the hard way when I lost my special Ella during a neuter. If I were you and judged that he was not in any pain or discomfort and enjoying a good quality of life I would leave well alone at this point
 
Don't Panic, My lil piggy had lumps earlier this year and they too were under her arms and on her chin. I was really worried about them, the vets were not to sure what they were either, but they gave us some medicine which she had to take everyday, about a week later it looked like one of the lumps had burst! i was worried again as i did not expect this to happen, But soon after that the lump had vanished, and this happened to all the lumps and soon enough she was better again, with no lumps! :D
So dont worry it sounds like your piggy may have the same problem mine had x
 
Possibly get another vet to take a look. A vet should be able to identify lipomas, which are harmless.
 
Lucinda said:
Possibly get another vet to take a look. A vet should be able to identify lipomas, which are harmless.
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I have had 2 vets look at her but neither seemed to know what they are. They are hard pea like lumps, they don't hurt him. one is a little bigger than the other. It's the fact he has one on each side in the same spot that puzzles me.

Thanks for all your replies.
 
I can only say what I would do under the same circumstances and that would be to leave them a while and see how they go. Have a look on the guinealynx website as there are good explanations on the differences between cysts, fatty lumps, abcesses etc. Do the lumps feel solidly attached to the skin or are they "rollable" ? (if that makes sense)
 
lavenderjade said:
I can only say what I would do under the same circumstances and that would be to leave them a while and see how they go. Have a look on the guinealynx website as there are good explanations on the differences between cysts, fatty lumps, abcesses etc. Do the lumps feel solidly attached to the skin or are they "rollable" ? (if that makes sense)
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Yes that does make sense lol, they are rollable
 
I have read a fair amount of literature on GP's and it sounds like harmless cysts to me but please, make your decision based on your vets advice and I do recommend doing some reading up on the internet and guinea lynx. One of mine has had a cyst since I got him and I keep an eye on it and examine it every week.
Tumors are attached and are not moveable and they definately dont sound like abcesses. If they change, grow etc, do go back to your vet or if you are at all worried.
 
hi sue :) sorry to hear your boy is not well, are the two vets you've seen guinea pig savvy? i took my boy to my normal vet because he stopped eating and they couldn't find anything wrong so i got in contact with a rodentologist and within 2 minutes she told me he had a mouth infection rolleyes
 
ok good :) i do have a number of a vet in milton keynes but it may be too far for you :) just send me a pm if you need it :)
 
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