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Possible firm bulge around vulva and reduced eating

LizzyHoy

LizzyHoy

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Hello all,

I'm looking for some advice about my female guinea pig Denise who is about 5 and 3/4 years old.

I noticed that she hasn't quite been herself the past couple of days - she is a bit fluffed up, and is less keen on eating than usual. She is also lying down more on her side than she usually would. Her weight is ok and doesn't seem to have gone down. Last night I used a syringe to feed her some mushed up pellets and today she had a bit of cucumber, tiny bit of carrot and some of her food bowl pellets.

The only thing I've noticed on her physically is that she has a little bulge around her vulval area (see picture). I tried pushing on it - it was firm and she made a noise to tell me it hurt so I stopped. It isn't linked to her uterus because she had that removed a few years ago due to a lump.

The lack of hair in that area is normal for her - she sometimes bites the fur off in that area (and on her legs, although she hasn't done that recently) - it is the firm lump that is not usually there.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!
 

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You need to get her to a vet as soon as possible.
A guinea pig who is not eating and who is fluffed up is a sick piggy.

You might also want to step in with syringe feeding until you can get to a vet - mushed pellets will be fine if you don't have any critical care

Please keep us posted
 
That sounds very much like a bladder stone that is obstructing her opening, it will need surgical removal by a competent vet, please arrange a vet appointment as soon as you can, monitor her weeing & make sure if she does not produce urine in the next 2 hours or so you get her to an emergency out of hours vet if necessary.
 
Thanks for this advice - I had thought it might be a stone from my investigation online. I live in Scotland for my job (I was home in England over the weekend), and I am the only one that can drive her to the vet. I will ask my partner to take her in a taxi as soon as he can, I think he has to be in work tomorrow but I've given him this information and he might be able to go after work tomorrow or on Thursday.
 
Update: My partner took her to the vet and the vet squeezed out a large stone (apparently it was bigger than a pea). Denise wasn't happy about it but didn't make any extreme noises (as she did when the vet previously put a thermometer in her bottom). The vet was impressed with the size of the stone and showed it to the receptionist in a test tube.

I'm so proud of my guinea pig :) She's been given anti-inflammatories and has an appointment to go back on Monday. Denise has had so many ailments but she's very resilient - she also won't bite when you do things she doesn't like, so she's a better patient than my other guinea would be! I've attached an old picture of her.

Thanks for your advice - I wanted her to get to a vet as soon as possible but we might have waited an extra day if it wasn't for your advice. Instead my partner cancelled a plan this afternoon so that he could take her.
 

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I'm so pleased she is ok! Stones are horrible things, any squeaking whilst weeing, or lack of urination needs prompt vet attention. A stone can block the entrance & stop the ability to wee which is life threatening. This is one reason why I have always had females, as they can usually pass a small stone or they are noticeable if you regularly check bottoms, to make sure there is nothing that shouldn't be there! Regular bottom checking is essential for both boys & girls :)
 
Thanks :) She didn't do any squeaking when weeing and I didn't notice reduced urination (although that might have been there). I noticed she was out of sorts when I visited at the weekend but it was a subtle change. I'll keep a closer eye on her bottom in the future!

Do you know if this problem is more likely to reoccur now it's happened once?
 
I bet she feels much better now that’s out.
Sadly once a piggy has had a stone there is always a risk of recurrence. You can help reduce that risk to some extent by feeding grain free pellets, filtering water and following a low calcium diet. Here is our diet guide that refers to the low calcium diet. Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets.
 
So glad to hear the news.
Denise sounds like a model patient- I’m sure she’s glad to be rid of the stone.
Hope she makes a speedy recovery
 
Glad that she has had a happy outcome and managed to pass the stone albeit with a little get help.

May be worth sharing your feeding regime so experienced members may be able to help point out the foods that may contribute towards any future stones forming or reducing the risk.
 
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