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Rapunzel has swollen nipples!

HeatherRose

HeatherRose

Adult Guinea Pig
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I was checking Rapunzel to see if she needs a bath and noticed her nipples are both swollen and crusty and I think her little vagina is swollen too. I called my vet, luckily he has late hours on Tuesday. He said it is not an emergency but wants to see her when he is back in the office on Thursday so I have an appointment at 1:30. He thinks maybe a mammary tumor. She will be 4 years old next month. I have also noticed she is more agitated lately and she tried to bite me the other day when I went to pick her up.0C0E2B85-90C1-4962-89B8-4FC9299CA58A.webp253DBB23-0392-4DAF-8D1B-272219168E54.webp234E5314-E8FC-43D7-9DFD-AA821C4F657D.webp3D3CAD49-042F-4820-B2C9-2A5593823957.webp
 
I hope you get some answers and it’s something that can be easily dealt with.
 
Betsy's nipples looked very similar to that and she was a moody old cow, she had ovarian cysts and had an emergency spay in the middle of lockdown. Has Rapunzel had any hairless around her sides at all? Not saying that she has ovarian cysts, obviously, but just something to consider.
 
I would wonder about ovarian cysts or something hormonal... does she show any hormonal signs, like excessive rumblestrutting/moodiness? Any fur loss or thinning in areas? Hope you get some answers soon!
 
She needs a good brushing tomorrow, so I’ll look for hair loss. Her hair is so long on the sides I might not have noticed it underneath there. I mentioned ovarian cysts to the vet on the phone and he didn’t think that was it for some reason. He knows guinea pigs and has owned them for over 30yrs. Maybe when he sees her in person it will be clearer. Ovarian cysts were the first thing I thought though. How do they find ovarian cysts? Ultrasound or X-ray?
 
With Betsy it was obvious. The vet could feel them and she was booked in for a spay but they cancelled it cos of lockdown and then a few weeks later I could feel them. They felt like hard balls in either side and her hair loss was very bad. She had lost it completely all over her shoulders and a lot off her sides. Her bum had also expanded massively too.
 
Please have her checked for ovarian cysts. They are very common in sows.
 
I felt around on her today and I don’t see hair loss anywhere but I think I felt something like a hard pea size lump in the area where her reproductive organs would be. She twitched and jumped when I touched there like it was tender, or maybe she was just mad I was touching her there. Her little swollen areas look so uncomfortable 😔
 
HeatherRose said:
I felt around on her today and I don’t see hair loss anywhere but I think I felt something like a hard pea size lump in the area where her reproductive organs would be. She twitched and jumped when I touched there like it was tender, or maybe she was just mad I was touching her there. Her little swollen areas look so uncomfortable 😔
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Have you booked her in yet for a vet check? Please do so pretty quickly in case it is an infection and not a cyst.
 
HeatherRose said:
Yes, my vet is not there today so she has an appointment at 1:30 tomorrow
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All the best! Keep an eye on it and see whether the swelling is getting worse. You could be dealing with an infection if the womb lining or a burst ovarian cyst.
 
The vet said it is obviously something hormonal but he couldn’t feel any cysts. He is going to talk to a few other guinea pig vets and see if they have any other treatment to try besides spaying her. He also said that I’ll have to make the decision of whether to spay or not because she will be 4 next month and is getting older. What do you all think? Should I get her spayed? What happens if I leave it go? It looks so uncomfortable for her
 
HeatherRose said:
The vet said it is obviously something hormonal but he couldn’t feel any cysts. He is going to talk to a few other guinea pig vets and see if they have any other treatment to try besides spaying her. He also said that I’ll have to make the decision of whether to spay or not because she will be 4 next month and is getting older. What do you all think? Should I get her spayed? What happens if I leave it go? It looks so uncomfortable for her
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I would get her spayed, it might make her more comfortable.
 
Betsy was 4 at end of Jan/beginning of Feb and came through her spay. With the right aftercare (which I know she will have) Rapunzel will be fine. I had Betsy in the hospital cage for 2 nights and syringe fed her while she was still a bit woozy from the anaesthetic and until she started eating properly for herself. It took around 4-6 weeks for the hormones to drop and then she was the Betsy that I know and love again. :)
 
Betsy said:
Betsy was 4 at end of Jan/beginning of Feb and came through her spay. With the right aftercare (which I know she will have) Rapunzel will be fine. I had Betsy in the hospital cage for 2 nights and syringe fed her while she was still a bit woozy from the anaesthetic and until she started eating properly for herself. It took around 4-6 weeks for the hormones to drop and then she was the Betsy that I know and love again. :)
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That’s encouraging, I have been through to boar neuters and an abscess surgery so I have some good experience for after surgery care. I was all prepared to have her spayed if that was going to fix it, then the vet said a lot of people decide not to if they are over 4 and it got me worried.
 
I’ve had a few older sows spayed on health grounds and they all did well. I think I’d be tempted to have her spayed.
 
Jemimah was well over 3 when she had an emergency spay at the same time as abscess surgery.
She came through with 2 impressive scars and recovered well.
I would risk it if you’re confident with your vet and knowing Rapunzel will get the best possible aftercare.
Holding you in my thoughts
 
My vet is very conservative and suggested a wait and see approach for Rapunzel. I don’t think I like that, should a push for the spay? He said it is up to me. It’s so hard, I don’t want her to die during the procedure, but I don’t want to wait and she be even older when there are problems and chances of surviving surgery are even less.
 
I've no experience of this myself (so far, probably only a matter of time with 6 lady pigs, 2 of them approaching 4 years old!) but personally having seen the successful spays other forum members have had done, if/when this happens to me I would probably go for the spay, if you trust your vet to do the surgery, I always think anything that might need surgery later is best done sooner while your piggy is healthy enough... healing wheeks to Rapunzel, and best of luck whatever you decide to do! X
 
I would do it now if I were you. Betsy had swollen nipples for around 8 months but wasn't otherwise affected so I just opted to wait and see what happened. She ended up needing an emergency spay because I left it. She got grumpier and grumpier, would scream when picked up and in the end the cysts on her ovaries were 7cms long on each side and very round. Even I could feel them and I'm not medically trained.

Rapunzel is still relatively young and very healthy so should come through the operation fine. I think @GPTV had her piggy have hormone injections so maybe she can advise on that. I trust my vet and that makes all the difference.
 
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