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maggielisa

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i have just just had my guinea pig lisa out and noticed that under her chin on one side sticks out a bit, picked her up and checked and it feels like she has a ball in her cheek, its quite big really worried i have only had her a couple of months. she seem ok in herself, shes fairly quiet but when she does wheek it comes out more like squeek. i will be making an appointment with vets tmrw but hope shes ok, she is such a lovelly guinea pig.
:0
 
just incase this helps, the lump is round like a ball, and does move when * touch it lightly. hope this is nothing to serious i do not want to loose her.
 
Abscesses are very common in the jaw area, they can develop on the side of the face as well as under the chin and in the 'dewlap' area.

There are different types and causes for lumps and they are best examined in person/pig, so the best thing I can advise is to pop her down to the vet and see if they can figure out what the lump is.

How old is Lisa? Is she eating well?
 
thanks for getting back to me.

she is roughly 4mths old, she is eating and drinking like normal, she seems happy, she has been running around her run like normal. i think its only appeared withing the past few days
 
Does it feel hard and maybe a bit bumpy, or quite soft - like there's a fluid inside it?

Could she have had an injury e.g. a bite in that area?
 
i cant really tell as she tried to bite me, i would say hardish and does move a little bit it is rather big though bit smaller than a ping pong ball, there is anonother guinea pig with her but lisa is the dominent one i haven't really seen them fight.
 
Wishing you the best of luck; I hope that the abscess doesn't blow up any more - it is frightening as it is.
 
i really do hope it doesn't get any bigger, i wish i could of taken her today it just wasn't possible. least she seems happy at the moment and doesn't appear to be affected by it. when you look at her you can see it with out even touching her :( . i will let you know how it goes tmrw.
 
my pheobe had a lump suddenly come up like this, but under her armpit. sending lisa healing vibes and you lots of positive vibes. I'm sure they'll be able to drain it and she'll be fine xxxxxxxxx
 
Do not let the vet even suggest that a general anaesthetic is necessary in order for the lump to be drained.
A ping pong ball is quite big. How large is the lump by measurement?
The lump can be drained by a process known as needle aspiration.
I use a 19 gauge needle, it is a simple process, not even a local anaesthetic is needed and what comes out of the lump should give you a good idea as to what it is. At that age I would suspect an abscess. However, what caused the abscess is another problem.
 
Lisa had a absess, which has been drained, shes left with a hole in her neck, and i'm to give Baytril once a day. the vet thinks her and maggy have gotten into a fight 8... also one of her teeth was broken in half at the bottom and one is missing (this on same side as where absess was but absess was quite a bit of a distance from mouth. hope shes gonna be ok now hope i don't have to split guineas up- keeping them apart for now though
 
I am sorry it seems like your girls must have fought, but glad you have figured out what the problem was. I hope the healing goes well with the abscess...not my favourite thing to deal with if I'm honest.
 
bit worried about putting them back together (once lisa has healed) hoping its a one off fight, they seem pretty happy together when i see them. hate guinea pigs being alone. will a neutered boar help or hinder as on a previous thread i have taken on a boar guinea pig who i plan to have neautered when old enough... how old will he need to be?
 
Minimum is usually 4-6 months. I had two neutered at almost 4 months, one done at 6 months and the other was a rescue pig neutered at the estimated age of 3-4 years.

The neutered boar + sows grouping is my favourite, but the boar will not necessarily calm any arguments between them. I had one lovely chap, Charlie, who would step between the girls if they had any scuffles, whereas at the moment Dexter lives with five women and will let all out riots occur without batting an eyelid! Hormonal girls can be quite stroppy, but a neutered boar will not change a great deal about how the girls interact with each other. If the girls get on well themselves I think they could appreciate a neutered boar, but as things stand you need to see if Maggie and Lisa get on ok first.
 
You are terrible, AP. rolleyes

Any improvement on the abscess, maggielisa?
 
its looking ok, the hole is nice and clean. and lisa is very active eating and drinking, shes got a check up tmrw so hopefully everything will be ok.
 
I did this!

alcesterpigs said:
Do not let the vet even suggest that a general anaesthetic is necessary in order for the lump to be drained.
A ping pong ball is quite big. How large is the lump by measurement?
The lump can be drained by a process known as needle aspiration.
I use a 19 gauge needle, it is a simple process, not even a local anaesthetic is needed and what comes out of the lump should give you a good idea as to what it is. At that age I would suspect an abscess. However, what caused the abscess is another problem.
Click to expand...

I had a pig with an abcess and she had a GA for its removal - but that was before I met AP!
When Mabel had a similar lump AP helped me on the phone giving clear guidance as to how to deal with it myself.
I was nervous - but it was so easy! JUst 1 wheek from Mabel and it was over! Then we got all the gunk out etc. Did the same a day or two later.
REsult: very happy Mabel who did not have the stress of the vets and very happy me cos I didn't have to worry about the g.a. or find £45.
 
i have just taken another look at her absess wound and hole has sealed up, bit worried now, as it needs to heal slowly and might refill.

i couldn't of drained her absess on my own she was in a lot of pain just by touching (maybe if it wasn't so big).
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
Minimum is usually 4-6 months. I had two neutered at almost 4 months, one done at 6 months and the other was a rescue pig neutered at the estimated age of 3-4 years.

The neutered boar + sows grouping is my favourite, but the boar will not necessarily calm any arguments between them. I had one lovely chap, Charlie, who would step between the girls if they had any scuffles, whereas at the moment Dexter lives with five women and will let all out riots occur without batting an eyelid! Hormonal girls can be quite stroppy, but a neutered boar will not change a great deal about how the girls interact with each other. If the girls get on well themselves I think they could appreciate a neutered boar, but as things stand you need to see if Maggie and Lisa get on ok first.
Click to expand...


I agree with this. I adopted an adult neutered boar, originally to keep a baby boar company. But that didn't work so I put him in with Dolly & Mabel who had been living together for some months, but not always happily.
It was OK while Dumbley was on his "new home best behaviour" but as soon as he found his feet it became a war zone!
He is a lot bigger than the girls and drove Mabel mad with his constant amorous advances. Every time she rejected him he got nasty.
Dolly on the other hand, seemed able to tame him.
So now Dolly and Dumbley live together and Mabel is temporarily on her known until her new baby girl friend arrives this w/e.
I know people who never mix the sexes and others who do - whether or not things are successful -seems to come down to the individual pigs and their personalities. Bit like humans I susppose -c
 
maggielisa said:
i have just taken another look at her absess wound and hole has sealed up, bit worried now, as it needs to heal slowly and might refill.

i couldn't of drained her absess on my own she was in a lot of pain just by touching (maybe if it wasn't so big).
Click to expand...

Hmmmnn it does take quite a lot of "nerve" to do it the first time - plus a willing helper to hold the pig properly. I quite understand your reticence :)

If it looks as tho it is sealing up too quickly you could maybe just try palapating or squeezing it very gently, if it ooozes you will have helped it to continue draining. Bathing is good too, for softening the opening and keeping it clean. I just used plain warm water (wrap her in a snuggly towel first). Sort of treat it like you would a sore spot of you own -c
 
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