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Ricky has another big lump...

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Annie59

OK, here I go again. I'm sick over this. I just spend about a month with Ricky's abcess. Two surgeries and then having to clean the abcess everyday since he ripped his stitches out. He finally healed up. It looks beautiful and then again....another lump. Growing pretty quickly. It's only about 1 or 2 inches away from the last one. It's right above his front paw shoulder blade. It's definitly not his shoulder blade bone, only slightly above it. This time it doesn't seem to move as freely. More solid and hard. I'm so upset over this. It's now about the size of a marble. Started out as a pea size last week. I can't even tell my husband. We are still paying off the first operation. The total of the operation, followups and meds are about $750. That's close to about 400 pounds. I don't dare let my husband know. He'll never let him get operated on again. I'm at my wits end. Everytime I read about lumps, they are always on the back or underneath or under the chin, but I don't read much about the side. This is so heartbraking. Ricky has been sick since the day we got him (not even 3 months ago) and he's only about 5 months old. We haven't even had time to enjoy him. I cry when I look at him. You would never know. He's so happy. He spends most of his time popcorning all over his cage. None of my friends believe it, but he's so affectionate. He lays his head on my shoulder and stays like that. The other day I had him on the floor and I bent down on the floor and he jumped on my shoulder and fell back down. He didn't get hurt, but he always wants to be on me! I love him to death. I can't deal with another problem. I want him to be well. I blame this on Petco for selling sick animals. I should have read up on them before I bought him, but I never expected this. Does anyone think this sounds like another abscess? Can they be hard and not moving? The last one moved like it wasn't attached to anything. This one seems firm. I know I'm going to have to go back to the vet. Sadly, I have to go when my husband is at work. He will never allow it again. Sorry, I'm venting. I'm just so upset over this. I wonder if Ricky will ever be a well piggy. :'( :'(
 
I am so sorry you have to go through all this trauma.They are a worry sometimes,these little ones.
It could be another abcess or it may be a sebaceous cyst.Is the lump external or internal?.
 
Hi, have Petco payed for any of this? Seems they should as it wasn't long after you got him that it started.
Where is the lump? Is it in the same site as before?
 
So sorry to hear this, it's good that he's behaving normally and seems ok in himself. Poor little fella. Fingers crossed he's on the mend soon

Sophie
x
 
Thank you all! The lump I believe is external. It sticks out like the size of a marble. I hate to sound dumb, but that would be considered external if you can see it with the naked eye, doesn't it? At first you had to feel it. Now you can see it just by looking. It is exactly just over his left shoulder blade. About 1-2 inches from the last abscess. It's just harder and not moving like the last one.
Petco was willing to take care of him for the first lump. But I had to surrender him back to them and he would no longer be mine. And as they put it, if he survived treatment, then I could buy him back. I thought about it, but got sick over the thought of giving him up. And the manager said they couldn't guarantee he would make it. And as one of the posters on this board suggested, I looked up Petco's reputation and was horrified over what I read. They had so many petitions and law suits against them. People on a website similiar to this one were writing horror stories. People that worked there were saying the mistreatment of animals was horrible. They would just let their animals die if they were sick. None of the younger staff were trained to take care of the sick animals. They just let the smaller animals die instead of treating them when they were sick because it was just cheaper to do that. One kid said when he worked there, in the back room there was a small animal with a sign on its cage to leave it alone. It was sick and they were just letting it die. Another said there was a bird with sores and these kids put some kind of salve on it and it burned to bird severely. It was one horror story after another. There were hundreds. PITA was petitioning for all this to stop. After all that, I just couldn't bring my little Ricky there for treatment. I believe he wouldn't have survived. I wrote again about all his surgeries and follow up treatment and they didn't answer me this time. They probably won't because you only get 15 days for returns. Although I would have never returned Ricky. I'll send another letter. But I know they won't respond. That's how it stands right now. I'm going to have to bring him in. I'll keep you all posted.
 
Awww Annie59 I am so sorry to hear Ricky is going through this again. Check with your local better business bureau and see if they have some responsibility. Some times they have a financial obligation longer that what they offer in their guarantee. Good luck....Ricky sounds like a very lucky guy to have you to cuddle!
 
Gosh we're so so sorry to hear little Ricky once again has an abscess or a lump :'( :'( :'(

Our boy had an abscess that was lanced and i had to drain it and alsorts of yukky things anyway that healed and he too formed another lump quite near to the previous one, my vet said that what can happen is the abscess clears up but the original problem might not have cleared up (e.g. perhaps it was cause thru a hay seed etc..) so because the problem is still there the 'infection' finds it's next spot to come out (OMG i'm not explaining properly 98) 98) 98) I wish i could draw it... ) which is the next weakest point near the infection.
You might find you're little one might need another course of antibiotics and the lump lanced and go thru the same process again :-\

Healing wheeks and gentle kisses from us for Ricky :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:

I just thought sharing my story might help you to understand that this can happen but it's treatable O0
 
Thank you Glynis....your story makes perfect sense. The 2nd abscess (or whatever it is) is really close to the last one. The problem here is that the first thing they do is operate. Last time, they removed the whole abscess, cleaned it up and stitched it up. They had put an antibiotic bead in also, so it healed inside without being cleaned out. Unfortunatly, Ricky ripped it open and they had to operate again. Cleaned it out again and stitched him closed. They bandaged his back paw so it would be hard to scratch but he ripped it open again. Finally, on the third try, they just left it open and I had to flush it twice a day and put antibiotic cream in. That's why it took about a month to heal. I'm hoping if it is another abscess, they just take it out and leave it open again for me to flush. Those two operations did me in. But I understand your story about it spreading from the last one. I'm sure that's what happened. This lump just seems different. Much harder. Almost feels as hard as a bone. At first I thought it was his shoulder blade, which is just under the lump. Only problem is that is's growing. I'm afraid it may hinder his walking if I don't get it taken care of soon. My husband would never allow it. Things are kind of tough with us and I know he's going to freak! I wish he was more understanding. You guys are all so great with your guinea's! My husband is from England (we are in New York), but he definitly does not have your concern for animals! I know he didn't mean it, but he said he'd just take him outside and club him! Those are the kind of things I have to listen to. I'm going to try to get an appointment soon and find out what this is. I guess if I can deal with it once, then I can go through it again. Thanks for all the words of encouragement everyone. It really does help when things seem hopeless. :)
 
I'm in Australia and they tend to operate first here also :( :( but my vet has just lanced a couple of Duke's abscesses and this one i'm talking about he actually put like a drain tube thru it so it would drain and i could flush it :P :P :P
We've also had an abscess where they sewed it up with the antibiotics inside and like you this too seemed to disappear and then reappear later >:(
Explain to your vets that you've since learned a bit more and would it be possible to lance this one? Another suggestion pm Mary her vet has been brilliant and helped out a few people's vets on here as well O0
Good luck love and yeah i hear stories like your hubby from my kids at times, one in particular says horrible things... it's a bit hard to take sometimes isn't it :(
WEll you know you've got friends on here that understand and are here to help you :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
i am so sorry to hear ricky is sick again, he sounds lovely the way he wants cuddles and to be with you all the time :) :) :), reminds me of our petal when she was alive :'( :'( :'(
my husband hates for me to spend money on vet bills too, but truth be known hubby is a big softie, all the girls(pets) love him and want to be with him :tickedoff: :tickedoff: as i care for them, feed them etc, he pretends it annoys him but he really loves it. not saying your hubby is like mine. sending cuddles and hugs to you and ricky. :smitten: :smitten: i am far from an expert but i would say if the lump looks different i would say it is a cyst :-\ :-\ but have been wrong many times before. :tickedoff: :tickedoff:please keep us updated, i know how hard it is for vet bills as we are on pensions. arrange with vet to say pay $50.00 a week/fortnight till paid. take care and give ricky a kiss and cuddle for me he sounds a real darling
:smitten: :smitten:. as for where you got him from they should by law be made to pay for his treatment, :tickedoff: :tickedoff: :tickedoff: here in australia we have legal aid-free legal advice or ask your vet. :-\ :-\ if they have petitions, lawsuits etc then they should not be in business. :tickedoff: :police: goodluck to you and ricky! :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
This could be a sebaceous cyst,but they are slower growing than abcess.

If you have a sterile needle and syringe,you could go in and see if there is any puss,that would indicate abcess.No puss,cyst.

Most abcesses can be dealt with by lancing and back flushing.There is no need to remove them completely,unless there is a medical reason for doing this. ie,the abcess is on the face near the mouth,so the pus would be easy to ingest.
 
Thank you all for your support. I love reading other people's stories. I know some of you have lost your piggies. So sorry to hear those stories. I know I also will be so sad when Ricky is not around. I have an appointment for him on Sunday. His vet is only in on certain days. But she is a wonderful vet. Very loving and caring with Ricky. She is trained only in small exotic animals and is amazing with Ricky. She knows her stuff. So I won't trust him to anyone else. I am going to tell her no stitches this time. But she said he seems to reject stitches so that's why she took them out. I don't think she would stitch again. I'm sure I'll have to flush. I'll have to tell her to not do a culture this time. That alone was almost $100! I'll do my best to take care of Ricky as best as I can. I'll let all of you know the outcome. I would say also it feels more like a cyst, but what would the odds be that it is just after they removed an abscess so close to the area? Well, I'll find out. Thanks for all your well wishes! Ricky would be so happy if he understood how many people care!
 
I do hope it is a harmless cyst rather than an abcess. There is no need for the cyst to be removed.Yes,they can sometimes grow very big and burst,but mostly they do not.Even if they do burst,the crater can be cleaned out,and it will dry up.

Hugs to Ricky from The Epsom Mob
 
OK, it's now Sunday and Ricky is at the vet being operated on now. I had to leave him because she had several appts after Ricky so she couldn't operate right away. It is another abscess. The vet felt so bad that I had to have this done to Ricky again and was very good about it. She knows I just can't afford to do this again. So she is not going to culture it (that was $100 alone!). She said it is more than likely the same kind of bacteria. She is going to keep it open this time since he ripped open the stitches twice last time. I'm very nervous about flushing it. Last time I had to flush it out, but it was starting to heal a little by then since it was stitched for a few days before he ripped it open. I'm afraid how sore it will be for him. I know most of you have done this before. Do you think I should empty out his cage of toys and his little hut? I'm afraid he may scratch himself on it. I took some stuff out last time but he really missed his little hammock! She is going to wrap his back paw again so he can't scratch it with his nails. I'm so sick that Ricky has to go through this again. He's still so young. Because of how young he is (about 5 months) the doctor is limited to the antibiotic he must take. She said he's to young for Baytril since it may hinder the growth of his bones. He's going to take the same antibiotic that he was on. I'm waiting to hear from her. He should be done with surgery soon. Also, the anathesiologist pointed out something helpful. If your guinea pig gets a lot of lumps, he could be lacking vitamin C. She said lack of vitamin C can cause a lot of lumps or skin disorders. I may have to start giving him tablets. Although he eats a lot of green bell peppers now and they are huge with vitamin C. I'll let you all know how he is!
 
sending you and little ricky hugs and cuddles and praying surgery goes well. i am no expert, but if you are concerned about his toys and flushing his wound talk to your vet about your concerns, she sounds like she knows what she is talking about. also sending prayers ricky behaves himself and doesn't scratch his wound etc. hopefully you'll get that phone call, knowing me, i would be too scared and nervous to answer it. in fact when zoe had her surgery we stayed at the vet for the 4 hours, thought they were going to charge us rent. once we knew zoe was going to fine we went home to have tea and then went back and picked her up. always hate it when you leave babies at the vet and the phone rings. sending hugs and cuddles your way. please keep us updated. :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: come on little ricky you can do it you sweet angel. :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
I have given Baytril to 'young' pigs, personally I don't consider this 'young'. What it does to their bones I don't know. He's not exactly doing well without is he? :) I'd settle for hindered bone growth myself :)

When you flush you need to keep the wound open, only stitches for the beads. That said I don't know the size of the wound and sometimes the craters that are left are difficult to heal. I find the ones that heal easily are the ones that you need to keep open ::)

Guineas that get veg daily should be getting enough Vit C. He made need more because he's ill but then it needs to stop. Also a probiotic with antibiotics.
 
I have Ricky home now. The doc said the green peppers are enough for the vitamin C so I don't need to give him any. I don't know why she won't give him Baytril at this age (5 months). I guess she thinks he's to young. If this med doesn't work, I will suggest it. I keep forgetting the name of what he's taking. It's a long name that begins with a C. He's also taking Rimadyl (don't know how to spell it) for the pain. He's been going crazy in his cage. All the stuff at the bottom of the cage is going everywhere in the room. And he's trying so hard to bite the bandage on his foot. It has to stay on. Even with it, he's managing to scratch the wound. I called the hospital and they said to give him the pain meds immediately. If he kept doing it, then I need to bring him in for a painkiller shot. He then layed down and went to sleep. Then later he got up and went crazy again, but not as much. I don't think it's pain, I think he's annoyed over the bandage because he's biting it like crazy. If he continues, I'll bring him in for a shot. It's a hospital so it's open all night. I do feel comfortable with Ricky in their hands. It's a beautiful hospital. I sware it looks like a real hospital, only smaller. It's really big. The doctor's are wonderful and well trained! Only problem, you pay the price, believe me. But it's one of the only guinea pig specialists anywhere near here. And she's wonderful. I didn't feel nervous leaving him, but I'm nervous now to clean the wound. It's really a big open saw. It was bleeding when I took him home. They told me that's normal. But I have to really get in there when I clean it and I'm really nervous of that. I don't want to hurt him. Well, that's the update. I hope this heals quickly. They had to open the old one slightly because when she checked it, a little pus came out. So she had to clean it. Now I have to clean that one too. Oh well. I guess I'll go do that now. Wish me luck. I am a nervous Nelly! I'm not cut out for this! Thank you all again for all you well wishes. I will check in a day or two with an update!
 
so happy ricky is home and doing well. and wishing you luck with cleaning the wound. you are so lucky having the animal hospital to take him too. we have animal hospitals here in australia but they are dunces when it comes to piggies. good luck sending hugs and cuddles. and ricky leave your bandage foot alone or mum will but a head colloar on you! :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
Thanks Choloe. I just checked in on your post to see how Zoe is doing. I'm so sorry you are going through this. It's so sad when your piggy is sick. I hope Zoe gets well soon. I am grateful for the hospital. Last night, Sunday, at 8pm I ran Ricky down there so they can give him a shot of painkiller (even though they sent me home with some, he needed something to calm him down). It was a little shot so it didn't hurt and when I got him home, he sacked out for the night! Head went down and everyting! He looked so cute. And he slept the night! I sware, before the shot, he looked like a bucking bronco! It did worry me. But that's the advantage of having the hospital so close. Of course you have to pay for the shot, but it wasn't that much. They said somehow I overpaid on the operation so it only cost me $2.00 for the shot. So that was good. He is doing well today. Non stop eating. I filled his big bowl three time with fresh vegatables and he has his dry food also. No matter what, he never stops eating. The nursre said as soon as he came out of the anesthesia, he ate something. She said she couldn't believe it. When he stops eating, I will worry. But so far, so good. I'll keep you posted.
 
Just caught up with this post so sorry to hear Ricky is not well again. Sending healing wheeks :smitten:
 
so glad ricky is doing well, hoping the bucking has stopped the poor little mite with his foot bandaged. hoping this is the last of his lumps for awhile and that he settles down for you. hugs and cuddles :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: as for zoe feeding her grass, oaten hay, straw, brocoli, lucerne pellets,carrot and pellets mush with apple puree every 3-6 hours and giving her water with vitamin C in it. hopefully the poop results will be in tomorrow. take care. :smitten: :smitten:
 
Thanks again everyone! Ricky is coming along. Very mushy today. Didn't eat as much. I was gone most of today. And his dish of veggies was still full. Maybe he was lonely! When I got home he was all over me trying to eat my shirt! I'll see how he is tomorrow. Choloe, I'll check your post to see if there is anymore news on Zoe. I see Zoe eats a lot of different types of foods. What do all of you feed your guineas? I could use mre suggestions. His diet seems boring. The vet said cut out carrots. Ricky doesn't seem to like many different things. Just green peppers, cucumbers and parsley. Sometimes he'll eat celery. The vet said to keep giving him green bell peppers for the vitamin C. Plus he doesn't drink hardly any water, so he needs the peppers since they contain a lot of water. Well, I'll check in again tomorrow! Good night all!
 
Hi love i have a piggie who doesn't drink so also give him fruits for that reason and also syringe him preboiled and cooled water thru a 1ml syringe, he loves it now :)
Good luck with Ricky, sending more healing wheeks for him from us both :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
Hi, I've only just seen this. I'm so sorry Ricky is poorly. Sending him loads of love and healing xx
 
hello annie,
what ever you feed ricky make sure you don't do what we did and make too many changes too quickily to his diet and also don't give so many greens. as summer told us try herbs like corriander, dill, basil, mint,rocket, pumpkin, capsicium(peppers you call them)water, rock or honey dew melon rinds, tomatoes, cauliflower to name a few. i will PM you a copy of summer's list she sent me. hoping ricky gets better soon he has been through a rough trot too! try feeding him on baby food, we can get carrot or sweetcorn puree here in australia. sending higs and cuddles to you and ricky. :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
I cant believe I didnt see this post sooner. Poor Ricky and you having to go through this again :'( You are doing a wonderful job with him. Keep us posted and sending lots of hugs and cuddles your way :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
Thank you ALL again for all your wishes! And thanks for PM's I got! I answered them today, I hope it did it right! Choloe, I got the list. I'm going to try something different today for Ricky. He doesn't want to eat, which worries me because he never stops eating. He seems himself. A little quiet, but when I pick him up, he seems to respond positively. He loves to bite my shirt and crawl under my chin, which he is doing. I've been flushing his cut. It was pretty deep. All the blood dried up and now I can't get the syringe in. I hope I didn't mess up somehow. This one was worse than the first time. I hope he bounces back. I hate seeing his food bowl full. Whenever I fill it, it's empty within a couple of hours! And I really fill it! He just nibbled this morning. Well, I'm going to go check him now! Thank you all again for thinking of us! I'll update again later!
 
Here's my update...I called the vet this afternoon. I told her he wasn't eating and that he was hardly pooping...she said get him in to see her. To the vet we went! He had a complete checkup. She said the wound was really deep this time and he is probably still in pain, even though he's on a pain killer. It actually dried up, covered with blood. She had to take off the dried blood. I felt so bad for him. It's all opened again. She took his temp, checked all his vitals! It was strange watching all this. He lost weight. When I brought him in, he was just laying there and I really started to worry. She said he's dehydrated and needs to get food in him. She gave me some kind of powdered food (it contained Timothy Hay and other vitamins) and I had to add water and syringe feed him. Which I did. They gave him a shot for the dehydration (she said it's like putting in an IV for fluids) and another shot for his tummy. She said his tummy is probably not feeling to well either. She also said to go buy gas relief liquid for infants and to give him that. I haven't done that yet. I'm not sure if he needs that. In the end, she cleaned the wound again and sent me home with another stronger pain killer and told me to give him both of them. She said to continue with the antibiotic and then she gave me a medicine for his tummy. Poor thing is on 4 medicines. And I need to keep flushing the saw and putting antibiotic cream on it. So I did all this hours ago and just went to check on him. Wouldn't you know it, he's tipped his veggie bowl over and is eating. He is also playing with his chew stick. He throws it up in the air! So maybe he's feeling better. Someone told me that the vet is soaking me for every penny she can, but he looks like he is so much better than earlier. I think she knows her stuff! I hope he stays like this. She said if he doesn't get better, I'll have to leave him there. So I'm crossing my fingers that he's better tomorrow. I'll let you know!
 
i need to find a vet like yours!

my vet or rather vets...because having 3 instead of 1 vet check his lump you know would of been a good idea! but one said he'd be fine, the other ended up putting xavier to sleep just 4 days after seeing the positive vet!

but am sure he'll be fine, it seems like he's getting alot of needed attention from you and your nice vet...feel free to wrap her up and send her to me for my birthday! lol

hugs
 
i need to find a vet like yours!

that is so true for me too. so glad little ricky is getting better. and i not know how much you vet charges but if she has made ricky better then she is a gem and i DON'T think she is milking you! sending hugs and cuddles to you and ricky. glad you took him to the vet. :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: did you discuss the food list? when little zoe had her surgery she never got any pain killers. as you know zoe's poop tests were normal. hoping to plan a plan of attack with our vet today. keep up the good work! cheeky devil tipping his bowl up and throwing his chew stick in the air. maybe you could tell me is timothy grass hay the same as meadow hay? i have asked in my post but as yet got no answers. as i am looking for something with timothy hay in it for zoe, but people just look at me as if i am an alien as they have never heard of timothy grass hay.
keep going ricky boy. :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
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