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Senior sow, ovarian cysts?

Dilly's Piggies

Dilly's Piggies

Teenage Guinea Pig
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My sweet sheltie girl Paisley is about to turn 7 years old this November, today I've noticed a large bald patch on her right side, behind her front leg. This has come up really suddenly, within the last week or two. She looks otherwise healthy, no other bald patches, appetite is still good, she's perhaps laying down a bit more and has lost a little bit of weight since this time last month, 30g ish.

She is also suddenly displaying hormonal behaviour starting a few days ago, rumble strutting at the other girls, which is extremely out of character for her. I checked her all over, her private area appears swollen, her nipples are also enlarged which is a sudden change too. She seems sensitive/tender/painful around her abdomen so I wasn't going to mess her around for photos of that.

All signs point to ovarian cysts, but normally the hair loss is symmetrical, is it possible to have it just on one side too? This isn't my first pig to get ovarian cysts, I've had 5 sows get it previously, I must be doing something wrong or just have really bad luck. She has a vet appointment for Monday, preparing myself for an anxiety and stress filled spay at her age... here we go again 😣

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Sorry to hear your girl is worrying you. Fingers crossed all goes well with the appointment on Monday. It’s better to know than to worry about what it could/couldn’t be. I am sure you will make the right decision, guided by your vet. All the best and let us know how you get on.
 
I think I've seen on here about hormonal treatments which can sometimes be effective for cysts? But the vet will be able to tell you more if indeed that is what you are looking at.
I hesitate to say it but perhaps she's nibbled the hair out herself? Maybe if there is something bothering her in that area (which may still be a cyst). The only two cyst-y girls I've seen had more symmetrical hair loss - a bit like the thinning hair on balding men. But my experience is limited to those two related girls.
Have you got any sort of weight record for her that you can compare for the vet and -the old question I suppose - is she peeing and pooing OK.
Good luck Paisley - you're a beauty x
 
You won't be doing anything wrong, veterinary literature says upwards of 75% of sows will get ovarian cysts and its just luck of the draw if you get the hormonal ones that produce symptoms or fluid filled ones that often go undetected.
Good luck at the vet! I hope you're able to find out what going on.
 
I can confirm that I have had girls with ovarian cysts where the hair loss was localised to one side, though it tended to be a thinning pattern and wasn’t as frank as in your photograph.

My experience has mostly been in older or frailer pigs so I have always chosen to give the hormonal injections.These have worked really well and are certainly really good where surgery isn’t an option. Usually they would have a course of three injections a week apart and then that would cover them for around six months and then it would need to be done again. One of my pigs ended up doing this for three years and she was otherwise very happy, the hormone completely removed her aggressive sexual behaviour.

From the pattern of hair loss, bear in mind it may not be cysts! Hope your vet appointment bring some answers and a plan going forward!
 
Update: Paisley saw the vet on Monday and has been booked in for an xray and ultrasound this Friday. The vet seems to be in agreement with me that it's most likely ovarian cysts, but the scan will tell us for sure before we do any treatment. She's been given some metacam as she does seem painful in her abdomen. She's still doing good, eating fine etc. Thanks everyone for the support, I'll update again after her scan!
 
Good luck for Friday, hope it goes well. Maybe she can have hormone injections instead of an op if it is cysts x
 
Update: The scans confirm she does have an ovarian cyst on one side, about 1cm in size, it is actually palpable, the vet felt it before doing scans.

The treatment we've gone for is something I've actually never heard of before, but my vet highly recommended it due to Paisley's age. A Suprelorin implant?! I was actually shocked to find out this is an option for piggies. Apparently it has shown success in other small furries like gerbils etc and is safe, can work for piggies too, although not guaranteed similar to the injections.

I am a little skeptical as I don't know much about it, but the vet said it was a better option than injections and may be more effective, cheaper in the long run, lasts longer and less stressful than constant injections. I really do trust my vet though, she's the only vet I take my pigs to, she is an exotics specialist and has never done me wrong when it comes to my piggies, she always goes above and beyond and really loves piggies, has some herself too, so I am inclined to trust her on this and give the implant a shot.

I just picked her up, she stayed for an hour, the vet put some numbing cream on her and did it that way, I didn't see it because I know it was painful for her. But she ate veggies straight after and is acting like nothing happened, so far so good. It'll take a couple of weeks to kick in, fingers crossed it helps her so we don't have to do surgery, but I am prepared for that if this implant doesn't work or she gets worse.

Does anyone have experience with this implant at all? I'd love to hear it! Thanks again everyone ❤
 
That sounds like a very decent alternative to surgery! I saw a vet today myself and she was the same sort - excellent with piggies, has kept them herself and makes such an effort to find just the right individual treatment appropriate for each pig 💕
 
Free Ranger said:
That sounds like a very decent alternative to surgery! I saw a vet today myself and she was the same sort - excellent with piggies, has kept them herself and makes such an effort to find just the right individual treatment appropriate for each pig 💕
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Exactly, these vets are so lovely to work with, I love knowing my vet loves piggies as much as I do, they just seem to get it lol! I really hope it works, so other piggies that might also not be great candidates for surgery can have another alternative to surgery and injections... Of course it's not a guaranteed thing, even if it doesn't work for Paisley it might for others and vice versa, like with injections. The more options the better for these lovely little nuggets😊
 
I agree. The more options the better. I sadly lost an elderly sow (rip Cherry Blossom) to ovarian cysts. She didnt make it through the op.
 
Update: I actually have some unexpected positive news, Paisley's hair is growing back! I honestly was not expecting this, I even asked the vet if her hair would grow back and she said there's a small chance it might but most likely it will not, so to see this is super exciting to me!

I'm not getting my hopes up completely however, because I've had sows with this before and sometimes I've seen them lose and regrow the hair in cycles, so we'll see in time whether Paisley will lose the hair again or if it will come back completely.

Regarding how she is in general, I haven't seen any hormonal behaviour literally at all which is awesome. She is still at a lower weight than I'd like (900g) however she has stopped losing weight and is now maintaining.

Her appetite has come back in full force too, she's hungry for everything and comes running out wheeking for veggies again, something she hasn't done for months now, which I am so happy about! She is no longer laying in one spot all day either, I see her out at the hay pile, food bowl, water bottle etc most of the time whereas before she was unwilling to move much.

She seems to be completely back to her normal, perky, active happy self! Her appetite and general behaviour, as well as the hair regrowth has all coincided, it all suddenly came back at the same time, within the past week, which makes me think all her symptoms were related and perhaps the implant is actually doing something?

I wasn't expecting to see such positive results honestly... maybe it is just coincidence and the implant doesn't work but with all of these positive changes all of a sudden it does look like it works for her, which is incredible.

Of course I'm not going to get my hopes up all the way, things can change so quickly with piggies, but for now I'm happy with how she is, just need to get some weight back on her and she'll be pretty much perfect. I still can't believe the hair is coming back, I'm ecstatic about it lol!

Before the implant: (As you can see the whole area is completely smooth bald with just a few long hairs left that did eventually fall out too)
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Now: (Zooming in you can see baby fuzz coming through all over!)
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Dilly's Piggies said:
Update: I actually have some unexpected positive news, Paisley's hair is growing back! I honestly was not expecting this, I even asked the vet if her hair would grow back and she said there's a small chance it might but most likely it will not, so to see this is super exciting to me!

I'm not getting my hopes up completely however, because I've had sows with this before and sometimes I've seen them lose and regrow the hair in cycles, so we'll see in time whether Paisley will lose the hair again or if it will come back completely.

Regarding how she is in general, I haven't seen any hormonal behaviour literally at all which is awesome. She is still at a lower weight than I'd like (900g) however she has stopped losing weight and is now maintaining.

Her appetite has come back in full force too, she's hungry for everything and comes running out wheeking for veggies again, something she hasn't done for months now, which I am so happy about! She is no longer laying in one spot all day either, I see her out at the hay pile, food bowl, water bottle etc most of the time whereas before she was unwilling to move much.

She seems to be completely back to her normal, perky, active happy self! Her appetite and general behaviour, as well as the hair regrowth has all coincided, it all suddenly came back at the same time, within the past week, which makes me think all her symptoms were related and perhaps the implant is actually doing something?

I wasn't expecting to see such positive results honestly... maybe it is just coincidence and the implant doesn't work but with all of these positive changes all of a sudden it does look like it works for her, which is incredible.

Of course I'm not going to get my hopes up all the way, things can change so quickly with piggies, but for now I'm happy with how she is, just need to get some weight back on her and she'll be pretty much perfect. I still can't believe the hair is coming back, I'm ecstatic about it lol!

Before the implant: (As you can see the whole area is completely smooth bald with just a few long hairs left that did eventually fall out too)
View attachment 209892

Now: (Zooming in you can see baby fuzz coming through all over!)
View attachment 209893
Click to expand...
Sorry for the late response / question. Do you mind me asking how you and Paisley got on longer term with the implant? My willow has one implanted three months ago and so far it had been very positive. All hair grown back and a very perky 5 year old female. Thanks
 
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