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Truffle's Lump Has Burst

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kittyla

kittyla

Junior Guinea Pig
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Truffle has had a large lump under the skin on his "hip" for about a year I think, the vet
didn't want to remove unless it was bothering him. This evening I noticed there was a
small hole in the lump & it was oozing some thick grey matter, I felt I could have squeezed
more out easily but have decided to get him to a vet tomorrow to do it. I think its causing
some pain in his leg. I was wondering if there's anything in the house I could put on the
burst bit - antiseptic cream or something that's ok for piggies? to protect the wound until
I get him to the vet. Any ideas?
I have some aloevera gel, is that safe to use?
 
Do you have any iodine in the house? if so, a couple of drops in an egg cup of warm water and bathe the affected area, that's what the vet had me do when Rebel had his abscess lanced.
 
It sounds like it may be a sebaceous cyst to me. You could bathe it in a saline solution until you get to the vets. Or you could use the Iodine that BossHogg mentions. Do you have any pain relief such as Metacam? If so you could ask the vets over the phone if it is ok to use it.
 
I have some iodine based antiseptic spray, perhaps that might do. I'm a bit reluctant to bathe it as I don't want to encourage it to burst overnight,
I'm sure Truffle would be more comfortable if it did! but I'm afraid of infection. Perhaps I could dab it with salt water. Yes I do have some metacam,
I will give some to Truffle tonight.
 
Truffle seems quite active this morning & not in any pain, perhaps the bit that leaked out relieved some pressure. I'm glad he's ok as I cant
get a vet apt until tomorrow, gives me a chance to make sure their cage is nice an clean ready for after his de-lumping!
 
I cant believe they gave you a general appointment, my vet surgery would treat it as an emergency and see the patient asap! My surgery is staffed 24/7, so there is always someone available. :tu:
 
Sounds like a sebaceous cyst to me too. Is his skin black by any chance?

I had a piggy with one. We were advised by the vet to leave it until/if it became a problem. It started out tiny, but grew in random spurts over the years. When it changed he went back to the vet for them to check. Once it was about an inch in size and burst again we took him in and he had it removed.
 
Yes Jaycey, Truffle has black everything - except that brushstroke on his nose (he's the piggy on my avatar) Does black skin make them more
prone to cysts then? Did your pig have the whole thing removed or just emptied?
Bosshog I was going to ask for an emergency apt but as Truffle seemed so well this am & the lump wasn't weeping I thought it was ok to wait
 
I asked about his skin colour as it matches the gunk coming out of the cyst. Black skin = grey gunk. Pink skin = usually yellow gunk but can have a pink tinge to it. Nice eh! I learnt that from a friend when my pigs cyst had grey gunk and I panicked.

The vet emptied it a few times for us over the years, but eventually we decided to have it taken off. It had gotten to an inch in size and stuck out quite far so we thought he'd probably bash it quite often and burst it open. And I didn't want to chance it becoming infected.

He was fine after the surgery, and the vet sent it away for tests, and it was just a sebaceous cyst.

I'm not sure exactly how long he had it, but it must have been around 3 years, and it slowly grew in time.

I probably wouldn't class it as an emergency, but if it looks sore, or infected or smells then I'd rush him in for an emergency appointment.
 
Frank has a few small cysts like this - he is also black all over, every so often he will knock the top off one and gunk will come out of it, we wash it with saline. Luckily they aren't very big more like pimples really.
 
Jaycey said:
I asked about his skin colour as it matches the gunk coming out of the cyst. Black skin = grey gunk. Pink skin = usually yellow gunk but can have a pink tinge to it. Nice eh! I learnt that from a friend when my pigs cyst had grey gunk and I panicked
.
Click to expand...
Well you learn something new every day!
 
Truffle had his lump shaved and squeezed yesterday:vom: No further treatment needed,
hopefully it wont grow back!
 
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