My 5 year old piggu died today because of a tumor and I'd just like to notify you all to check on your beloved pets. If guinea piga don't breed, there is a chance they might get a tumor, so if you notice their belly getting big make sure to take them to the vet. I was never told about this and I thought she was just getting fat from food, until she started bleeding. When I took her to the vet they said she needed an operation and that it's a very serious matter, the tumor was almost her own size. She woke up after total anaesthesia which is a miracle, since it's very risky with small animals. I warmed her up, gave her water and food, she started moving and it was going for the better. I was waking up every 2 hours at night to check on her... In the morning she started shaking uncontrollably and then passed away. She meant so much to me, and if I knew earlier, I could have prevented it. Please take care of your pets and check on them regularly!
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- Thread starter graccean
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Hi! I am very sorry for your loss and the heartbreak it is causing you. Internal tumours are never good news and losing a piggy to an unexpected problem can be a traumatising experience. Unfortunately, it sounds like your tumour was already very advanced when it was seen by a vet.
Ovarian cysts can in some cases become cancerous. In this case, removal of the cysts or a full spay is the usual line of treatment.
If you are worried about ovarian cancer in any future sows, then a spaying operation is what you want to have done, but definitely NOT exposing any sow of yours to the risk of miscarriage or dying from common birthing complications and the heart-break of dead-born or dying pups.
Sadly your advice is one of the several persistent breeder myths that have long since debunked that you have fallen victim to with your 'warning'!
Please be aware that even mothers can still develop ovarian cysts (including cancerous ones), as my own Iola is just one first-hand example for; she was dumped into a (bad) rescue after a teenage pet shop or breeder pregnancy long before she found her way here. Iola had a successful spaying operation for large non-hormonal ovarian cysts aged 5 and lived for over a year long to the good old age of 6 1/2 when she died from unrelated causes.
You need to also be aware that giving birth doesn't in any way influence the formation of any other internal tumours that can affect all piggies of any gender and irrespective of whether they are de-sexed or not, or have had babies or not. These tumours are much more likely caused by sprayed foods and the pervasiveness of chemicals in our daily lives, as well as genetic disposition or a combination of these.
Please accept that we are a strictly non-breeding forum and won't change our stance, seeing that there is a 20% risk of fatality in every single birth under the best conditions (the risk is going up even higher in all others!), which is on balance a MUCH higher risk of life than the chance of developing cancerous ovarian cysts or internal tumours. If you think that a tumour is traumatising, then dealing with dead and dying babies or a dying new mother/mother-to-be in serious discomfort is even more so, I can assure you!
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You are welcome to check for yourself just how much death and heart-break our pregnancy section for unplanned births from mis-sexed or already pregnant shop and breeder piggies is littered with.
You are also welcome to check through our health/illness section, which is going back 12 years, as to the frequency of cancerous ovarian cysts in the tens of thousands of piggies that have passed through this section compared to birthing operations. Our health/illness section is not the worst mirror as to which problems are the most frequent and the most deadly ones.
Lady Kelly
Senior Guinea Pig
Hi, I'm sorry to hear of your experience, it sounds like it's been a very traumatic time for you. Please give yourself time to grieve, pets always take a piece of our heart with them and its natural to feel guilty like we could have done more. Be kind to yourself.
This is one of the reasons we recommend weekly health checks for piggies. They are so good at hiding illnesses that monitoring their weight weekly is sometimes the first way to spot that something is going on inside.
This is one of the reasons we recommend weekly health checks for piggies. They are so good at hiding illnesses that monitoring their weight weekly is sometimes the first way to spot that something is going on inside.
Betsy
Anniversary Herd
The only way I knew that the Ever Beautiful Betsy was ill was her weight dropped rapidly from week to week if I hadn't done the weekly check I would never have known and I would have lost her and the Rainbow Bridge would have gained one more piggy. Also I noticed Christian's lump growing bigger and bigger and he had to have it removed. I grew from about the size of the top of my thumb to the size of an egg in around 10 days and it was touch and go whether he'd make it through the operation but he did thanks to the skill of my vet. I cannot stress enough about the importance of weekly checks. Without them I would now have 3 piggies and not 5.
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So sorry for your loss.
I lost one of my girls to a tumour a few weeks ago.
There had been no noticeable signs that anything was wrong until it was too late.
My heart goes out to you as you grieve for your girl.
Sadly, sometimes there is nothing that could have prevented the loss.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve
I lost one of my girls to a tumour a few weeks ago.
There had been no noticeable signs that anything was wrong until it was too late.
My heart goes out to you as you grieve for your girl.
Sadly, sometimes there is nothing that could have prevented the loss.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve
Tiamolly123
Senior Guinea Pig
Hi, I am so sorry for your loss, tumours can be hard to pick up on. I lost Molly my first piggy to a tumour, still to this day I can't forget her
Sleep tight little Piggu
Sleep tight little Piggu