• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Xander has a lump

Status
Not open for further replies.
boureki

boureki

Senior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
5,392
Reaction score
92
Points
720
Location
Cornwall/Devon Border
I just found it earlier this evening :( It's on his tummy. He's only about 14 months old, I'm hoping it's nothing suspicious and just a fatty lump or something. I'm taking him to the vet tomorrow if I can get an appointment. He seems fine in himself, popcorning as usual when the hay goes in and eating and drinking fine, so fingers crossed it's nothing serious. I'm pretty sure it's not a sebaceous cyst as Dylan is susceptable to these and it feels more solid and doesn't move around.

If it is proved to be malignant, can anyone tell me what to expect? Do they usually try and remove it?
 
The chance of it being malignant is virtually zero. I will donate £10 to a charity of your choice if it is!
It could be a hernia, these tend to "disappear" when finger pressure is applied to the lump. It could be a fibroma, which tends to be hard, or a lipoma, which tends to be soft. It is very unlikely to be a sebaceous cyst. Whatever the vet thinks it may be, do not be pressured into immediate/drastic treatment. Many of these lumps can be classed as "one of those things" which needs no treatment.
 
Thanks AP. Nah, I didn't think it was likely to be a sebaceous cyst either. At this point I'm not panicking too much. I shall write down what you have suggested and mention it to my vet and see what response I get! Unfortunately my usual guinea-loving non rip-off vet is away on maternity leave (sob!) so I will have to see the other bloke, but he's also supposed to be pretty good with pigs, but tends to charge more than my usual one, although quite how that works, I really don't know!

Edited to add - so if it is suspected to either be a hernia, lipoma or fibroma, are these dangerous, what exactly are they and do they require treatment? Off to do a bit of research...
 
Last edited:
But if I do that and it turns out to be somethig more serious...I don't think any of us would be too happy. In that teeny remote chance that it was malignant, would he likely be showing signs of discomfort, off his food etc? It's not a massive lump, probably around 5mm diameter give or take.
 
I was trying to make the point that he could be diagnosed as "Whatever it is, it must be removed" I wonder what the chance is of being told "I don't know what it is, leave well alone"? To be continued...!
 
Oh my.
Best wishes from Odie and Milo!!
<<<<LOVE AND BEST WISHES!>>>>
Hope things go good, and that he gets better. :( ♥
 
Oh yikes Julie only just seen this, poor Xander - knew we shouldn't have tempted fate the other week!

I suspect if is nothing to worry about, some piggies seem prone to lumps and bumps which cause them no problems at all. Are you seeing Rob or sticking to somewhere more local? If he thinks it isn't "suspect" I would think he will say to leave well alone - I'm sure you will ask all the pertinent questions anyway. Good luck and give Xander a snuggle from me.

As for pricing, I have to agree it's all a bit strange, but I think N is a bit naughty and doesn't charge us for everything! Roll on March!

Keep us posted.
 
Hope Xander is ok Julie. Esme has a lump on the top of her head, just a fatty mass. I was told by the vet he would remove it but to me it felt in a vulnerable place so I left it and she is fine. Maintaining weight etc so no worries at all.

Keep us posted. x
 
I've called the vet, but he's not available until Saturday, so have booked him in then as it doesn't look like the lump is affecting Xander in the slightest at the moment. I will be monitoring very carefully, however I have a load of upcoming hospital appointments myself for the nest couple of weeks, so hopefully nothing bad will happen that will require the lengthy travel dash to my vet surgery!

Thanks for the messages everyone :)
 
Again, the chance of it being a life-threatening lump is so very, very small that it is extremely unlikely that "anything bad will happen". Don't worry...........I know....easier said than done!
 
Ah, this topic is really reassuring me! My Cinnamon has a lump on her belly, and it's really been worrying me. I've recently noticed another, but it doesn't seem to bother her at all. I'm still hoping we can take her to the vet, just to see, but this is putting my mind at rest.
 
Really hoping it is nothing to worry about Julie, fingers crossed for him and let us know what the vet says on Saturday x
 
i would get to the vets personally marble had a lump on his back and i still personally think it had something to do with him passing away so young, not to scare you but its better to be safe than sorry. healing vibes from me and bradders for him xx
 
Cheers everyone, and for your private messages :)

Sqeeker, I understand your fear of these things, specially after losing Marble so soon. Xander seems to be just fine at the moment, his eyes are clear and bright, his coat condition is excellent, he's eating, popcorning, drinking etc and his behaviour seems 100% normal, which at this point has reassured me that it's likely to be nothing. I want to make sure I see the best vet that I can as my usual one is on maternity until next year, so if it means waiting a week for the next best one, I'm happy to wait if it's not an emergency. I will be watching him like an eagle though to make sure nothing changes!
 
Sq
If I remember correctly was Marble the pig that had the GA for dental treatment and took a rather long time to come round? I rather think that was his problem, not the lump on his back.
 
I have just read all of the Marble threads again. His problems do seem to have started after the GA. I see that I posted at the time that I did not expect him to survive after the GA.
 
Well, we took Mr. X along to the vet today who checked it quite thoroughly and said that it wasn't attached to any tissue inside (I presumed he meant organs!), it wasn't a fatty lump or sebaceous cyst and at this point said the chances of it being malignant are very tiny, which is what we kind of thought and hoped.

He said to keep an eye on it, if it suddenly starts growing to go back and they would use an aspirator needle to extract some of the matter in the lump and get it analysed. He also said he didn't want to "go in all guns blazing" (his words) and remove it, so I'm really pleased at his attutude towards it.

Xander still seems absolutely fine, he was a very happy chappie this morning when the fleece was changed in his C&C and popcorned around like a little demon! He's still looking in wonderful condition as well, still has a good appetite etc, so at this point we're not too worried and will just monitor.
 
I might be too late to the party but...

One of my (boy) pigs had a lump (I think it was mammary related, but don't quote me on that. It was in that area). The vet had a poke at it and, like what AP said, told me that the chances of a malignant lump on a guinea pig are very, very, very rare. However, she wanted us to keep an eye on it.

We were given baytril for ten days (I didn't protest, but looking back, there was no need for them as there was no evidence of an infection) just in case, at the end of treatment he went back to have it inspected.

While we wouldn't have had the lump removed if it hadn't changed, the skin area had changed and the lump had grown bigger.

The surgery was simple and quick and he made a full recovery. On biopsy of the lump (done for free since a student wanted to practice!) we were told that it was something-not-harmful (WHA? It was years ago! I don't remember the details!) and the pig went on to live a happy healthy life... until he got bladder stones.
 
Yep, we will definately be monitoring it carefully for any kind of changes. Whilst it is very rare for a lump to be malignant, it's not impossible, so whilst we have relaxed a bit about it, we certainly won't be forgetting about it!
 
boureki said:
Thanks Louise - we're quite relieved that the vet didn't try a hard sell on us!
Click to expand...

Not all vets are bad as some people would have you believe and that 95% of vets are caring and considerate! I am glad he seems fine. If he is popcorning around there is definately no harm being done internally at the moment and may never pose more that a threat than it already does. As Louise has pointed out, about Esmé! Her lump is right on the top of her skull and causes her no discomfort or pain and she is behaving as normal. :)p
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top