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Small pets

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Original poster

LUMP ADVICE :( URGENT

26 replies

guineapiglet · 04/12/2013 17:12

Hi all, as many of you know I have been adopted by three lovely guinea 'nephews' round the corner. The little blond boar is new to them ( about three months) taken kindly by them as a neighbour 'no longer needed him'.

Went round today armed with dandelions, grass and cabbage. Sat cooing to blond boy ( he is gorrrgeous) and he kept coming out, sitting on his ramp, desperate to get to me, or so I thought. ' OOOh he likes my voice, ooh he wants some company etc.' Cue embarrassing guinea voice. H ran out, and I was just going to pick him up when he BYPASSED me and went straight for the CABBAGE on my knee, grabbed it and ran back in Xmas Blush.

Sadly, in a few days he seems to have grown a HUGE lump on the side of his face, near his jaw and it is absolutely enormous, I was really shocked how quickly it has grown. He is still eating and drinking but seems to have lost weight and condition, I am so sad to see him like this, because he is now BFF with one of the boars, and seemed so very happy in his new surroundings and with all the care and love they give him. Have to say, it doesnt look good. Any thoughts, wise women?

OP posts:
fortifiedwithtea · 04/12/2013 17:50

Tooth abscess? As you say grown in matter of days rather than weeks.

A trip to the vet is needed Xmas Sad

Mogz · 04/12/2013 18:29

Some sort of access, they can bulge up very quickly, he'll need a vet trip for some antibiotics and they might lance it too. It shouldn't necessitate him staying away for long though, if they think he's ok he might not even need to stay over night.
Hope he gets better quickly.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 04/12/2013 18:38

Ahh poor little blond pig.

Definately sounds like something infected rather than tumourous given the speed of growth.

Does he get anxious if you touch his face?
Is it warm?
Could be a broken tooth?
Impacted tooth?
Could be a bite from cage mate
Or a foreign body (twig or something sharp)
Possibly blocked saliva gland?

My abby boar sprang a lump on his flank - it literally came up overnight, but it was smallish (size of a marrowfat pea but flatter). Didn't change. Didn't hurt him.

Vet for the little boy Sad

Original poster
guineapiglet · 04/12/2013 19:19

Thanks as ever to you all - I am really grateful. It did seem to be tooth, mouth related and I will tell my friend to take him to the vet and get him looked at. He simply gorged down the cabbage, didnt seem to be wincing or in any kind of distress, but Ithink it is worth ruling infection out quickly before it sets in.

It is always the sweetest creatures which have to suffer so. :(

OP posts:
FernieB · 04/12/2013 20:28

Poor boy - I hope he has a successful trip to the vets. At least it doesn't appear to be bothering him. It's awful when they are suffering.

Gingerbics · 04/12/2013 22:17

Hope little Blondie is ok and the vet is able to suggest some special guinea medicine.

Original poster
guineapiglet · 05/12/2013 10:39

Hi all, jsut had text to say she is taking him to the vets as we speak, so will let you all know how little Boris gets on....

What a lovely kind lot you all are, thanks for all your help and support :)
Will pass it on as they are very upset.

(Personally I think the one who 'no longer needed him' should pay up, but as a newcomer here I have to keep my gob shut!)

OP posts:
Original poster
guineapiglet · 05/12/2013 14:02

Update: Just been round to see him, bless, all curled up and looking the worse for wear, lots of blood everywhere and looks very sorry for himself. Yes, it was an abscess, has now been drained and anti biotics given.

Cost £40 for the honour and and had to have oxygen as he was very wobbly. However he did come and snatch more cabbage when offered, so hopefully that is an encouraging sign. Poor little mite, I just want to eat him up Grin. Lets hope he pulls through, he is the sweetest little critter.

OP posts:
Mogz · 05/12/2013 14:17

Whilst he is still eager to eat then he is doing just fine Smile swift recovery and lots of scritches for him!

FernieB · 05/12/2013 14:43

Get well soon Boris. Poor boy - what an ordeal for him. Hopefully he's soon popcorning round and asking for dandelions.

Gingerbics · 05/12/2013 15:08

Poor Boris but at least it's sorted now and hopefully he'll soon be back in action. Great that he's wanting to eat already!

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 05/12/2013 18:32

Aww Bless little Boris.

(And he can thank his lucky starts that he was in his new home when this happened. Do you imagine his previous owners would have acted so swiftly and got him the help he needed) Sad

Probably best to wait until the antibiotics are clear of his system before you eat him though Wink
And lots of parsely to flavour him.

Extra Boris hugs while he recovers.

fortifiedwithtea · 06/12/2013 00:51

Positive sign for Boris that he was eager to eat. Fingers crossed the abscess doesn't fill up again.

Get well soon Boris. Love that name for a blonde guinea Smile

Original poster
guineapiglet · 06/12/2013 18:31

Hi All, today's update is that he is in nice clean hay, eating well and looking a lot chirpier, thanks for all your positive vibes and excellent advice.. IS there a way of stopping abscess filling up again? acoiding certain things? WHat causes them in the first place? .

Fortified - it is not his real name, 70 came up with it when I was describing him in the first post, and his hair is exactly that colour Grin of the great man himself.......

OP posts:
Original poster
guineapiglet · 06/12/2013 18:32

PS you are right 70, don't thingk previous owners would have given a toss. :( :(

OP posts:
Mogz · 06/12/2013 19:34

Sorry no advice on abscess prevention, other than to try to get him used to having his mouth checked regularly so they can be spotted early. I expect he'd be sweet enough to oblige for a fistful of herbs Smile glad to hear he is doing well.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 06/12/2013 21:31

fortified Boris is his Mumsnet name.
I wasn't allowed to call GP3 Boris ( bolshy DD) and a sweet blonde pig is very reminicent of a certain London based Mayor.

not a fan of BoJo myself but I love the name too

fortifiedwithtea · 06/12/2013 21:31

Oh I see, Boris is his Mumsnet name Wink Grin

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 06/12/2013 21:37

WRT the abscess - if it's open from the outside sometimes the vets will advice flushing it with warm saline. Not possible if it's draining internally, though the antibiotics will do their job.

Hopefully when he was there they'd have made the hole big enough to get it all out.

Depends as well what caused it. If it's teeth he might needs to go back to have them checked (though I'd imagine they'd have sorted them while he was there)
If it's an injury from a foreign body, it should heal itself.

Do guinea-pigs have 9 lives like cats?
He's used one being dumped and rescued.
And another with this abscess.

HedgehogsRevenge · 06/12/2013 21:44

Regular dental checks, he might have an abnormality /misalignment, then they don't wear down properly. Vitamin deficiency is also a cause of dental problems so a decent balanced diet.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 06/12/2013 22:44

This little boar sounds like he didn't have the best of starts either.
From the original thread (where he was being bundled into the car to be sent to rehome because they "didn't need him") he was quite skinny.

He might have missed out on early vital vitamins as a growing piglet.
And as an only , he wouldn't have had to compete for food. (My boars have their faces in the trough as soon as it hits the floor. Those teeth are put to use gnaw gnaw gnaw .

Original poster
guineapiglet · 14/12/2013 19:21

Yoo hoo all, just an update to muse over. Went to see Boris yesterday, still adorable, still eating, but sadly abscess has returned and back to full size despite a week of antibiotics :(. His mum is an experienced nurse, who said that she knew all about absesses and how they have to be drained, and the next course for him would be a full GA with no guarantee that it would do the trick, more expense, and more stress for poor sweet Boris.

She is a lovely, lovely lady, and wants to do the right thing. He is eating happily at the moment, and such a cutie, cleaned every day, lots of attention and cuddles. SHe really doesn't want him to have a GA and the vet kind of advised against it due to his age :( :( :(

We consoled ourselves with the thought that whatever happens next, he has had a lovely last few months with this lovely family, and has become quite sociable and cuddly. So his 'retirmement' has been a vast improvement on his previous life. We talked about not letting him suffer, and once he stopped eating she may have him PTS - - it is making me well up thinking about it, so need to get a grip. Sometimes I wish the vets were more realistic from the outset, rather than prolonging the animal's suffering. But he isn't suffering now, he seems happy, alert and glad of a life indoors where he is being pampered.

OP posts:
70isaLimitNotaTarget · 14/12/2013 20:36

Oooh that is bad news guineapiglet ,
Poor Boris sounds like he's happy in himself but as you say, if he's not bodily fit for a GA, they won't get to the root cause of his problem.

He might be sweet tempered enough to let them look in his mouth with a retractor but apart from tidying up his teeth and antibiotics, they are limited while he's conscious.
(My GP2 has his teeth looked at without GA but he was so 'past it' he wouldn't have cared)

If he gets an infection there might be no option for him (as a nurse his PigMum will know the symptoms to look for - lethargy, shivery, high temperature, maybe excess drinking, not eating, general malaise and mehness ).

But sad as it is, the quality of his life will be the best that you can all give him.

Keep us all updated and

Original poster
guineapiglet · 15/12/2013 09:10

Thank you 70 you are always so kind. I know hes not mine but I really do feel for this little soul, as I seem to for most creatures who have had a rotten, uncared for life. As I say, his last few weeks have been full of love and attention.

All the SFA guineas are hugely loved, understood (!) and cared for, it is lovely to read about them and they are lucky to have such devoted owners....heres to a happy , parsley fillled christmas to them all xxxx

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Sawdust · 22/12/2013 15:54

Hello! I hope Boris is doing well!

I know this is a bit of an old thread but felt I had to reply as we are in such a similar situation.

Our pig had the same thing happen after Easter . she had the GA and draining. We had the added complication that she became very thin and it took her a while to get eating again, so syringe feeding was needed.

She was fine until September when the puss came back, breaking through the wound. There's a thread about it on here (help my Piggie is ill)

Antibiotics did absolutely nothing and mess with her appetite so that we have to syringe feed. So I have stopped, and instead we wash the wound twice daily with salt water and apply germaline.

It shows no sign of going away, but she is happy. She eats, she popcorns, she is boss pig among her friends and like Boris, very tame from all the handling! We weigh her twice a day too (yes, I'm obsessive!) and her weight holds up without help now.

We have been at this stage for about 3 months now. I understand the thing about abscesses is that sometimes they don't go away. But there is hope, as I know my pig is still getting a good quality of life.

Good luck!

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