Guinea pig has large lump under his chin

[fishandlilacs]

I have just cuddled one of my boys and noticed a big knobbly gnarly sort of lump under his chin in his throat. We have only had them a few months so i'm totally inexperienced with piggies.

It's a bit moveable. He wasn't too keen on me touching it. Does he need a trip to the vet or is it likely to be a cyst like dogs get?

[fishandlilacs]

it's about the size of a small brussel sprout.

[xfilefan]

Definitely worth a trip to the vets. It could be many different things, such as an abcsess.

[Sawdust]

Yes, definitely the vet's I'm afraid. Hopefully it will just be an abscess, which can be dealt with. Good luck!

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Oh poor guinea

If it's the size of a brussel sprout then it may well get in his way to eat.
Has it been a slow grower or has it come up rapidly?
(My sows when I was a child had smooth lumpy areas about the size of a grape in their neck skin. They were firm and smooth, not attatched to anything and they weren't bothered having them touched)

If he's not happy with you touching, then it could well be an abscess . Would he let you look close enough to see if there's a bite or a foreign body?
Or it might be from inside in which case they'd need a retractor to look in his mouth.

Good Luck.

[fishandlilacs]

It's cancer :(

We have only had him 6m.
What on earth do I tell DD? She is going to be gutted.

Vet said that as long as he's eating and drinking ok then his quality of life should be ok for now. It's not worth getting it treated or anything because of his age and the size of the cancer. Its got bigger again than last week. Because of where it is vet guesses it's his larynx.

Poor titch. I am so sad for him.

[FernieB]

Sorry to hear this. I hope that you still have lots of time with him.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Oh very poor guinea

I guess you need to play it by ear - keep him comfortable and monitor how much he can eat. It might get to the point where you need to cut his food up tiny , or give him a choice of foods like leaves and celery but grate anything hard like carrots.

Then when you know your boy has reached the end of his particular road, you'll have done everything you can.
Then......you make the heartbreaking decision to let your piggy go.

Good Luck

[fishandlilacs]

Thank you. We'll do the right thing when the time comes.

DD (6) utterly barraged me with undodge-able questions once she got home, she asked me direct if it was cancer (she watched pet rescue last week where there was a dog with cancer, so she knew that lumps can mean cancer). She's sad but amazingly mature. "can we bury him in the garden when he dies Mummy?" God I love her, shes so fab for a just turned 6 yr old. This wont be the first time we have lost a pet, but she was probably too young for it to have much of an impact last time.

Meanwhil I shall be feeding him lots or oregano, basil and thyme which is his favourite food along side carrots. He seems really fine, his whistle is a bit husky but he's eating and drinking like a goodun at the moment but he is underweight.

[guineapiglet]

Very sorry to hear your news, poor little chap. Make this time as fun as is possible. 70s advice re grated stuff is fab, it will help esp stuff like cucumber, pear and chopped up grapes plus lots of fresh grass or dandelions anything to tempt him and keep him eating....hope he is comfortable. Xx

[fishandlilacs]

The lump has got bigger again, and he's drinking often and for ages think like 20 minutes at the drip bottle before he settles again. But he still seems to be eating ok and is quite lively. I don't know what to do for the best, I wouldn't say he's suffering until you see him drink :(

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

If he's finding using the water bottle difficult try adding his veg to a shallow amount of water.
(I did this for my little piggie GP2 when he was ill- at the end)
It saved him going to the veg then the water because he just wasn't up for it .
(We also syringe fed him)

[noyouhavehadawee]

Oh sorry to hwar this poor we piggy, when my old irl was going down hill I used to pur little water bowls and saucers around the garden and she would lap em up without having to always trundle bag to the water bottle.