Help with my guinea pig! She had a lump and now it's like a blister or something! PICTURE INSIDE!?

Question

Okay so it started out as a bump. I've had my Guinea pig for a year now. She is a female and she is living in a cage with a younger female now too. Well the bump appeared a few monmths ago. I've been out of a job so can't go to the vet. I was told by people that it was a fatty tumor and was harmless. Well today when I was cleaning out the cage I looked at the bump and it looked like this:

http://i33.tinypic.com/xcjd09.jpg

I wont have my job back until early September at the least so I can't afford a vet.... Someone please tell me what it is and what I can do. Should I put antibiotic ointment on it or what? Is it a blister? Boil? HELP!

Answer 1

GO 2 THE VET ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...

Answer 2

It looks like it could be an abscess.  You can treat it yourself, but it can be a gross job.

Here's a good link on how to take care of them:

http://kirstinkey.tripod.com/cavy_abcess...

Answer 3

you really need to take her to a vet

you can often pay with care credit  

Answer 4

could be an absess growth mabe check it out at a vet

Answer 5

I'm sure you tried, but the picture is not of sufficient clarity that I can see it well nor can I tell where it is located on the piggie's body. Of course, my bad eyes could have something to do with it too! LOL!

If you're SURE its not a bite wound and it was previously a lump, then this is a ruptured abscess. Do NOT put antibiotic ointment on it. If your piggie licks it off, it can be fatal.

You can try to clean it yourself (its a nasty job), but if the abscess is deep, the only option is to have it surgically cleaned by a competent exotics vet. Cleaning it yourself may buy you some time until you get your job back.

First, try to express as much pus out of the abscess as possible. It will have the consistency of cottage cheese & will smell very putrid. Then, you'll need to flush it two to three times per day with a 50/50 solution of sterile water and iodine. Use a syringe to force the solution into the abscess. You want to keep it open, so each time you start expressing pus & flushing it, you'll need to reopen the scab again. Eventually, there will be no more pus production and you can allow it to close. The cleaning process can take two weeks or more.

Your piggie will NOT like any of this & will squeal horribly throughout the whole ordeal. Its very traumatic for you & the piggie, but this is the only way.

If you continue the cleaning process for two weeks and there is still a considerable amount of pus being produced, you really should take her in & have it professionally cleaned, which should also include a round of cavy-friendly antibiotics.

If you do nothing & allow it to fester, the abscess will go systemic and will eventually be fatal.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I hope your piggie is okay.

Answer 6

i'm not sure if its the same but my hamster got bumps on her as well and it turned out to be skin cancer so go to the vet as soon as possible