Lump behind ear

Post Reply
User avatar
CenterFielderNo5

Post   » Thu Mar 07, 2002 12:31 pm


I have a baby male piggy born January 15. I guess that makes him about 7 weeks old.

When he was born, he had a tiny little lump on his belly, covered by his fur. I kept an eye on it, and after a few days, it went away.

Now he has a lump on the bald spot behind his left ear. I first noticed it about a week to 10 days ago, and I was hoping it would just go away by itself. But it has actually gotten bigger. It looks sort of like a big pimple.

I left a message for the vet, and I´m waiting for her to get back to me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Scott

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Mar 07, 2002 1:08 pm


Odds are it is a cyst (perhaps sebacious) or possibly an abscess. Seeing a vet is a good idea. If it looks suspicious, he can do a fine needle aspiration (draw out some of the lump) and figure out what it is.

User avatar
CenterFielderNo5

Post   » Thu Mar 07, 2002 6:27 pm


ok, turns out there was a lot of clear fluid and bacteria in the lump, but the vet couldn´t make a diagnosis with any degree of true certainty. She´s sending the stuff that came from his ear for lab tests, and we´ll know by the middle of next week.

In the meantime, his "bubble" is popped, and the vet gave me some Tribrissen antibiotics. She´s an excellent vet and she said it´s ok for guinea pigs, but I figured I´d ask here before actually giving any to him.

Thanks again for your help.
Scott

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Mar 07, 2002 8:28 pm


I think that antibiotic is fine.

You might want to read the long post on abscesses in the Medical Reference forum. I think abscesses are best healing from the inside out. Did the vet say anything about soaking it so it didn´t scab over?

User avatar
CenterFielderNo5

Post   » Thu Mar 07, 2002 9:59 pm


I don´t think I really have to worry about that because the bleeding was extrememly minimal. I can barely tell that anything happened to him in that spot.

I gave him his first dose of tribrissen, after you and at least one other person said it´s safe. He didn´t particularly like the cough-syrup taste of it until I mixed it with a very sugar-laced dose of vitamin C, but then he couldn´t get enough.

Most likely, I really think the problem is either an ingrown hair follicle or simply a small cut that got dirty and infected. It might have to be drained again, and the vet said that if it´s really bad in a few weeks, it will have to be removed, but not to worry about it right now. I just have to give him .33 mL of his medicine twice a day. That´s no big deal because I can just mix it with .50 mL of vitamin C (one mL equals 100mg), which I would be giving to him anyway.

He´s still eating like a horse and running around a lot, so as far as I´m concerned, I think the vet did a really good job. Things are back to normal again, at least until Wednesday, when the results come back from the lab. Then I guess we´ll take it from there. I´ll keep you posted.

Thanks again,
Scott

User avatar
Dobby
I gave what I could!

Post   » Fri Mar 08, 2002 6:59 am


Hey Scott, only Canadians use millilitres! Where are you from, eh? :)

User avatar
CenterFielderNo5

Post   » Fri Mar 08, 2002 10:09 am


Hey, hey, now my father is a scientist  :P I´ll just remember to use CC next time instead of mL 8)

User avatar
Dobby
I gave what I could!

Post   » Sat Mar 09, 2002 9:32 am


So, you´re not Canadian? :D
I am! That´s why I said it. *LOL*

Post Reply