Skin Lumps and Bumps -- What Are They?
Lumps may be abscesses, fatty lipomas, cysts, or tumors. Examine your guinea pig at least once a week for lumps and bumps, and see a vet for an evaluation.
Your vet will perform a thorough visual examination. He/she may also recommend:
- A fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB)
- A wedge biopsy (more material collected, more accuracy)
- Surgical removal
- Cleaning and installation of a drain (abscess)
- Guinea pig-safe antibiotics (abscess)
Collected material would be examined by microscope in-house, sometimes sent to a pathologist for interpretation.
For more information, read:
- Abscess - due to the cheesy nature of guinea pig pus, abscesses require complete removal or cleaning and daily flushing
- Cervical Lymphadenitis (CL) or "Lumps" (See also Tracis' Links thread in the reference forum)
- Cyst -- some cysts may require surgical removal to prevent recurrence
- Lipoma -- these fatty deposits are usually benign
- Mammary Tumor -- both male and female guinea pigs can develop mammary tumors
- Thyroid adenoma -- see post in reference forum
Another guinea pig with lumps was described in that thread with a diagnosis of lymphoma. - Trichofolliculoma -- these common tumors are usually not cancerous