Thanks for the well wishes Lynx and Topaz, things are going well.
Momo is eating on her own. I don't even need to cut the vegetables in tiny pieces and she already eats peppers and carrots, which are hard vegetables. She still takes a bit longer than usual eating her vegetables.
She's eating alot more hay and pellets as well, as well as maintaining her weight through the night. I'm still handfeeding twice a day just until she goes back to her usual self.
Soft droppings
I just discovered a lump under Momo's nipple which wasn't there last week, so this is a mammary gland tumor. It appeared about a month after she got a round of HcG injections for her ovarian cysts. The same thing happened to Mimi so I wonder if these tumors can be linked to the injections, or if we have really bad luck.
Momo is 4 years old now and we are about to move by the end of the month. Is there any alternative to surgery or a way to keep this under control?
I don't feel comfortable putting her through the stress of surgery and then stress again when we move. I'm also at a 4 month course that lasts 7 hours a day, so hand-feeding every 3 hours will be a problem, especially since Momo is very hard to hand-feed.
The surgery would be possible in July, but I'm still worried about her age and the skills of the vets in here.
I'm also worried she might be having some teeth issues again, since I notice her pellet bowl is often full of powder from the pellets, like she lets bits of it drop from her mouth. However she does like drinking and eating pellets at the same time.
She's still eating vegetables, her whole pellet bowl, hay like usual though. She only lost about 10 grams from her usual weight this week and it was after I discovered the lump.
Last time she went for a tooth trim things just got worse. She lost weight and had a lot of difficulty eating again since they trimmed them too short.
But for now, what can I do about the mammary gland tumor?
Momo is 4 years old now and we are about to move by the end of the month. Is there any alternative to surgery or a way to keep this under control?
I don't feel comfortable putting her through the stress of surgery and then stress again when we move. I'm also at a 4 month course that lasts 7 hours a day, so hand-feeding every 3 hours will be a problem, especially since Momo is very hard to hand-feed.
The surgery would be possible in July, but I'm still worried about her age and the skills of the vets in here.
I'm also worried she might be having some teeth issues again, since I notice her pellet bowl is often full of powder from the pellets, like she lets bits of it drop from her mouth. However she does like drinking and eating pellets at the same time.
She's still eating vegetables, her whole pellet bowl, hay like usual though. She only lost about 10 grams from her usual weight this week and it was after I discovered the lump.
Last time she went for a tooth trim things just got worse. She lost weight and had a lot of difficulty eating again since they trimmed them too short.
But for now, what can I do about the mammary gland tumor?
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Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
It is unusual mammary tumors showed up, perhaps linked to the injections. I was unaware this might be a side effect (it would be helpful to know if anyone else had this experience).
I wish I had some advice for you. If it is a mammary gland tumor, surgical removal is relatively simple and generally successful (though there are always risks to any surgery).
https://www.guinealynx.info/tumor_mammary.html
You need to tell your vet you do NOT want the incisors trimmed. You are welcome to print out all of this page or at least the part talking about tooth length:
www.guinealynx.info/_broken.html
Be forceful - an advocate for your pig. Do not take no for an answer (I would be angry).
You have been here for a while and have a great deal of experience with medical issues and your guinea pig. I wish there were easy answers to all medical problems.
I wish I had some advice for you. If it is a mammary gland tumor, surgical removal is relatively simple and generally successful (though there are always risks to any surgery).
https://www.guinealynx.info/tumor_mammary.html
You need to tell your vet you do NOT want the incisors trimmed. You are welcome to print out all of this page or at least the part talking about tooth length:
www.guinealynx.info/_broken.html
Be forceful - an advocate for your pig. Do not take no for an answer (I would be angry).
You have been here for a while and have a great deal of experience with medical issues and your guinea pig. I wish there were easy answers to all medical problems.
I'm thinking about taking her to the vet to show the lump and such, and then observe it carefully and see if it grows fast or not.
Then I might try to have it removed in July because at that time the course is over and Momo would have settled in the new home, so it wouldn't be so stressful for her.
If she needs a tooth trim I will tell them not to trim the incisors, since I believe that was the problem last time. They weren't even connecting because they trimmed it so short. But I don't think it's safe to do both procedures at the same time, since the piggie would be too uncomfortable?
I know this procedure isn't as invasive, it doesn't even go past the muscle tissue. Mimi, my other pig, recovered from it fairly quickly.
I think I'll opt for removal in July if Momo is in good health.
Then I might try to have it removed in July because at that time the course is over and Momo would have settled in the new home, so it wouldn't be so stressful for her.
If she needs a tooth trim I will tell them not to trim the incisors, since I believe that was the problem last time. They weren't even connecting because they trimmed it so short. But I don't think it's safe to do both procedures at the same time, since the piggie would be too uncomfortable?
I know this procedure isn't as invasive, it doesn't even go past the muscle tissue. Mimi, my other pig, recovered from it fairly quickly.
I think I'll opt for removal in July if Momo is in good health.
If it grows too fast, then I'll try to get it done much sooner then July.
It could all be a coincidence but it's my second pig that gets a mammary gland tumor while on HcG hormones, but then again both of them did have ovarian cysts.
The odd part with Mimi is that she got the tumor even after she was spayed.
It could all be a coincidence but it's my second pig that gets a mammary gland tumor while on HcG hormones, but then again both of them did have ovarian cysts.
The odd part with Mimi is that she got the tumor even after she was spayed.
The vet felt the lump and she's sure it's a mammary gland tumor. She told me to keep an eye on it and if it grows or becomes irritated we have to remove it earlier than end of June.
I'm just worried because lately, in the mornings, Momo starts hooting a bit. She does not have any other symptoms of being a heart pig except that she has/had dental problems.
I'm not sure what to do at this point since I am 100% sure that no vet in Finland will prescribe heart medication unless they can hear a heart murmur or maybe a very enlarged heart? And even then I'm not sure.
I think I'll print out the pages about the heart and ask for an x-ray. I just really hope it won't be heart problems, since I don't know how she'll recover from the anesthesia then.
I'm just worried because lately, in the mornings, Momo starts hooting a bit. She does not have any other symptoms of being a heart pig except that she has/had dental problems.
I'm not sure what to do at this point since I am 100% sure that no vet in Finland will prescribe heart medication unless they can hear a heart murmur or maybe a very enlarged heart? And even then I'm not sure.
I think I'll print out the pages about the heart and ask for an x-ray. I just really hope it won't be heart problems, since I don't know how she'll recover from the anesthesia then.
It's been a few months and Momo's mammary gland tumor has grown very little, if at all. She also just turned four.
However this week I noticed a small drop in weight. Observing her carefully I noticed she is starting to try and scratch at the area with her hind leg. I think the lump is finally starting to upset her, maybe even hurting.
I really didn't want to do the surgery with the vet of this area, since I didn't have a very good experience with them with my other pig Mimi. Vets in Finland aren't very experienced with guinea pigs, but I don't think I can avoid this surgery any longer.
I'm also suspecting her molars are a bit overgrown. She still eats vegs, hay and pellets like a champ, but I notice she makes this head tilt when she's eating, like she's trying to shove her food to only one side of her mouth.
My question is, should I use the anesthesia for the mammary gland tumor and also trim her molars at the same time? I'll ask the vets to leave her incisors alone since they trimmed it too short last time.
However this week I noticed a small drop in weight. Observing her carefully I noticed she is starting to try and scratch at the area with her hind leg. I think the lump is finally starting to upset her, maybe even hurting.
I really didn't want to do the surgery with the vet of this area, since I didn't have a very good experience with them with my other pig Mimi. Vets in Finland aren't very experienced with guinea pigs, but I don't think I can avoid this surgery any longer.
I'm also suspecting her molars are a bit overgrown. She still eats vegs, hay and pellets like a champ, but I notice she makes this head tilt when she's eating, like she's trying to shove her food to only one side of her mouth.
My question is, should I use the anesthesia for the mammary gland tumor and also trim her molars at the same time? I'll ask the vets to leave her incisors alone since they trimmed it too short last time.
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