Lump - Cyst?
I have a one year old male guinea pig who had quite a scare a few weeks ago with low blood protein levels and hypoglycemia. His weight had dropped very low (the curious thing is that he takes a very long time to gain weight and can't for the life of him get above 850 grams, even though he is still skinny and even with hand feeding) BUT we have a hopefully easy to resolve issue now. I took him out today and was playing around with him when I felt a scab near his spine. He has lived on his own since the previous issue mentioned above, so nobody could have bitten him or hurt him. It is a small scab, but upon feeling closer (which he did NOT enjoy) it seems to extend to one or two centimeters without the scab. The skin isn't broken anywhere else. This happened to another one of our guinea pigs that is related to him in almost the same place a while back, and it was lanced which revealed pus and a little bit of blood. We never got to see if it was recurring with him because he passed away about three months later due to pneumonia. I want to try to treat this before going to the vet because I only saw it today, but what should I use? Rubbing alcohol?
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bpatters
- And got the T-shirt
No. Don't use rubbing alcohol. It's very drying, and can damage the tissues.
If it's a scab, just leave it unless it's oozing pus, or there's a lump underneath it. You really shouldn't bother a scab unless something is happening underneath -- it's the body's way of healing a wound.
But if there's a lump, or active infection, then get him to a vet. If the scab comes off (without your picking at it), then you can apply a tiny dab of triple antibiotic ointment with a q-tip, and rub it in well. But if there's an abscess underneath, that won't really help anything, and it may require lancing by a vet.
If it's a scab, just leave it unless it's oozing pus, or there's a lump underneath it. You really shouldn't bother a scab unless something is happening underneath -- it's the body's way of healing a wound.
But if there's a lump, or active infection, then get him to a vet. If the scab comes off (without your picking at it), then you can apply a tiny dab of triple antibiotic ointment with a q-tip, and rub it in well. But if there's an abscess underneath, that won't really help anything, and it may require lancing by a vet.
bpatters - there is a lump underneath. I won't use rubbing alcohol. Should I wait it out for a day or two or does he need to have an appointment scheduled? I am puzzled over how he hurt himself... he doesn't have anything sharp and he lives on his own.
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