If your piggy has an abcess you can usually see the marks of teeth where your piggy was bitten. If you are unsure you need a vet to tell you if the lump is a tumour or an abcess, and to remove it.
The pig on the photo is my piggy Bulan. She was over 5 years old when she got this abcess so she still has it. She is a bit too old to take to the vets, she might die from the surgery... (to remove this big abcess). Actually Bulan is now 7 years old and still alive, even though she is getting older. Actually I just learned that it is not an abcess, but a tumour. Essentially both looks the same and it is quite impossible to tell a tumour and an abcess apart by looking at them.
The reason we felt so sure that this was an abcess and not a tumour was that Bulan actually had bite marks on it, and that that it appeared right after she had this bite from another piggy.
So what is thought to be an abcess might sometimes in fact be a tumour, but tumours are not common in guinea pigs.
My advice is: Visit the vet urgently if your piggie gets any kind of lumps! Be sure to contact a vet that is experienced with piggies.
I have noticed people saying that abcesses in guinea pigs can't be drained like one on dog or cat and that in cavies the abscesses form a "skin" around them, the whole thing can be taken out as a single package by a vet. Then the guinea pig will need a 10 day course of antibiotics.
But my personal experience is that an abcess
in a guinea pig can be drained. You will need to
get the pus out regularly until it stops forming
(might take weeks) and the guinea pig will need a
long course of antibiotics. Actually I used three
different brands of antibiotics to cure my pig
Diffi
last spring. I even had to hand feed her,
but afterwards she was as healthy as ever.
Copyright Eva Johansson.
Photo by Eva Johansson.
Last update: 2nd of December 2005.