Abscess/Tumor near male genitals

[JohnnyChin]

Hey fellow Chinchilla lovers!

Help! Can you do me a favor and let me know what you would do in this situation?

- Johnny is 18 years old, developed a lump near his genitals (see pics attached).
-The lump is 1” x 1.2” inch
-On Tue there was nothing. On Wed, we’re not sure if there’s anything as he did not take a bath. On Thur when he took his bath again, we noticed it reached this size and hasn’t changed in size since.
-It is firm to the touch. He has had abscess under his chin in the past but that was a lot softer. He does not mind when I touch it.
-He is acting himself – lively and playful and still eats, drinks, sleeps, pees and poops just fine. However he does pick that area perhaps a little more than usual.

The vet is not sure if this is an abscess or a tumor. He guesses it’s a tumor. The only to find out for sure is put him under anesthesia - which has its own risks since Johnny is 18.

1) If it’s an abscess, it can be drained and treated with antibiotics.
2) If it’s cancer, we can’t do much about it.
3) If we do nothing and it continues to grow to a size such that he can’t pee – we would have to put him down.

If it were you, would you risk anesthesia to find out what’s going on?
Have you heard of something fast growing like this - do you think it’s an abscess or a tumor?
What would you do in this terrible situation?

 

[saphire]

My vet had stuck a needle in the lump to find out if it was an abcess without putting him under. All went really well.

 

[Cuddlebug]

The vet should be able to check what comes out of it with a needle like previously already mentioned. Your chinchilla would not need to be put under for this and it is pretty quick.

 

[Newt]

Would a tumour grow that fast? I don't think they do, as for a tumour to grow it needs to differentiate and develop vascular tissue for oxygen... something I don't think could happen so fast: especially if you say it wasn't there on Tuesday, but was of noticeable size on the Thursday.

Of course I could be wrong, as I am not a vet, but I would place my bets on an abscess or a sebaceous cyst.

Like the others have said, a vet can aspirate the lump with a very small needle and check its contents. No anesthetic would be necessary for this. Your chin would probably not even notice!

 

[JohnnyChin]

Thanks for your replies. Yes I was surprised he would have to put under for this too since the mass is pretty big and is outside. However this vet has done all the previous operations for Johnny over the years and so we didn't want to go to another vet for this risky surgery.

Did your chinchilla get very upset with wearing the cone and having to drain and wash the abscess without being able to take his favorite dust baths? Johnny was extremely upset when this happened to him about 10 years ago - but the mass was under the chin which appears to be a lot more common.

 

[JohnnyChin]

Thanks for your replies! The vet has done quite a few operations on Johnny over the years with success so we don't really want to bring him to a new one. He did however said he would need to put him under anesthetic to check its contents. I'll call him and confirm.

How did your chinchilla react to removal of abscess? Johnny did this 10 years ago - wearing a cone, lots of draining and cleaning of the wound over several weeks and not being able to take a bath caused him to be extremely upset.

We're now debating whether since he's so old we should just let him be and have him put down when he displays signs of discomfort or we have it checked out and if indeed a cyst, have it removed.

 

[Dreamlite]

I would get a aspirate done like other members mentioned. Vets can easily do that and most will have results in house while you wait. Tumors are very rare in chinchillas so I wouldnt lean towards that as much as a abcess.

 

[Newt]

I would find out exactly what the lump is before starting to make any decisions.

Also, has it continued to grow?

I've had two girls who had to wear cones after having emergency spays, and yes, they were annoyed by the cones, but it was better than having them nip at their stitches.

If its just a cyst or abscess, he may not even need a cone after its removal, and his pain/discomfort would be relatively minor, and easily managed with Metacam.

 

[JohnnyChin]

Yes we're going to have him diagnosed but the vet is not available till Wednesday. It hasn't really progressed in size and Johnny is still acting himself. He does pick the area a bit more often.

 

[JohnnyChin]

Thanks everyone! I just brought Johnny back home from the vet and he quickly ate the cranberry that I handed to him It was indeed an abscess -infection came from a fur ring on his penis. The vet was able to do a minimally invasive surgery to extract the pus out. Hoping everything goes well in the next few days and it won't get re-infected again.

Thanks everyone for your support!

 

[JohnnyChin]

Oh no! Sad to say that a couple of hours later Johnny looks really really beat and is somewhat trembling. We've been feeding him critical care twice in the last 6 hours. I've given him a towel for him to keep warm. He finally pee'ed which is a good sign but no poop yet Any advice in terms of what else I should do?

 

[tunes]

Warm the towel up and wrap him up in it semi-tightly. He may be experiencing some shock from the anesthesia. Then call the vet and ask about giving him subcu fluids, whether he gave them or not. If he didn't it might be a good idea. Also, did he give him anything for pain?

 

[Newt]

Yes, definitely call the vet and get advice!

A microwaveable heat pad covered in fleece helped my two girls after their emergency spays. The warmth soothed their pains.