Poor Fluffy has a tumor

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Chinniechantel

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My poor Mr. Fluffy Cakes has a tumor. We noticed it this weekend, it is on his jaw, the left side, about the size of a grape. It does not feel hard, but you can definitely tell one side of his face is swollen. We have him booked for surgery with our vet on Tuesday, and I am just so worried about him. I researched tumors, and have not found much on the new site, so any experience would be very helpful. Fluffy is about 2-3 years old, we are not positive on his birthday though. He is active still, but he is starting to eat less kibble than normal. What can I do to help him- should I give him some Babycat since it is so small, or add water to his kibble in case it is hard for him to eat? Is there anything I should have handy for after his surgery- I have syringes and all that good stuff from the chins, but is there anything hedgehog specific that I need?
 
I am sorry this is happening.

Oral tumours are horrible and most of the time, surgery does not give enough extra time to be worth the pain and stress of the surgery. Of course there is always an occasional exception and I hope that is the case with your boy. Being soft, is the vet certain it is a tumour and not a cyst? All the tumours here have been hard. They also grow at an incredible speed. I am euthanising a girl tomorrow because of one on the roof of her mouth and I have another girl I noticed Saturday night her jaw is slightly swollen and even more last night.

Is it upper or lower jaw? Lower jaws have a better success rate as they are noticed sooner than upper. Usually uppers have spread considerably into the head before they show outwardly.

You will need soft food to syringe. Hills A/D has always worked best for me. The vet will also put him on pain meds. a

Sending prayers that all goes well and it turns out to be a cyst or infected tooth.
 
Nancy- it is his lower jaw. I didn't think of a cyst, but I really pray that that is the case- or an infected tooth. And I swear it looked smaller today than it did on Saturday, so maybe, just maybe, it is not a tumor.

Is there anything I should be sure to ask the vet about? She is great with chins, but I have not had much experience with hedgehogs and the vet. Will she be able to tell if it is a cyst or a tumor by looking at it, or can they do a biopsy? Should they do blood work?
 
Has the vet looked at it yet? If not, you may ask the vet to do a fine need aspirate. FNA's are less invasive than biopsies and the vet may be able to determine at least if the contents are infection or abnormal cells.
 
Kalandra said:
Has the vet looked at it yet? If not, you may ask the vet to do a fine need aspirate. FNA's are less invasive than biopsies and the vet may be able to determine at least if the contents are infection or abnormal cells.
Click to expand...

Thank you! This is what I was thinking about but could not think of the wording. That is exactly what I want her to do.
 
You are welcome. I'm a huge fan of FNAs and always ask for them to be done. Of course a biopsy gives a better sample, but at least for mine we have had good luck with FNAs telling us what we needed to know (like if we needed a full biopsy).
 
With the exception of Abby, all the ones here have very obviously been tumours. Abby had a slightly swollen jaw but there was nothing visible inside except for a loose tooth. The tooth was pulled and a small amount of puss was cleaned out. We were hope full that the antibiotics and metacam would work. Unfortunately, often there is a tumour that creates the loose tooth and infection and that was the case with Abby.

If you haven't been to the vet yet, then there is every hope that it is just a tooth problem. Since you think it looks smaller, perhaps he'es lost a tooth.
 
I do not have any experience or advice... but I do want to wish you the best and I'm keeping you both in my thoughts. Praying for the best for you guys!
 
It is not good news. The vet is fairly certain it is a tumor from her initial exam. She will charge us almost the same price for surgery, for a biopsy, or for the fine needle aspiration and lab work, so we are having her just operate and see what she can do. If it looks really bad, I told her to just put him down. She is operating tomorrow, because I needed one more day to say goodbye, I don't have a good feeling about it at all. Poor Fluffy, we saved him from a little boy who had him and his brother in a tiny aquarium and only fed them three pieces of kibble a day so they "wouldn't get fat". He was so cute when he got his first cricket, and he never did like mealies. He loves strawberries and hates veggies. I hope he is not in too much pain.
 
We will keep our quills crossed that the tumor is removable and you will get extra good quality time with him.
 
Good thoughts for you and Fluffy. Whatever should happen, remember that you made this part of Fluffy's life wonderful and happy!
 
We are sending good thoughts Fluffy's way. Spend lots of time with him and love him. Please keep us updated!

((hugs))
 
Update-
My vet had to go out of town until tomorrow for a family emergency. She said her coworker could do the surgery but I really don't trust him, so I am waiting until she gets back. He has metacam so hopefully he is not in pain. It also lets me spend a few more days with him. He seems to be getting worse by the hour. He is starting to wobble and his tongue can't seem to stay in his mouth very well. He is eating a little bit of BabyCat and strawberries and getting lots of love from mom and dad. The way things are going, I may just put him down. We will have to see if he continues to decline until tomorrow. Poor guy. Thanks so much for the prayers and thoughts, it helps to have people who understand how hard of a decision this is.
 
Poor little Fluffy! Keep us updated! That is the most awful decision be forced to make! I am praying for you both! :prayer:
 
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