Flossie has a red lump

[moletteuk]

I've just spotted a red swelling on Flossie's jaw near her mouth. It feels squishy, I'm presuming it is an abscess. Why do these things happen on a Sunday, I'll have to wait until tomorrow to get her to the vet

[Bexi87]

Oh no

[skardsen]

Hoping it just ends up being something routine and easy to treat.

[randomname]

they definitely plan these things am sure - always a Sunday or a bank holiday. Hope all goes well at vets, & Flossie is ok. One of my dogs has a wart/scab/spot/something on his side so I'll be at vets tomorrow too. Happy Monday!

[deguconvert]

Poor FLossie! Is there heat with it as well?

[moletteuk]

Not sure about the heat, she's too quick, I thought I'd wait and let the vet restrain and examine her properly. I also spotted a bare patch that might have looked a bit wet at the top of one of her back legs last night, she has been weeing in little trails, but I thought they were both scent marking, they are both still very unsettled since Molly died. Vet in an hour.

[bouncy]

Oh poor Flossie!

How did it go at the vet?

[moletteuk]

Vet was good, as usual, but isn't sure what it is, she doesn't think it is an abscess. She got a reasonable look at it on the inside, she says it's bigger on the inside but not as angry looking as the outside, she doesn't think it is causing pain, it looks like a discrete mass of some kind, could be cancerous On the small chance it is infection we have got a weeks baytril to try. It doesn't correspond to a tooth, it's in the gap between the incisors and cheek teeth, so very unlikely to be dental. Basically we are going to try the baytril and wait and see for a week.

She said they could sedate her and try to get a better look and a biopsy, but they wouldn't necessarily get a definitive answer from a fine needle biopsy. At the moment the size of it is just about removable, but much bigger and it wouldn't be, and any removal would be risky. Since it's not bothering her right now, I don't want to sedate her for it right now, we will see in a few days.

The tops of her legs and underside of the top of her tail look a little bit inflamed, the tail is a bit scaly, best theory on this is urine burn as she has been scent marking in trails and probably getting it all over herself as she does this. It didn't look too bad.

The vet managed to see most of her molars with the scope and they look good. This is a relief because her and Alice have both lost quite a lot of weight with their extra activity, lower appetite and general unsettled behaviour since Molly died.

I thought I would post a pic incase anyone has seen anything like it before, I'll work on getting a better picture, it's very red in real life.

[randomname]

ew that looks horrible, poor Flossie
Hope the baytril works, fingers crossed for you 

[deguconvert]

You know, I believe one of our degus had something that looked like that . . . and it was around for a bit and then it was gone. I don't know what it was, but like Flossie's it didn't seem to cause any discomfort.

[bouncy]

Awwwwwwww!

Don't know if it's related or the camera angle, but the nostril on the same side looks a little inflamed too?

[Bexi87]

I can't help with the problem I'm afraid but how cute is she! Hope it sorts itself out and doesn't cause her any pain

[saggy]

Aww, hope she gets better soon. The closest i would have guessed is something like an ingrown hair or something similar but very far under the skin. I used to get them a lot and looked similar and were quite hard compared to most abscesses and the stuff inside was very very hard and no runny stuff and they never bothered me or got hot until the size made them uncomfortable, however I'm not a goo!!. Your vet obviously would have known is something like that anyway so unlikely, just the only thing I've seen similar to what's described. I don't get them any more :-)

Fatsy made herself very sore in the same way when she was peeing on everything :-)

Sorry I hadn't realised, I'm sorry for your loss

[yasmin]

The closest thing that I have ever seen is a round lump on my Degu Azure's tail (RIP). It just stayed there – never grew, never shrunk and didn't bother her. But it was the same color as her tail skin – not red. I don't think it is the same. (Did the vet say anything about why it is red?)

I think your plan to try the Baytril for a week before doing anything else makes sense. It is so close to her mouth, I can see why removal is risky, but a fine needle biopsy might be worth trying if there is any chance that it might something that is not cancerous but treatable.

Glad that it is not bothering her now. Doesn't look like she's been scratching it (?) I hope that in the next week it just shrinks and disappears.

[moletteuk]

Thanks people

I'm trying to stay positive, there are so many options for what it could be, it helps to hear your experiences of similar things that turned out not to be a problem. I'm trying my best not to worry about worst case scenarios but it's pretty difficult, I'm feeling a bit blind sided really, I'm used to worrying about her breathing issues.

She doesn't seem to be fussing at it at all, which supports the theory it isn't bothering her, I've seen Alice check it out but not really groom it or fuss at it. The vet suggested it may be red due to the skin thinning and ulcerating due to the lump behind it and maybe getting scratched to aggravate it, but I'm not sure about that. The surface of the skin looks fairly in tact to me, it gives an impression of a blood blister to me, you know, like a pocket of blood right behind thinned skin.

I keep wondering about how quickly it has appeared, I'm confident she can't have had it more than a day or two without me noticing the bright red, but if it was previously a lump that was normal colour I think that would be difficult to spot.

Bouncy, I think her nostrils are OK, or at least OK for her, her nostrils do flare sometimes with her ongoing breathing issues.

[deguconvert]

We're all hoping for the best with you, love!

[moletteuk]

It looks like it is getting bigger, the diameter looks about the same, but it seems to be expanding outwards. It kind of looks fit to burst...so maybe it will, at least we would know a bit more then! I called in at the vets just to see what sort of notice they would need if I wanted the sedation and biopsy, the nurse/receptionist had a quick word wih the vet, and the vet doesn't want to risk the anaesthesia before continuing with the ABs and wait and see approach until Monday, so at least I don't need to be worrying about any decisions for a few days.

She still seems fine in herself, her appetite was pretty good yesterday.

[randomname]

My hairless rats were prone to boils in the same place, & under their chins. They would usually burst or be lanced, then kept clean 'til they healed. Baytril was given which did help, but it didn't get rid of them. The sac looked similar, grew fast & would end up double that size before they burst. The lump was warm to the touch, squishy & movable. The vet said that a cancerous lump is usually hard & not movable. Does that sound like yours?

[moletteuk]

Just had a good look at the lump this morning, not sure I'm any the wiser, it feels quite firm, but I think in a liquid under pressure type way than a solid lump. I think it looks a bit less red than it did earlier in the week, but it's definitely bigger. The edge is still weirdly well defined. I thought I'd post the pics I've been taking this week.
Monday


Tuesday  (you can also see the split in her lower incisor)


Thurs



And a cute pic of the double goo heap that Flossie and Alice are working on perfecting (Floss on top)

[deguconvert]

I think it might burst.