okay so today i was bathing my 2 guinea pigs, when i was rinsing the shampoo off, one of them seemed to have a small pea sized 'growth' on him it was skin colour and i have never seen it before. I only noticed it today and won't be able to get to a vet until tomorrow. Does anyone know what this is? it dosn't bother him at all even when i touch it, and he is acting perfectly normal.

By far the most common lump with the symptoms you describe is a sebaceous cyst. They are inflamed skin oil glands which get swollen and walled off. The vet may choose to drain it or, if it isn't changing is size and irritating your pig, leave it alone. Next most common is a lipoma or benign fatty tumor. Again, they vet will probably choose to leave it be unless it is causing discomfort. Liposarcomas and other malignant skin tumors are rare but do occur so you are wise to take him in to the vet

NOTE to others who will post. Cancer is a very scary word and malignancies are not all that common in guinea pigs while non-malignant growths are not at all unusual, especially as guinea pigs age. Unless you have a really good reason to suspect cancer in someone's animal, please don't assume cancer when non-cancerous growths are far more common. Why would you want to make a poster worry needlessly?

40 + years raising and showing guinea pigs and a PhD in Biology

He should be fine until tomorrow. It could be a number of things: a lipoma (harmless fatty lump), cyst (harmless, but might need to be drained if it grows) , abscess (would need attention to remove pus and short course of antibiotics), hamartoma (harmless lump), it is most unlikely to be dangerous, but it is still worth checking with the vet. Don't wash your piggies too often as it will strip the natural oils from their coats. For heaven's sake, don't * spray * something on them like one poster suggested, they will ingest it when they groom, seriously not a good idea.

experienced guinea pig owner with veterinary qualification

he could have been fighting with the other guinea pig, it could be a skin condition? or perhaps he just caught it on something. As he doesnt seem to be in any current discomfort i'd wait untill tomorrow to ring the vet, but if you're really worried ring their emergency out of hours helpline, or take him to your nearest pet store, as they may know:)

Well, I'm sorry. I don't know what the skin lump is. Though, you should NOT bathe a guinea pig. If you do that, it will kill them. However, there are some spray on cleaners for guinea pigs. All you have to do is spay-massage it in-let dry-brush their fur. Sorry I could not answer your main question, but I hope the information that I gave you will help, too!!:) pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
Hope that helps!!:)

You do not need to bath a guinea pig and you should not as they are so prone to colds that they should not get wet. They are very clean and never need to be bathed. The growth may be a cyst so it is important for you to get it checked out at the vets.

probably a harmless cyst, it certainly doesnt need a vet today, so dont worry

nurse