# Red bump on stomach



## lilythehedgie (Sep 20, 2012)

Hey all, 

So after I gave Lily her foot bath, I noticed she had this red bump on her stomach. It's definitely not normal, and I haven't seen it before. I know it could be tons of different things, but I just wanted to get some opinions on what it could be. We are going to call and schedule a vet appointment tomorrow, but I just wanted to see if anyone had an idea about what this is. Thanks!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

It looks like a possible spider or insect bite to me. Good idea to get her into the vet - if she starts showing any unusual symptoms, such as lethargy, not eating, less activity, unusual pee/poop, etc., I'd get her in as soon as you can in case she's having a bad reaction to it (if it is a bite).


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## lilythehedgie (Sep 20, 2012)

Okay thank you so much! Hopefully we can get her into the vet's office tomorrow or Friday - they're usually pretty good about seeing her fast. I haven't seen any unusual symptoms yet, but I'll keep an eye out for them.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Good luck! Let us know what the vet says, if you think of it. Always good to know the possibilities, just in case it is something different.


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## lilythehedgie (Sep 20, 2012)

Hey all,

I just got back from the vet. They aren't sure what it is, but since hedgehogs are tumor prone as they get older (Lily is almost 3), it is very possible it is a tumor. The vet said she couldn't tell what it was until she could look at the cells and see them. They did aspirate it, and are preforming a histology on the sample and will call with the results either tomorrow or Monday. It bled a little when they aspirated it, but it had stopped by the time they had brought her back out. The "bump" is only on the skin, and hasn't grown inside her, so our vet said that they would probably just surgically remove the bump. She's also lost a little weight, but I'm not sure how relevant that is, if at all. 

Something concerning was that when I got Lily out of her cage before the vet, she wasn't responsive and her stomach was cool. Obviously a hibernation attempt. I warmed her up and watched her for a while to make sure she was walking fine, and then I went to her cage. The thermometer read 75 degrees, which is what it normally is, so I was confused as to how this had happened. I mentioned it to the vet, saying that it could possibly be a side effect, and she said that she wasn't sure how that could have happened if the temperature was normal. The heat lamps are working fine, but I did turn up our air conditioner so that the upstairs floor wouldn't be quite so cold. 

I'll keep updating as soon as anything changes, but as for now, is there anything I can do to help her? She doesn't seem to be in pain and is acting fine now, but all suggestions are welcome!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Often when a hedgehog is sick they become temperature sensitive. Hopefully the hibernation attempt is unrelated and you will get good news about the lump.


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## lilythehedgie (Sep 20, 2012)

Okay thank you Nancy!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Fingers crossed for good news from the results!


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## lilythehedgie (Sep 20, 2012)

Hi all,

I'm sorry about not updating yesterday, but I thought it was best to wait until today, since there was nothing to really update about yesterday. We received a phone call from the vet on Monday, who said that "there were too many red blood cells" in the sample that they tested to be able to identify what this lump is. So, I'm a little frustrated that testing it was a waste. I know that this sort of thing does happen, but since the purpose of the test was to find out what it was, I feel like I caused unnecessary pain to Lily by having this done with no helpful results. Anyway, they said they would call on Tuesday to tell us what the next step was. The phone call today was what we had expected: They are going to surgically remove it. We were told that after removing it, they could study it and figure out what it was. Her surgery is on Thursday, and we are going to drop her off in the morning and they are going to call us after they operate on her. I've left her with them all day before, so I know they will take good care of her while she is there. I'm just concerned about the anesthesia, since it's very easy to overdose on a hedgehog. 

The only real change in the lump itself is that it has scabbed over and turned black. I'm assuming that's from when they aspirated it on Friday. She's still eating, drinking, and running fine, so at least this doesn't seem to be hurting her severely. 

I can only hope for a good result after her surgery!  I'll update after her surgery or sooner. Again, any thoughts, suggestions, or questions are welcome!


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## Melanie G. (May 29, 2014)

Don't beat yourself up- you did what the vet recommended and its unfortunate that they weren't able to get an answer from it.
I've had two of my hedgies under anaesthesia and it is really scary. Molly weighed under half a pound and was very sick when they put her under, but she came out like a trooper! She was back to herself in no time.
But the unknown is still scary. I'm hoping for the best for you and Lily!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Good luck! I'll keep sending good thoughts to you and Lily, I hope the surgery goes well!


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## lilythehedgie (Sep 20, 2012)

Thank you guys so much for your support!  I'm happy to say that Lily is fine! The vet said that she did very well during surgery. She's still a little groggy, but she's moving around in her cage as I'm typing this. I do have pain meds for her that I'm supposed to give once a day starting tomorrow morning. I'm so proud of my little trooper  I have a follow-up scheduled for June 20th so they can check and see how it's healing. I have to watch for chewing because if she chews her injury they have to put a cone on her. (I think it would be a little funny looking, but fingers crossed that she doesn't chew it:lol. I was wondering if I should take her out tonight or leave her alone to rest. Thank you all again for your support!


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## Melanie G. (May 29, 2014)

I'm so glad everything went well!
I would probably leave her alone tonight (as hard as that would be). Let her rest and recover. I would just be worried about her being sore and then starting to chew if she was moved too much. I'm not sure if that would happen, but I would rather be on the safe side. And I could be totally wrong anyway.
How on earth would they get a cone on a hedgehog?


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## lilythehedgie (Sep 20, 2012)

Okay, I'll just let her rest. I'm not sure how they would get one on her, but apparently it can be done! :lol:


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I've heard of cones for hedgies, but not often. The pain meds should help keep her comfortable, that's good that they gave you some for her. Usually the risk of chewing doesn't show up until the incision starts healing more, when it gets itching. I'm glad it went well, and now fingers crossed that she leaves it alone as it heals!


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## lilythehedgie (Sep 20, 2012)

I'm happy to say that Lily's doing fine! It's been a few days since her surgery, but she's healing up nicely. It looks a lot better than it did on Friday. No chewing yet, but I'm still watching for it. The pain meds definitely help. These past two days when I've gotten up to give them her, she was up and moving around. (I give her them in the morning). I think the pain might wake her up, or she just may be up and about for some reason. Anyway, I'm going to give them to her earlier in the morning and see if that helps. I hope she keeps healing as fast as she is now!


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## ekswhyzee (Jul 10, 2013)

Hedgie cones have to be custom made I believe. My vet just did it for my little guy, Reggie. I think he pulls off the look.


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## ChipB (Aug 9, 2018)

I am so glad I came across this post. A month ago, I thought my hedgie, Brillo, had developed a tumor. I know once that happens, there is not much that can be done.

So I have been giving him his very favorite foods for the past month. Earthworms, mealworms, raw roast, rotisserie chicken, raw hamburger, etc. I wanted his final time to be enjoyable. I kept waiting on his appetite to fade. The tumor kept growing larger and larger, until it appeared to cover his entire underbelly on his right side.

He still kept eating, drinking, peeing and pooping like a champ. So last week, I called the exotic pet vets in the area. All of them were scheduling at least 3 weeks out. Ugh!

My normal vet only does cats, dogs and farm animals. Mostly farm animals. 

I came across this posting on Tuesday evening of this week. I forwarded it to my vet via text and asked if she could attempt to aspirate it. I explained that I knew it was outside of her area of expertise, but the exotic vets were booked solid. She responded yesterday (Wednesday), and told me to bring him in first thing this morning (Thursday) and she would see if there was anything she could do.

I was very prompt (actually early) in my arrival this morning. She walked into the examination room and explained to me that she had no experience with exotic pets. I told her I understood and I wasn't expecting a miracle. She picked him up, turned him over and said, "Oh my goodness! He definitely has something going on. I am going to take him to the back and try to get a weight on him."

She was gone at least 20 minutes. She walked back in with Brillo wrapped up in a bloody towel. She smiled and said, "It was an abscess. We lanced it. I'm going to send you home with some antibiotics and pain medication, but it's going to take us some time to get the concentration down to the amount this little guy needs, so bear with us."

They had never had a hedgehog in the office before. All of the techs want a hedgehog now. As mentioned previously, Dr. Beverly does a lot of farm animals. She said he was by far the smallest "hog" she'd every treated. 😄

Brillo ate 5 mealworms about an hour ago. I am sure he could eat more, but I am going to let him rest for a while. He's had a tough day!

Thanks so much guys!!!!!


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## SquirtleSquirt (May 9, 2016)

Please check the date of the post before posting!


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