# CANCER?! help..



## Spencer13 (Oct 12, 2010)

Hi~ i just noticed a lump on the back of my hedgehog. Im worried if that could be a cancer or tumor. i need help. ='(


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

A vet visit is needed. Only a vet can tell you what the lump is. 

Where is it located? Can you post a picture please.


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## Spencer13 (Oct 12, 2010)

i tried my best to capture a pic. not sure whether the picture above is clear or not. the lump is somehow hidden under the quills.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

hmmm, not sure what it is. Best to see the vet.


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## Judi (Jul 9, 2009)

It looks like an ingrown quill. Sometimes they're pretty deep and you can't see a bump where the quill is trying to come through. I'm sure you're still going to the vet, but that way if you can't see one until Monday, you won't spend the weekend panicking. If your hedgie is willing, you might try squeezing the bump gently and see if it will drain. If it's a quill, you'll see it come out, along with lots of goo.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

It could be an ingrown quill but usually they are red. Hopefully that's all it is.


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## Judi (Jul 9, 2009)

Lulu had one before that was gray. She had pale pink skin and her other ingrown quills had been red, so I was sure it was cancer. It was a hard lump that felt like a marble under the skin. I had to wait a few days to take her to the vet because we're down to one car and 30 miles from the vet now that we've moved (nothing is close to our new house). Anyhow, while I was waiting for hubby's day off and assuming the worst about Lulu's condition, I held a warm cloth on Lulu's lump for about an hour and then gave it a squeeze, and an amazing amount of thick pus shot out and hit the wall across the room. When I was cleaning it up, I found about 1/4" of quill in the mess. We had to keep draining it for several days after that, then it healed up.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I've been lucky and had very few ingrown quills. They've always been irritated looking. Good to hear an ingrown quill can look like that and be nothing serious.


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## Spencer13 (Oct 12, 2010)

i hope its nothing serious too. i'll visit the vet as soon as tmr. and thanks alot for sharing ur story and advice. really appreciate it.


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## ejamaru7 (Dec 25, 2013)

My hedgehog has that exact same looking bump on his back, with quills protruding from the bump. I'm taking it into a vet to see if its just an ingrown quill or if its cancerous.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Please check the date on threads before posting on them. No one has posted on this in over 2 years. You would be much better off starting your own thread.


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