# Growth on belly



## Kalliope (Oct 20, 2012)

Hi people, 

I always read along on this forum but never put on a topic.
Until now since i believe the situation is quite severe.

I have a hedgehog named Riccio het just turned two a month ago.
A while back I saw he had a little belly, which is quite normal since he is a big hedgehog. So I put him on diet food and just went on my normal way handeling him. 
So today when I got him out of his cage and he squealed in pain. I put him into his play-penn and everything was fine until i picked him up again. 
I turned him on his back to see what was wrong, the lump (which i thought was his normal belly) was hurting. I touched it to see if I was correct and he indeed started whimpering again. So it is really the lump. 
He has been eating/ drinking and using his toilet normally so apparently doesn't get in the way.

I already made an appointment with the animal clinic. And i hope the can help him. 
Are lumps treatable on hedges or do I need to prepare myself for the worst?

Please let me know what you guys think


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

It could be a prospect for exploratory surgery to see what it is & if it can be removed (if it's a tumor) but it just depends on the location and nature of the lump. I'm glad you already have an appointment with the vet. They'll be able to determine whether it's a tumor or something else, and give you the options on what to do for him. Surgery being a good option will just depend on the location (if the vet thinks it's deeper in his body versus right on the surface & easy to get to, or if it's attached to or within an organ) and his general health. Sounds like he seems to be doing okay otherwise, which I would personally take as a good sign. Surgery is always a risk in general, and tumors are extremely prevalent with hedgies. Sometimes they're easy to remove & sometimes they're aggressive and will come back very quickly even after removal. Fingers crossed for a good outcome, let us know what you find out.


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## Katten (May 10, 2014)

It's not necessarily even a tumour. It could be a hernia. Until you find out for sure, don't start thinking about worst-case scenarios.


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## Kalliope (Oct 20, 2012)

So I'm back from the vet.

The vet put him out for a while with the gas mask. 
So to get him relaxed to feel him up. 
Apparently I just have a large hog. Which I already knew but there were so 'evil' spots on him. No cancer, no fat lumps.
Just a little bit big around the belly.
Where his pain comes from the vet does not know, it isn't his belly.
So he thinks my hedgehog something sprained or a hurt back from being to wild in his cage. Which he can be.
Since he is eating/ drinking en doing everything else very good the vet said I could get pain killers for him but he would be treating symptomatic.
If he gets more pain I should come back and then we will take of where we left.
Since he isn't in pain when he is up and about only when I lift him a certain way.


Thank you for replying to my previous post.


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