New owner, not sure if this is normal?

[little_miss]

We just got a baby cavy a month ago for our daughters birthday. He is starting to put on alot of weight, in fact he is quite round. I recently noticed a "thick" area behind his head, between his ears on his neck. I worry about an abcess or something from hay but, because of his recent weight gain, I didn't know if it could just be fat storage or if they just naturally thick around the neck. I don't exactly have another one to compare it to so I hope you guys can help me. I'm trying my best but still in the dark. Thank you.

[PiggieMamaKelly]

Are you sure "he" is a he and not a she? It's always a good idea to check for yourself and not take the word of a petstore or even a shelter. I don't know where you got him but petstores are notorious for mis-sexing and with the weight gain you might to rule out the possibility that you have a pregnant female.

I'm not sure about the neck thing. What does it feel like?

[naturegal592]

Two of my girls are thick behind the head and I think that is normal, but if it is a large bump you need to get it looked at. I wonder is he is a she too.

[Haley0489]

Are you familiar with GuineaLynx?

Guinea Lynx :: Lumps
Guinea Lynx :: Sexing Guinea Pigs
Guinea Lynx :: Weigh Weekly!
Guinea Lynx :: What's Normal?

I definitely recommend bookmarking GuineaLynx and this site. They're extremely informative.

[little_miss]

Hello again,
I'm 99% sure that he is a he. I thought about him being a her too. He's just getting big in general. He seems to have doubled in size since we got him. The "lump" isn't really a lump so much as it seems to be kinda fatty. It doesn't move around too much or anything it is just like thick skin or something. I don't really know how else to explain it. It's like he's a humpback.

[Toadies]

My two boys have that almost camel-like hump on the back of their necks as well. When one of them was really sick and not eating well, the hump diminished in size, so I wonder if it a weight thing.

Oh! Sorry! Welcome.

[PiggieMamaKelly]

If you are pretty sure he's a boy, maybe he's just growing well. Keep in mind that guinea pigs are considered full grown at about six months old, so they do have to grow somewhat rapidly to reach full size by then.

You might want to read up on dietary issues to make sure that you aren't feeding him unhealthy pellets, too much fruit etc so that you know he's just growing well and not becoming obese.

Do you have pics of him?

[little_miss]

Sorry so long to ge back. My daughter decided to end up in the hospital with pneumonia. Thank you for your replies. He eats fine and I watch what I feed him. Alot of veggies and little fruit. I think the pellets I have are good but I need to look more into that. I do think it's probably a weight thing. He's just getting so big. I have pictures but I'll have to fix something so I can load them onto my computer. Thank you all again for helping me out.