5 y/o male experiencing continuous penile prolapse

[basilandboys]

My guinea pig, Seaweed, is about five and a half years old and has been experiencing a penile prolapse over the last month. I have taken him to the vet three times now, and his prolapse has continued to come through. The first time, the vet massaged it, and it went back in, then came back out within a few days. Then the vet put in a few sutures and lightly sedated him, but within a week or two, he chewed them out. I took him back to the vet to get new sutures, and yet again, he chewed them out even while having a cone and being under good supervision when not in the cone. I cannot afford to keep spending hundreds of dollars, and I am at a loss for what to do. Is there any advice anyone has that could help me and my boy? He is on the older side and did suffer from a respiratory infection; I want his last bit of time to be as comfortable for him as possible. Thank you all for taking the time to read this.

 

[fluffysal]

Welcome to the forum, I'm afraid I have no advice. I just wanted you to know that you are not being ignored. As we are a UK based forum all of our experts are sleeping but somebody more knowledgeable will be along later.

 

[MnJ]

I don't have any advice, but wishing him speedy recovery.

 

[Viennese Furbabies]

I'm very sorry that your boy is experiencing such a painful condition. My late boy Nicky had similar problems but not as bad.
Did your vet give the penis a good cleaning?
A prolapse can be caused by stuff under the foreskin and as long as this isn't removed, the penis won't retract properly and stay inside. So the penis needs to be fully extracted to look for anything that's stuck in there.

In Nicky's case the penis just didn't go all in. I extracted it daily, cleaned it (if necessary) and put a drop of sunflower seed oil on his penis and massaged it back inside. We also had him vet checked regularly (he needed regular trips to the vet anyhow because of teeth issues).
After a few weeks, it didn't peek out anymore. I continued with the daily checks, but only looked if I saw anything peeking out.

Has your vet checked for an infection?

 

[Truffolo]

Here is a video of the LA GP Rescue checking the boar parts. Your piggy might not have the same problem as the pig in the video, but it is a useful video on how to check and care for guinea pigs.

 

[Wiebke]

My guinea pig, Seaweed, is about five and a half years old and has been experiencing a penile prolapse over the last month. I have taken him to the vet three times now, and his prolapse has continued to come through. The first time, the vet massaged it, and it went back in, then came back out within a few days. Then the vet put in a few sutures and lightly sedated him, but within a week or two, he chewed them out. I took him back to the vet to get new sutures, and yet again, he chewed them out even while having a cone and being under good supervision when not in the cone. I cannot afford to keep spending hundreds of dollars, and I am at a loss for what to do. Is there any advice anyone has that could help me and my boy? He is on the older side and did suffer from a respiratory infection; I want his last bit of time to be as comfortable for him as possible. Thank you all for taking the time to read this.

Hi and welcome

Unfortunately, your thread was posted in our normally closed Emergency care information section and therefore didn't create an automatic alert.

I am very sorry for our problem. If your vet cannot get the stitches to stick (cones sadly don't work for the vast majority of more flexible youngster who need to eat part of their poos for a second run rough the gut), then your boy may have to live with a prolapsed penis. It is not the end of the world. Has your vet checked the foreskin and the penis shaft for stuff stuck in it which make a full retraction impossible?

Similar to caring for a much more common 'cauliflower willy' where the penis shaft tissue has prolapsed, you have to keep a closer eye on the penis and clean it regularly. On clean and regularly changed bedding there shouldn't be any major problems.
Take a reference picture of the prolapsed penis now so you can spot any changes/swellings in case of an infection.

I would recommend to use softer meadow or orchard hay for burrowing in as scratches from hard, rough timothy hay are the biggest risk factor for injuries.
Have some mild antiseptic at home or make saline solution freshly yourself whenever needed (stir 1 teaspoon of salt into a cup /250 ml of boiled, cooled water).

Follow the care advice for 'cauliflower willy':

Thread 'Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths'

Mar 15, 2016

1 How do boar genitalia look like?
- Babies, boars with descended testicles and neutered boars (pictures)
- Nipples
- Sexing Guide link
2 Bums
- What is normal
- How to keep clean
- Impaction
3 Bits and Pieces (Penis and semen fluid)
- What is normal
- Removing smegma and dirt from the penis
- Penis prongs...

• MerryPip
• Replies: 4
• Forum: Grooming Care & Health Monitoring

• 

I hope that this helps you?