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Advice On Neutering Please

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Stayc1989

Stayc1989

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Hi I have 4 guinea pigs, 2 males and 2 females and I would like to let them all play together because I don't feel like they are all getting the attention they deserve I usually give them 1 hours play time each twice a day and I have them out throughout the day too but individually, to groom them and stuff but I want them to be able to play together. Firstly my boars are great together and both look into the ladies cage together, they don't fight when they are near the cage but they do rumble abit sometimes, anyway I have called the vets to book the boys in as I have heard you cannot have girls done because it's risky, but when I rang the vets they said that it would be better to have the girls done because it prevents cancer and ovarian cysts and mamory problems so I have booked them in for the 4 th of feb but now I'm worried incase it goes wrong but they said they do it all the time any advice would be great x
 
To be honest I think you may destroy the stable bond your boys have if they are allowed to have playtime with the girls. As the guinea pig mentality is one boy to a herd. I have heard of it working but it's rare.
 
Hi, I can totally understand why you want your 4 piggies to all play together but getting them neutered is not the only problem with this plan...

Guinea pigs naturally form groups of one male and a group of females. If you have two males and two females sharing the same space you are likely to end up with the two males fighting (literally) for the attentions of the females. This can cause nasty injuries and hefty vets bills as well as destroying the bond the boys already have with each other.

Ideally, as they all have a companion of the same sex I would leave them in their pairs and let them have floor time separately. That way you are not paying for operations that carry risk and are not going to achieve what you want.
 
Yeah I really don't want them falling out They are lovely together, and I was also thinking that they are still going to mate aren't they? And I don't want them becoming aggressive towards eachother, it's just that I (unintentionally) give the males more attention because when I got fudge he was nasty and biting all the time and he attacked my boyfriend a couple of times because I don't think he had a very nice life before I got him so when I'd go to pick a guinea pig up it would be him and now he is a little angel he is so loving and licks me and he is now the most friendly and loves being cuddles because we have spent so much time with him like when we come in he squeaks and stands on his back legs looking out of the cage so I open the cage and he stands there for ages been stroked and now it's kinda habit to pick him up all the time because I feel bad if I don't but yeah I think your right about not putting them all together I will just have to share my love more equally don't get me wrong I don't neglect the girls it's just the boys get abit more fuss, would you suggest still having it done anyway for health reasons x
 
Neutering for boys doesn't give many health benefits. It can reduce the chance of impaction in older age but that for me isn't a good enough reason to neuter unless I was pairing them with a girl anyway.

Neutering for girls does have a few benefits I believe but is a much more invasive surgery which is why it is mush less often done. It would also be much harder to find a vet who had a good record and experience of neutering sows.

To be honest unless you were having problems with major falling out and needed to separate, I would leave well alone. I do know what you mean though, I have two sets of boys and one are more cuddly and spend more time with us out of the cage. The others still enjoy our company but get less fuss than the other ones. it's not always a bad thing, Angus and Hamish are much more independent and would rather spend an hour exploring the kitchen than having cuddles but it is hard to balance to make sure everyone gets enough attention... I think your original plan would just make life so much more risky and probably unhappy for everyone.
 
Thank you for your help I just want what's best for my piggies and don't want to put them through an ordeal if it's not necessary or going to give any health benefits And the last thing I'd want is them falling out x
 
Stayc1989 said:
Hi I have 4 guinea pigs, 2 males and 2 females and I would like to let them all play together because I don't feel like they are all getting the attention they deserve I usually give them 1 hours play time each twice a day and I have them out throughout the day too but individually, to groom them and stuff but I want them to be able to play together. Firstly my boars are great together and both look into the ladies cage together, they don't fight when they are near the cage but they do rumble abit sometimes, anyway I have called the vets to book the boys in as I have heard you cannot have girls done because it's risky, but when I rang the vets they said that it would be better to have the girls done because it prevents cancer and ovarian cysts and mamory problems so I have booked them in for the 4 th of feb but now I'm worried incase it goes wrong but they said they do it all the time any advice would be great x
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Please don't! Guinea pigs don't do play time together. They are forced to initiate a full bonding protocol every single time you put them together and find it very disruptive if they are being ripped apart all the time.

Apart from that, two boars in the same group won't work and you are inevitably going to end up with fights, meaning that your boys are not going back together again, ever! Please don't break wantonly what is not broken!
 
No I've decided against that idea, I don't want to upset them at all, would you still have them spayed or not because i don't want to do it if there's no reason to its not fair on the guineas, I don't want to stress them out x
 
Stayc1989 said:
No I've decided against that idea, I don't want to upset them at all, would you still have them spayed or not because i don't want to do it if there's no reason to its not fair on the guineas, I don't want to stress them out x
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There is no need for a neutering operation unless you want to pair up cross gender guinea pigs.
 
Definitely not as there isn't any reason to do it, if down the line you have to for medical reasons then fair enough do it then.
 
Thank you for all your help and advice I just want what's best for the guinea pigs I think I will just leave them be, they are healthy and happy as they are x
 
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