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Guinea pig spaying and neutering

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elmo1928

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Hi everyone,

We have sadly lost one of our male guineapigs, leaving his brother behind on his own. We are keen to get him a companion or two so that he doesn't get lonely, but I checked him today and he is an intact boar. I would like to get a couple of sows to keep him company as we have a nice big enclosure but I don't want them to breed. However, I have read that spaying sows is a risky business and am struggling to find sows that are already spayed (we are in Scotland and there don't seem to be many guinea pig rescue centres here and I'm not able to travel far afield). I am unsure about neutering our remaining boar as he is 4 going on 5 years and I am worried about the anasthetic at this age.

I have heard that there are injectable contraceptive implants available for males and female guinea pigs and wondered if anyone has any experience with these and can offer any advice? Ideally I would prefer to neuter our current boar rather than neutering multiple females.

Many thanks!
 
If your boy is otherwise healthy and you have an experienced guinea pig vet it may still be worth considering having him neutered.
This will give you a lot of flexibility moving forwards.
He will have to wait 6 weeks after the op before he is considered safe to put with girls, but in that time he cane live side by side with them.
Neutering a male is considered far less invasive than spaying a female.

I am sorry for your loss - it is lovely that at such a sad time you are still thinking about your remaining boy.
 
I'm so sorry for your loss x
I've not heard of contraceptives for boars myself. Or even for sows... although I have heard of hormonal implants for ovarian problems as an alternative to spaying. Ready-spayed sows are a very rare find so I wouldn't count on that.

Neutering is a simpler procedure than a spay which is why some rescues (like the Blue Cross down here in England) routinely neuter boars. However any surgery has the potential to go awry so you are right to be cautious and weigh up all the pros and cons. There is the risk of anaesthetic with any small furry, and then a further risk of post-operative complications - especially as the wound is very close to the ground so you have to keep him on fleeces or towels for a while so no bits of bedding get into the wound. People will post on here for help when something goes wrong, but no-one bothers to make a thread called "My boar was neutered in a straightforward way with no complications"! Some years back my boar Casper was done and I'm not sure he even realised it. This month my old George had a stone removed at age 6. The vet was a young generalist who was going for a surgical qualification so they had been operating solidly for a while to get the hours in and the wound was incredibly neat with no visible stitches! But I've also lost pigs twice following anaesthetic - and they were not old. It's a hard choice. One of my vets has spoken about a gas anaesthetic being 'gentler' on them than injectables. I don't know all the options but it might be worth speaking to your vet about it, and this will allow them to explain whether they feel confident in their procedure or whether they would be more comfortable recommending you go elsewhere - either to a specialist piggy vet or perhaps they know one who volunteers their services to a rescue (and thus might be well practised in neutering piggies). Just a thought.

Another boy is always a gamble as to whether they get on but they don't always get stroppy... is there any chance of taking him boar dating at a rescue?
 
We've had many boars at the rescue neutered; it's not without its risks of course and we have only neutered boars who won't bond with other boys, but it makes life a lot easier to bond them. The only issues we've had with neutering were post neuter abscesses. They just seems to bond much better with the girls 😊
 
Hi, I know a lot of people do get their boars neutered and fortunately have no complications however, this was sadly not the case for me. My poor boy Dexter developed 3 abscesses and 2 hernias post op and sadly had to be put to sleep after being operated on 3 times. I also lost my girl Susie after a spay as she did not react well to the anesthetic. My vet was also cavy savy and one of the most recommended in my area. I do not want to put you off, as a lot of surgeries go well, just wanted to say there are risks. I wish you well with your boy. Also, I'm very sorry for your loss.
 
Thanks so much for all your replies and especially your different experiences with neutering. I think I’ll have to give it some thought. Caramel’s brother Chocolate died a couple of days after a general anaesthetic to have his teeth done. He might have had other health issues as he had been losing weight and the vet had said his teeth were not too bad but needed a little bit of shortening at the front. Anyway, I’m a bit wary of putting Caramel through a general anaesthetic if I can avoid it at all. At the moment he’s in the playroom where my kids and I can give him plenty of attention.

Unfortunately we don’t have boar dating available near here otherwise I would go for that. We do have plenty of space so I suppose we could try out another boar and if worst came to worst I could separate them and put them each with a sow in separate enclosures (although that would then be two neuterings).

I’ve read that a lot of people have had success with baby boars and older boars due to the lower testosterone levels. Does anyone have any experience with this?
 
elmo1928 said:
Thanks so much for all your replies and especially your different experiences with neutering. I think I’ll have to give it some thought. Caramel’s brother Chocolate died a couple of days after a general anaesthetic to have his teeth done. He might have had other health issues as he had been losing weight and the vet had said his teeth were not too bad but needed a little bit of shortening at the front. Anyway, I’m a bit wary of putting Caramel through a general anaesthetic if I can avoid it at all. At the moment he’s in the playroom where my kids and I can give him plenty of attention.

Unfortunately we don’t have boar dating available near here otherwise I would go for that. We do have plenty of space so I suppose we could try out another boar and if worst came to worst I could separate them and put them each with a sow in separate enclosures (although that would then be two neuterings).

I’ve read that a lot of people have had success with baby boars and older boars due to the lower testosterone levels. Does anyone have any experience with this?
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A baby boar can be accepted because as a baby they wont challenge for dominance.
Most boar pairs make it through absolutely fine though, particularly if they are of different ages because hormones spikes are not being hit by both of them at the same time which can make things more unstable.
However, any bond requires compatibility so having a back up living plan in case of issues when the youngster gets to his teens (he may try to challenge for dominance at that point) is a good idea.

If two boars dont bond then they can live side by side. This will enable interaction and companionship through the bars and is the next best way for two piggies to live - neither is lonely but they both get their own territory.
I have four piggies. A bonded pair of 5 year old boars and two 20 week old boars. The 20 week old boys were a bonded pair for around 10 weeks. Two weeks ago their bond broke down and they now live side by side with each other for interaction and are much happier!
 
They could always be kept side by side if they don't get on, we've had to so this a few times before 😊
 
Just a wee update on our situation. I have managed to find a 9 week old boar from a reputable breeder near me. We are picking him up on Monday hopefully so I can then start introducing them. Hopefully it will go well and Caramel will have a new friend!
 
elmo1928 said:
Just a wee update on our situation. I have managed to find a 9 week old boar from a reputable breeder near me. We are picking him up on Monday hopefully so I can then start introducing them. Hopefully it will go well and Caramel will have a new friend!
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Make sure you check the sex of the new piggy yourself - please don’t just take the breeders word for it.

This is our bonding guide which will help you and explains the correct neutral territory bonding procedure (which is a one time event for boars).
Keep us posted on how it goes

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
Good luck with the bonding. I’ve bonded a baby with an adult boar twice and both times it’s been absolutely fine. Can’t wait to see pictures 😍
 
Thanks everyone, I picked up the new guinea pig today and he is lovely! We have called him Little Red as he has reddish grey hair and red (albino type) eyes. I had a good read of the bonding section and set up a neutral area for Caramel and him to get to know each other. There was a fair amount of chasing each other and a little bit of teeth chattering but they settled down quite quickly and are now happily ensconced in their cage together. I’ll post some picks of them tomorrow. I’m so pleased that it went smoothly and Caramel has a new friend. He is already much more active and seems more adventurous having a young boar around him.
 
elmo1928 said:
Thanks everyone, I picked up the new guinea pig today and he is lovely! We have called him Little Red as he has reddish grey hair and red (albino type) eyes. I had a good read of the bonding section and set up a neutral area for Caramel and him to get to know each other. There was a fair amount of chasing each other and a little bit of teeth chattering but they settled down quite quickly and are now happily ensconced in their cage together. I’ll post some picks of them tomorrow. I’m so pleased that it went smoothly and Caramel has a new friend. He is already much more active and seems more adventurous having a young boar around him.
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Awww I'm so pleased to hear you have your new little fur baby and bonding has gone well.
 
I’m so pleased it went well and they are happy together ❤️
 
Yeah, he is really small, and his claws are so scratchy lol! Caramel was 10 months when we got him and Chocolate so they were much bigger than Red is! They are very cute together and lie down next to each other.
 
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