How Do I Fix This!

[mrswildthing]

Two months ago we brought home two little female guinea pigs. They live in a 3' x 5' run indoors with toys and tunnels etc. We would have bought a third if there had been one available and it was always in our minds to get another one anyway. We have been reading about bonding and introducing etc.

Then I was offered a lovely little female which I happily bought. "She" is in the same room as the other two but in a different cage. They haven't met yet. However we think that "she" is actually "he". We are not going to breed them so our choices seem to be:

1) Get him neutered and introduce him to the girls
2) Build a new run for him and let him live alongside them
3) Get another male so that the two boys have company

I am really concerned about the risks of castration. I would never forgive myself if we lost him because it was more convenient for us if he was neutered.

Any advice?

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Hi! Have you got any pics of his/her privates? We may be able to help check

As for neutering, the risks are pretty low providing you use a cavy savvy vet. My boy Iggy was neutered just before he came to me but the vets he was at were bloody awful so he had a whole host of problems afterwards. Luckily I have a very good vet who helped me get him through and now he's a happy lad

Have you had a look at the recommended vets section on here? There may be one near you that can help

 

[mrswildthing]

I'll try and get a photo later on. We have a vet's practice that we like very much but will see if there is one locally that is more specialist.

 

[mrswildthing]

The vet that is recommended for our area is well known locally as an exotic vet. I will check with our surgery tomorrow though and see what they say.

 

[Lady Kelly]

As with any surgery for such a small animal there will always be an element of risk. You can minimise the risk but you will never be able to remove it fully. On the large part neuters for males by cavy savvy vets are successful but there are issues that can arise such as abscesses which as I said aren't completely unpreventable.

I personally feel the neuter would be the best option. He might be fairly happy alongside your girls in his own cage but he would be so much more happier with a friend to live with. That said boar pairings are less stable especially if they can see, smell and hear females and the risk of tension and potential fall outs is very real. Whereas a neutered male with one or more females is the most stable of bondings.

I won't lie, neutering is stressful for the owner. Especially if, like me, you suffer with anxiety but most heal quickly with no problems and, again in my experience, the bonding process seems to be the easiest.