Beans&Toast
Adult Guinea Pig
I'm looking at having Maple spayed but I'd like some opinions first.
I'm thinking about this because when Maple comes into season, Beans becomes very aggressive with her and bullies her to the point where she doesn't eat or move, Beans corners and will attack her (biting and lunging) and I have to separate them for a few days.
Beans was spayed last year due to ovarian cysts, so it's not a hormonal thing. My vet thinks that it's just learned behaviour from Beans to do this to Maple when she comes into season. It's becoming a serious problem though as Maple stops eating and becomes so stressed that she squeals when she pees, all because of how aggressive Beans gets.
Spaying Maple would obviously fix the issue, it would benefit them both as there wouldn't be the aggression and I wouldn't have to separate them. It also means I wouldn't have to worry about the possibility of hormone issues/ovarian cysts later on in life for Maple.
2 years ago my vet would not have agreed to spaying as a preventative measure, but now, he agrees with it as so many sows end up with hormonal issues as they get older. I've also seen a few people on here talking about it, and one of their vets spays her own guinea pigs for this reason.
I know it's a big operation, but my vet has spayed Beans and Toast, both due to ovarian cysts and they both coped amazingly and healed well. Would it be wrong to do this? Both Maple and Beans are miserable when she comes into season (They get on well otherwise).
Maple is around 12 months old and weighs 740g. She's tiny, I don't know if that makes a difference to the risks?
I'm thinking about this because when Maple comes into season, Beans becomes very aggressive with her and bullies her to the point where she doesn't eat or move, Beans corners and will attack her (biting and lunging) and I have to separate them for a few days.
Beans was spayed last year due to ovarian cysts, so it's not a hormonal thing. My vet thinks that it's just learned behaviour from Beans to do this to Maple when she comes into season. It's becoming a serious problem though as Maple stops eating and becomes so stressed that she squeals when she pees, all because of how aggressive Beans gets.
Spaying Maple would obviously fix the issue, it would benefit them both as there wouldn't be the aggression and I wouldn't have to separate them. It also means I wouldn't have to worry about the possibility of hormone issues/ovarian cysts later on in life for Maple.
2 years ago my vet would not have agreed to spaying as a preventative measure, but now, he agrees with it as so many sows end up with hormonal issues as they get older. I've also seen a few people on here talking about it, and one of their vets spays her own guinea pigs for this reason.
I know it's a big operation, but my vet has spayed Beans and Toast, both due to ovarian cysts and they both coped amazingly and healed well. Would it be wrong to do this? Both Maple and Beans are miserable when she comes into season (They get on well otherwise).
Maple is around 12 months old and weighs 740g. She's tiny, I don't know if that makes a difference to the risks?