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Opinions On Spaying As A Preventative Measure

Beans&Toast

Adult Guinea Pig
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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?
 
Generally, if you trust your vet, preventative spaying is an option. One of the main reasons why it is not done as often is the fact that it is a major operation, not cheap and that in years past the fatality rate of the op has been as high as the rate of cases where spaying has been absolutely necessary, which has always been a small percentage of sows. Since these days there is also the option for hormone treatment, the need to spay for medical reasons has come further down. By far not all ovarian cysts require treatment; the majority actually doesn't cause any trouble.

Two of my piggies that I have adopted have been spayed as a matter of rescue policy (the rescue has sadly closed down several years ago). They do not come into season anymore, but it does not make them any more sociable or less cranky as they get older - as you are also seeing from Beans! My Nesta was another one.
So far, I have ever only needed two spays with my own sows, one for very large cysts and one for a womb that had gone wrong.

However, your case is different in that it is caused by behavioural issues and it is certainly worth a try with an experienced vet. Maple is a bit on the small side for such a major operation; I would recommend to wait until she is over 800g so she has a bit more in the way of bodily reserves, but you need to talk about this with your vet and see how they feel on that score.
 
Generally, if you trust your vet, preventative spaying is an option. One of the main reasons why it is not done as often is the fact that it is a major operation, not cheap and that in years past the fatality rate of the op has been as high as the rate of cases where spaying has been absolutely necessary, which has always been a small percentage of sows. Since these days there is also the option for hormone treatment, the need to spay for medical reasons has come further down. By far not all ovarian cysts require treatment; the majority actually doesn't cause any trouble.

Two of my piggies that I have adopted have been spayed as a matter of rescue policy (the rescue has sadly closed down several years ago). They do not come into season anymore, but it does not make them any more sociable or less cranky as they get older - as you are also seeing from Beans! My Nesta was another one.
So far, I have ever only needed two spays with my own sows, one for very large cysts and one for a womb that had gone wrong.

However, your case is different in that it is caused by behavioural issues and it is certainly worth a try with an experienced vet. Maple is a bit on the small side for such a major operation; I would recommend to wait until she is over 800g so she has a bit more in the way of bodily reserves, but you need to talk about this with your vet and see how they feel on that score.
Thank you for the information.
I do trust my vet, he's very good with guinea pigs.

As you say with Beans it's a learned behaviour now and no way to stop that apart from spaying Maple. He did mention a less invasive option, an inplant for Maple but he's not a fan of them and isn't convinced it would be effective.

With regards to weight, I've had her for around 3 months and she's never put on any weight. She hasn't lost any, but shes always been at 740-750g. My vet said when I first got her at 8 months old she's very small, and around a 3 or 4 out of 10 on the body condition score (not entirely sure what that means) and unlikely to put on more weight or get bigger, so does that mean she isn't a good candidate for surgery? I will be having a long chat with my vet in a week or so about all of this too
 
Thank you for the information.
I do trust my vet, he's very good with guinea pigs.

As you say with Beans it's a learned behaviour now and no way to stop that apart from spaying Maple. He did mention a less invasive option, an inplant for Maple but he's not a fan of them and isn't convinced it would be effective.

With regards to weight, I've had her for around 3 months and she's never put on any weight. She hasn't lost any, but shes always been at 740-750g. My vet said when I first got her at 8 months old she's very small, and around a 3 or 4 out of 10 on the body condition score (not entirely sure what that means) and unlikely to put on more weight or get bigger, so does that mean she isn't a good candidate for surgery? I will be having a long chat with my vet in a week or so about all of this too

Your vet has to be fine with operating on her; that is the main point. Some piggies are on the small side; I have some of them, too. My Cariad was only 700g when she had her emergency spaying op only half a year after a bladder op, and she bounced right back; so it can be done. :)
 
Your vet has to be fine with operating on her; that is the main point. Some piggies are on the small side; I have some of them, too. My Cariad was only 700g when she had her spaying op only half a year after a bladder op, and she bounced right back; so it can be done. :)
Thank you, that's reassuring!
 
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