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Should guinea pigs be spayed for preventative reasons (non urgent)

BlueBird

BlueBird

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Hello there,

A quick question for the more experienced piggy owners. I was wondering whether guinea pigs should be spayed by routine in much the same way as rabbits are.

I wondered whether veterinary medicine has gotten to the point where guinea pigs should be spayed young to prevent reproductive diseases or whether the risk still outweighs the benefits. I know when we first got our guineas you never spayed sows unless you had too cause the operation was too small and fiddly but then again the same was true for neutering boars once upon a time and I know that vets are quite confident in neutering now (in general). So I wondered whether spays have got to that stage yet.

My two girls are entering their twilight years and while having a bladder op my vet noticed one of my pigs had ovaries showing signs of ovarian disease and that we might consider spaying at some point in the future. I'm not surprised it seems inevitable that sows get this at some point in their lives. But the vet made it sound like it was an easy op that wasn't a big deal and it made me wonder whether a spay isn't seen as a big risky procedure anymore.

That made me wonder whether it was worth getting guineas spayed as young ish adults as a preventative measure was worth it.
This is before disease had taken hold and when they (theoretically) find it easier to recover. This is opossed to operating on an elderly guinea where the choice is spay or life with disease and/or pain. And when they don't recover lost weight as easily. Or is it just that diseased reproductive organs are swollen and large and therefore quite easy to remove therefore not a big deal. My vet seems like a quite skilled small flurries surgeon so that could also be the reason behind the throw away comment and its not a big deal for HER. But I just wanted to get your thoughts on the matter.

So I'm curious. If I were to get a young sow these days should I get her spayed preventatively to prevent disease or is it still better left as a operation to do when it's desperately needed?
 
I personally wouldn’t spat my girlies unless they needed it. As far as I know, a spay is a lot more involved than a neuter. Hence spayed sows being almost as rare as hen’s teeth in rescues. And I don’t think it’s a case of all sows getting it. If one of the sows wasn’t to get it (we never know though) then (to me) it would turn out to be an unnecessary operation.

In some European countries, bots are neutered before their testicles descend. Once again I wouldn’t have my boar neutered unless he was to live with a sow. Or there was an issue.

I’m sure others will be along in good time to give their thoughts.
 
Vets dont recommend that piggys are spayed routinely. They may do so if theres a medical reason such as tumour or cyst. Its much more common ti have the males neutered :)
 
I am no expert but I've had guinea pigs for a year now and I chose not to get my female desexed because I believe it is risky, more so for girls. I would do it for the boys though to prevent pregnancies, as the risk is lower I believe and I wouldn't want to have any pregnancies.
 
I live in Switzerland where neutering is routine for all boars between 2 - 3 weeks old.
As a regular member of the public is is impossible for me to obtain an un-neutered boar legally (and this is an excellent thing of course).
The same applies to rabbits, hence the reason they are both nearly impossible to find in rescues.
It is efficient and works and greatly reduces the number of unwanted small animals.

However females on the other hand are rarely spayed.
And becasue it is a rare operation (not needed becasue all the boys are done) it is super expensive.
We were quoted well over 500 pounds to have our rabbit spayed, whereas in the UK this was usually under 100 pounds for the exact same op!

My specialist guinea pig vet actually did her thesis on the early spaying of guinea pig sows as a long term preventative health measure.
She was a fan of ovarectomy approach, which is ideally done in sows under 6 month old, and results in 2 very small incisions on their back, as they go in from the top.
This make the wounds much easier to keep clean and much less likely to become infected.

She highly recommended it for all of our girls, but sadly the cost per pig would be around 600-700 Swiss francs (although she did offer me a group discount!).

I personally think that in the hands of a skiilled and expereinced vet and done at a young age this would be a good preventative measure, but until it is widespread and affordable then it is unlilely to be something that most vets can offer.
 
I have 2 sows. I have just had to have Betsy spayed because she had HUGE ovarian cysts. I would't have it done routinely though. Meg will stay unspayed.
 
Although I understand the rationale behind spaying all females preventatively, because it's not a common operation here I have not opted to have any of my females spayed. Luckily so far (knock on wood!) I have had pigs with bladder issues, dental issues, but no reproductive tract issues. I believe it is a relatively safe surgery for a young, healthy animal, but there are always risks with anesthesia and surgery that personally I have never wanted to take without a medical reason.
 
I've had 2 sows spayed for excessive hormonal behaviour and honestly even with the rough first couple of days it's hands down the best thing I've ever done they are so much calmer and happier. I've decided to get my other two sows spayed preventively (by ovariectomy my vet does the laproscopic spay now) once things are back to normal after coronavirus and finances allow 😊
 
Sorry to open this topic again, but thought my question fits this topic...
So, if there are neutered females with elderly entire male, can other male pairs be in the same room or close by? I know neutering in piggies does very little to their behaviour, but does neutering stop female smell 'interesting' to entire male since she's no longer coming to heat? As in, would it still cause issues with introducing female into the household when males are close by?
 
I don’t believe that spayed sows stop producing pheromones. So it would be better to house boar pairs in another room if possible.
 
I’ve got a mixture of piggies living in close proximity, with no issues
A group of 5 boars - adult and 4 babies
A pair of sows
A pair of boars (one neutered)
A sow and neutered boar
A pair of sows
A pair of boars
A neutered boar and 4 sows
A pair of boars - adult and baby
 
Thanks everyone. Trying to work out what I am actually trying to achieve in terms of what groups/group I want.

I've built 6x3 (minus two squares to make U shape for easier cleaning =16 squares) to bond my 7yrs old chilled out boy and year old humping machine, but it didn't work out. Youngster is still too boisterous (never seen anything like it!) and they seem happier as close neighbours. I am nervous about having any type of surgery done on any piggie, so going forward I am hoping to start rehoming neutered piggies to slowly build my piggie group. But having only boys really reduces the options :soz:
 
Don’t let being intact put you off adopting them. In other words don’t narrow your field too much. But also don’t discount getting any boys neutered. If you have a good vet you trust and who has a good record, that’s a good start. And remember it’s about compatibility. They’re such complicated creatures!
 
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