Spaying guinea pigs?

[Josie_lg]

Hello all. I’ve recently come across people online recommending spaying guinea pigs to prevent ovarian cysts. I had two girls before the four I have now and never had any problems with them not being spayed. Now I am worrying about my girls developing ovarian cysts as they get older (they’re not even one yet!) does anyone have any opinions on this subject. I don’t know if I could risk the anaesthetic on them as I know how risky it can be. I work in a vets and I’ll be honest I’ve never witnessed a piggie to be brought in for a spay only castrates. Any opinions welcome. Thank you x

 

[Freela]

I also have sows and have so far (knock on wood) not run into ovarian cyst issues. It's not uncommon, but neither is it inevitable without a spay. Personally, because they're small animals and a spay is major abdominal surgery, I haven't wanted to preventatively spay my girls just in case, though of course if it became medically necessary I would take the risk! I'm good on leaving them be unless there's a problem.

 

[Little Ones]

I’ve never had girls, however I know that a spaying procedure is a difficult one. It’s generally not recommended to spay as a preventative because of this. It comes with a lot of risks.
Simon Maddock from the Cat and rabbit clinic in Northampton would be the only vet I’d recommend if you’re serious about spaying as a preventative as he’s the best guinea pig vet in the country, dare I say the entire world. I know a rescue, one which uses Simon Maddock as a primary vet, considered the possibility of spaying girls as a preventative and the advice was that if it were any other vet then don’t do it. So overall, I’d advise against it unless it becomes a necessary operation. But like I said, I’ve never had girls before and I’m sure someone with experience will be along to advise you further

 

[Merab]

Purely a personal opinion but I wouldn’t put any of my piggies through surgery of any kind unless it was necessary.
I have had 2 sows spayed when they developed ovarian cysts, both did very well afterwards.

 

[VickiA]

I’ve had 5 sows spayed but only on medical grounds. I’ve had many sows who have not had reproductive issues in their lives.

 

[Eriathwen]

If I could adopt already spayed sows, I'd be all over that, id like to see successful, safe spays etc like we have for rabbits but thats a long way off.
I've had 5 sows spayed this year, 1 previously as a child..and 1 due to be done tomorrow too, so far we've had a few complications but all survived and *touch wood* that continues. But I dont think I could opt to have it done on non medical grounds, I recently rescued a boar and I've been thinking about having him neutered, I already have a neutered boar (adopted neutered) and its wonderful having a mixed sex herd, I have a second female herd that he could go into but I cant quite bring myself to actually make the decision. He has a vet visit tomorrow for other reasons and I might discuss it then but I'm really leery about non medical neutering in small animals, at this current time. But considering its something like 78% of female piggies that will get ovarian cysts, it seems like something that may be beneficial in the future.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! I've so far had had to spay 6 sows in all for medical reasons; apart from the first one 10 years ago who never woke up from her misjudged GA (which taught me the importance of finding a good operating vet!) they have all made a full recovery.

I have lost one sow to a burst cyst; she had been assessed as a low risk sow some months before. One sow I lost to an internal growth which could have been a cancerous cyst or a tumour; it was sitting quite deep and not very obvious. But out of the roughly 70 piggies in my life so far, well over 50 have been/are sows.

Until now the operation risk/benefit balance is not so well coming down on the side of spaying that I would recommend it without hesitation. We have seen not so long ago two members' sows die from spaying complications. It is still a major operation that I would only recommend as an elective operation if you have access to a vet who is experienced and confident with it. It is also not a cheap operation, which is another consideration for many owners. Unlike rabbits, there is not the medical life-saving urgency in guinea pig sows.

Yes, most older sows will have ovarian cysts but the overwhelming majority will be non-hormonal fluid filled cysts that only cause problems when they grow too large and push on other organs. The 'classic' hormonal cysts are less common. Some of them can however turn cancerous in later life. I had to have one of my sows spayed last year because she had the kind of hard cyst that could have caused problems at the age she is now (6 years, coming up to 7 years). Another sow needed an ermergency spay when her womb went wrong, but she was found to have some rather nasty looking cysts, too, so the spay was a good decision. My other 4 spays were all because of large, fast growing fluid-filled cysts around age 4-5 years. That gives you perhaps an idea of the contribution.
The vet I use prefers spaying to hormone treatment, but he is a very good operating vet so I am happy to go along with it when removal of large cysts or very disruptive behaviour means a happier and longer life.

There are now some less invasive alternatives available. You can find out more about them in this guide here: Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

There seems to be currently a strong push for elective spaying coming from especially the USA. However, I would only opt for it if the benefit/risk ratio feels right for you and if you have full trust in the operating vet.

 

[Freela]

I'm a bit surprised by this, as North American small animal medical expertise seems to lag behind Europe, IMO. I wouldn't trust most general vets in the US/Canada to do an abdominal surgery on my pigs (I have found that a lot of vets without specialized knowledge will still see guinea pigs as patient and just fumble through... after losing a pig when I was a new owner without as much knowledge, I wouldn't trust anyone who wasn't experienced in exotics do ANY treatment on my pigs.) I would add on to the original poster that if they want to look into any kind of surgery, either preventative or in an emergency, to seek out a vet who routinely medically and surgically treats small animals. It's well worth it and reduces risks to have an experienced vet who sees lots of small animals!

There seems to be currently a strong push for elective spaying coming from especially the USA. However, I would only opt for it if the benefit/risk ratio feels right for you and if you have full trust in the operating vet.
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[Josie_lg]

Wow! I never expected this much of a response. And I’m so pleased we are all on the same page, makes me feel better about my choices. I want to make sure my girls have the healthiest happiest lives possible. Like I said I had two one of which lived till nearly 8 with no problems. It’s only upon recent research that I’ve started worrying with my four young girls. I agree that surgery is a huge risk and I will not be putting my babies through it unless medically necessary and with a vet I fully trust. I just wanted to see what everyone’s opinion was.
thanks again everyone! Hope your all staying safe.

 

[Josie_lg]

I also feel that spaying a Guinea pig is a whole differant story compared to spaying a dog. It’s not really a routine. And I just think putting such delicate animals through a surgery potentially unnecessarily is completely out of the question.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I keep boars but I would not spay a sow unless it was medically necessary.
I also have rabbits, two of which are female so I have to have them spayed (within the next month or so) as their cancer risk is very high if left unspayed. Its nerve wracking and I’m dreading the day of their surgery (even though I trust my my vet, he’s experienced and successfully spayed many of my does) and I’ve not even booked it yet!

 

[HeatherW]

I've

Wow! I never expected this much of a response. And I’m so pleased we are all on the same page, makes me feel better about my choices. I want to make sure my girls have the healthiest happiest lives possible. Like I said I had two one of which lived till nearly 8 with no problems. It’s only upon recent research that I’ve started worrying with my four young girls. I agree that surgery is a huge risk and I will not be putting my babies through it unless medically necessary and with a vet I fully trust. I just wanted to see what everyone’s opinion was.
thanks again everyone! Hope your all staying safe.

Ovarian cysts, if they're caused by hormones, can be treated with hormonal injections. Surgery isn't the only option. This is what happened to one of my girls and she's now cyst free. My vet only recommends abdominal surgery on guineas as a last resort.

 

[Josie_lg]

Very

I've

Ovarian cysts, if they're caused by hormones, can be treated with hormonal injections. Surgery isn't the only option. This is what happened to one of my girls and she's now cyst free. My vet only recommends abdominal surgery on guineas as a last resort.

Very late reply but how did your vet find out whether they were hormonal or just fluids filled cysts ? x

 

[HeatherW]

Very

Very late reply but how did your vet find out whether they were hormonal or just fluids filled cysts ? x

To my knowledge, there's no definitive way to tell. The vet said it was a 50/50 chance the injections would work. When she had an ultrasound, the vet saw that her uterus had thickened which suggested they were caused by hormones, but it's not as clear cut as you'd hope it would be.

 

[Josie_lg]

To my knowledge, there's no definitive way to tell. The vet said it was a 50/50 chance the injections would work. When she had an ultrasound, the vet saw that her uterus had thickened which suggested they were caused by hormones, but it's not as clear cut as you'd hope it would be.

Hiya thank you so much for your reply. Honey had her ultrasound today. No cysts there only slight change is her cervix was slightly swollen but she has just come out of heat so vet said was most likely due to that. Xx
So hopefully this is just a hormonal spike. Xx