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The Pros/cons Of Neutering...

Beeves

Beeves

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So I have one girl and one boy pig. I'd like for them to be together and not in separate cages. I don't want them to be too lonely.

The problem is, I'm scared to get my boy neutered. I know that there are a lot of risks involved. I have an awesome vet that I feel I can trust a lot, but I want to know specifically what to expect from a neutering. Have you had your boar neutered? How long was recovery, were there complications, how risky would the procedure be?

I'm afraid to bring him in and then never see him again. I love my baby too much to lose him...
 
Hey! It's very late here and I don't have time to type a big answer, but I found you this link...
Hope this helps, and answers some questions you may have... Neutering Your Guinea Pig
Goodnight! :)
 
Hi I have had both my boars neutered. As with any op there is a risk but if your vet is cavy savvy the risk is lessened. The wait post op 6 weeks which MUST be adhered to as you don't want babies. @Wiebke is the best person to advise on this she is very knowledgeable.
 
I had a boar neutered - it was his Christmas present so he could have some female company.
My vet was excellent. He stayed the whole day at the vet's so they could make sure he was OK.
He was fine when he came home but the next day had an off moment. I phoned the vet hospital who assured me it was nothing to worry about, just a post - op moment and to hold him wrapped in towel, keep him warm and feed him mashed banana. He was back on form within no time at all and never looked back.
If you have a good vet there should be no serious problems
Any op on a pet is an anxious time for us slaves.
 
Beeves said:
So I have one girl and one boy pig. I'd like for them to be together and not in separate cages. I don't want them to be too lonely.

The problem is, I'm scared to get my boy neutered. I know that there are a lot of risks involved. I have an awesome vet that I feel I can trust a lot, but I want to know specifically what to expect from a neutering. Have you had your boar neutered? How long was recovery, were there complications, how risky would the procedure be?

I'm afraid to bring him in and then never see him again. I love my baby too much to lose him...
Click to expand...

All my boars are neutered, including my boar pair, as they live in a room full of sows (I currently have got 8 boars of which 6 live with 1-4 sows each) and 22 sows - the risk of accidental meetings is just too high.

The crucial bit is finding a vet that is either experienced in guinea pig neutering (usually for a guinea pig rescue) or that is practised in small furries operations (an exotics vet; but that is not cheap). This goes a long way towards cutting down on the risk of post-op complications and especially the fatality rate.

At the very best, with an experienced vet, you boar will behave as if nothing untoward has happened (as with my Nye last January).
This is a video of Nye flirting with the spayed sow next door on the evening after his operation:
https://www.facebook.com/

This like here contains a video of Nye 9 days after the op: Nye 9 Days After His Neutering Operation

But I have also been through a desperate struggle for survival with a rescue boar that had been neutered by a general vet local to the rescue and that developed some rather rare post op complications which the operating vets were unable to diagnose or treat. Thankfully with the help of experienced forum people and a specialist vet, with a very strong unlicensed antibiotic and 2 weeks of round the clock syringe feeding and watering we did get Hywel through his extremely painful gut adhesion and he went on to live the happiest of boar lives for the next 5 1/2 years with up to 13 sows until he died shortly before his 7th birthday. ;)
Hywel was a boar that bullied every other of a number of boars he had been introduced to by his previous owner as well as the rescue. I adopted him as the successor to my Tribe founding patriarch, who had been diagnosed with advanced inoperable abdominal tumour. Hywel's operation was in February 2011, so a goodly while ago!

These two cases are bascially my own best case and worst case scenario. Most ops are somewhere in between. With improved GA and small furries operating practice, the fatality rate has overall decreased massively in the last 10 years. The most common complications are a bad reaction to GA (mainly loss of appetite) and abscesses in the operated area.
The more experienced a vet is in small animal operations, the less time a piggy is under and the less risk of a bad reaction to GA and loss of appetite.

You have to accept that any operation is a leap of faith when it comes down to it.

PS: Most vets in the English speaking world require you to wait until the testicles have descended and your boy is a good weight.

You will also have to factor in a full 6 weeks post-op wait. The baby in my avatar is the surprise gift from a supposedly safe over 5 weeks post-op boar (not one of mine), so it can really happen as late as that - and Tegan is not the only baby born this way!
Guinea Lynx :: GL's Vet List
Tips For Post-operative Care
 
I've just had Hovis done, about a week and a half ago, he pretty much bounced back the same day, pain management and keeping the guts moving are the key, he was pooping and peeing fine, but they are what you need to keep an eye on, and keep in touch with your vet if anything changes. The vet used dissolvable stitches, so he'll only have to go back if he has any problems, so far touch wood, he's been fine.
You'll also find all the extra contact you get with the male, will make him friendlier towards you too, a bit of a win win situation I think :)
 
Thank you for all your information and ancedotes @BonBon2010 @Wiebke @Merab's Slave @Betsy @PiggiesAreLife ! I know guineas and anesthesia don't mix well, and they're such small animals that I worry. Especially Patrick, he is a huge drama queen when he feels unwell or unhappy. He cries a lot when unwell and has to be babied and cuddled back into happiness.

Is there anything I need to ask the vet before I go scheduling any operations...?
 
Beeves said:
Thank you for all your information and ancedotes @BonBon2010 @Wiebke @Merab's Slave @Betsy @PiggiesAreLife ! I know guineas and anesthesia don't mix well, and they're such small animals that I worry. Especially Patrick, he is a huge drama queen when he feels unwell or unhappy. He cries a lot when unwell and has to be babied and cuddled back into happiness.

Is there anything I need to ask the vet before I go scheduling any operations...?
Click to expand...

Please read the post-op care guide link I have given you in a previous post; it has a chapter on what you can do before the operation. Ideally and with a good vet, GA should not be a huge problem.
 
My vet said she has two nurses watching the guinea pigs vital signs during surgery.
When piggy comes home, check regularly that he is peeing and pooping ok.
Keep up with his gut meds especially if he's struggling, I only had to treat him twice, once at home after surgery and the following morning, he was fine though. I gave metacam for 3 whole days, after the day of surgery as he'd already had a dose
 
It sounds like it's not so big a deal, as long as you have a good vet, and I do, but I'm having such a hard time convincing myself to do it. I guess I'm just a weenie :,0 I mean, Nye doesn't even look bothered in that video. He's just shaking his booty like he's having a good time, no pain. I'm hoping Patrick would spring back just as fast as Nye, but the fear is hard to overcome and it's easy to keep stalling when I shouldn't.

In any case, thank you all for your help, especially @Wiebke Your experience is invaluable. I guess it sounds like I didn't read the article, but I did. I just don't know how spot red flags, if there are any (which is probably what I should've asked in the first place >>;;). The more I keep coming back to the topic and thinking about it though, the more I understand I guess this is just apprehensiveness.
 
Beeves said:
So I have one girl and one boy pig. I'd like for them to be together and not in separate cages. I don't want them to be too lonely.

The problem is, I'm scared to get my boy neutered. I know that there are a lot of risks involved. I have an awesome vet that I feel I can trust a lot, but I want to know specifically what to expect from a neutering. Have you had your boar neutered? How long was recovery, were there complications, how risky would the procedure be?

I'm afraid to bring him in and then never see him again. I love my baby too much to lose him...
Click to expand...
 
Hi ,I'm gutted ,l had my boar neutered in October and he had abcess problems that started Christmas Eve, since then he has been on antibiotics and metacalm ,then we changed the antibiotic as things looked better till today and Aladdin stopped eating and was very depressed so I started syringe feeding and back to vets ,that was 5pm , he died at 1 pm this morning and I feel so , I wish I had never had him castrated and had read more about the risks ,I'm so sorry Aladdin
 
I remember talking this over with my vet when we had our female pig at her wellness appointment. I was discussing neutering a boy (if we got her a friend) and if it was worth it. She said while usually totally fine, she lost her beloved male guinea pig when he went in for a routine neutering. She said it saddened so much that she is more cautious about recommending now. She recommended I pair her with a female or an already neutered boy.

It’s a hard choice for sure. If you have a male and female it may be best. How long have you had your female?
 
Jane baxter said:
Hi ,I'm gutted ,l had my boar neutered in October and he had abcess problems that started Christmas Eve, since then he has been on antibiotics and metacalm ,then we changed the antibiotic as things looked better till today and Aladdin stopped eating and was very depressed so I started syringe feeding and back to vets ,that was 5pm , he died at 1 pm this morning and I feel so , I wish I had never had him castrated and had read more about the risks ,I'm so sorry Aladdin
Click to expand...
So sorry for your loss, Please don’t blame yourself. Guinea Pigs can be fragile creatures.
 
Beeves said:
It sounds like it's not so big a deal, as long as you have a good vet, and I do, but I'm having such a hard time convincing myself to do it. I guess I'm just a weenie :,0 I mean, Nye doesn't even look bothered in that video. He's just shaking his booty like he's having a good time, no pain. I'm hoping Patrick would spring back just as fast as Nye, but the fear is hard to overcome and it's easy to keep stalling when I shouldn't.

In any case, thank you all for your help, especially @Wiebke Your experience is invaluable. I guess it sounds like I didn't read the article, but I did. I just don't know how spot red flags, if there are any (which is probably what I should've asked in the first place >>;;). The more I keep coming back to the topic and thinking about it though, the more I understand I guess this is just apprehensiveness.
Click to expand...

The vast majority of neutering ops goes well, thankfully. Any abscesses will have to be checked for promptly (check for any swellings daily in the first two weeks and then every second day for the following week; twice weekly for the next five months when abscesses can, but rarely do, come up). Any abscess should ideally be treated with a strong antibiotic straight away. Zithromax/erythromycin is the best for cutting through a stubborn abscess, but it is not a commonly used antibiotic for guinea pigs, so many vets have unfortunately got apprehensions. Zithromax and seeing an experienced vet have definitely saved several forum boars.
If that doesn't work, then an abscess operation may be necessary; my Bedo needed that after he developed a stubborn abscess at the rescue, but he recovered well and I was allowed to adopt him. With a good vet you can get on top of most abscesses as our long term forum experience with boar neutering complication proved - it is one of the reasons why I am harping on about the importance of finding the right vet.

What makes the step for any neutering op harder is the fact that it is an elective operation in most cases, so any feelings of guilt when things go wrong are much stronger.

On the other hand, seeing how happy my 'husboars' (our expression for neutered boar living with sows) are, I feel strongly that it is really worth it. The majority of them are fallen out boars that have been given the chance to live in the company of sows, which is every boar's dream.
I have had 16 neutered boars in my life so far, 8 of them are currently living with me. Personally, I would not want to be without them! Seeing a boar realise that paradise on earth is for real, and is his, is such a precious experience.

But as I have said before, it is always a leap of faith when you decide to go for it.
 
@Lilythepig2017 I've had her about 3 years, she's a little older than that though. I've had my boy for less. She likes a lot of space and alone time, and doesn't seem unhappy. She only tolerates Patrick for a few minutes at a time because he is constantly all over her face and butt. I know neutering doesn't cause behavior changes, but maybe he won't be so horny all the time... Patrick on the other hand, his only goal in life is to sniff Casper's poops.

@Jane baxter I'm sorry to hear that happened. I hope you don't blame yourself for this. Some things are out of our control.
 
I don't think you have options: a boy and a girl together needs a castration...

Anyway, just for sharing my story with you, I have recently adopted a piggie who was neutered at the rescue and had some little post op difficulties. He stopped eating and was syringe fed for one day; then his gut started being a bit slow and other medicines were added. At the third day he was fine. Two months later, when he was here with me, he developed a sort of an abscess; it was not smelly and he himself emptied it using the teeth. I took him to the vet and he still found some infection. The vet (an expert one) did not prescribe me any strong antibiotics, but only an antibiotic cream used for humans to be inserted into the hole of the abscess. Plus double dose of vit C. That's all... two days later the piggie's scrotum was fine again and the hole closed naturally after 4-5 days.
I guess I was unlucky, because all the boars neutered I know have never depeloped any complication.
Only one thing: go to an expert vet. My piggie was castrated by an exotic vet who used a very oldfashioned procedure (two little cuts on the scrotum; anyway he performed correctly the job). The best and updated procedure is the one with an only little cut on the abdomen: this means a shorter time under anestesia (only few minutes), only one cut, no risks of developing a future hernia and very few risks of developing adhesions and abscesses.
I would ask the vet about the method he is going to use... if he is able to proceed with the abdominal method it means that he is updated and really cavy savvy...
Otherwise you will make your choices...
 
If I a choice, i'd sooner castrate a male than put a female through spaying, I don't think it's as invasive. Hovis is two weeks post op and is doing well
 
I’ve successfully cared for my own sows post spay (on medical grounds) and seen numerous rescue boars neutered ready for rehoming with sows. Provided thst your vet is experienced in guinea pig castration it is a relatively straightforward procedure and the boars come home and eat their tea afterwards. The boars bounce right back.
I have also seen piggies develop abscesses after surgery. That’s a risk of any procedure but the key is to be alert and alive to the possibility and to seek veterinary help as soon as possible once you find the problem. My own vets now prescribe antibiotics as a matter of course after boar castration to help prevent abscess development.
 
@rome_italy that really helps, knowing which kind of procedure to look out for. If I hadn't known and my vet told me she was going to make two incisions, I'd be none the wiser.

@BonBon2010 yeah, I agree. My little lady shouldn't be cut open if I can help it.
 
rome_italy said:
I don't think you have options: a boy and a girl together needs a castration...

Anyway, just for sharing my story with you, I have recently adopted a piggie who was neutered at the rescue and had some little post op difficulties. He stopped eating and was syringe fed for one day; then his gut started being a bit slow and other medicines were added. At the third day he was fine. Two months later, when he was here with me, he developed a sort of an abscess; it was not smelly and he himself emptied it using the teeth. I took him to the vet and he still found some infection. The vet (an expert one) did not prescribe me any strong antibiotics, but only an antibiotic cream used for humans to be inserted into the hole of the abscess. Plus double dose of vit C. That's all... two days later the piggie's scrotum was fine again and the hole closed naturally after 4-5 days.
I guess I was unlucky, because all the boars neutered I know have never depeloped any complication.
Only one thing: go to an expert vet. My piggie was castrated by an exotic vet who used a very oldfashioned procedure (two little cuts on the scrotum; anyway he performed correctly the job). The best and updated procedure is the one with an only little cut on the abdomen: this means a shorter time under anestesia (only few minutes), only one cut, no risks of developing a future hernia and very few risks of developing adhesions and abscesses.
I would ask the vet about the method he is going to use... if he is able to proceed with the abdominal method it means that he is updated and really cavy savvy...
Otherwise you will make your choices...
Click to expand...

Here on the forum we have seen some terrrible results from the “new” exotics procedure of single incision castration performed by specialists. My own vets who are exotics specialists will not perform this procedure as the incision through the abdomen increases rather than reduces the risk of abscesses. Most exotics vets in The UK still perform the 2 incision procedure and this is the accepted method of castration. As part of a rescue that regularly neutered boars I have seen numerous successfully castrated boars through the 2 incision procedure.
 
Hovis has been done by the two incision procedure - i'll take a photo and post it tomo to show you. You can see where he's had a go at the stitches, but has since left them alone. these are dissolvable stitches so will go eventually
 
:( Okay, now I'm confused. Regardless of which procedure i need to look for, I shot my vet an email hoping to open this dialogue with her
 
My 2 boars had the 2 incision castration and they bounced back quickly and were eating again the same day although a bit woozy for 24 hours after the anaesthetic.
 
VickiA said:
Here on the forum we have seen some terrrible results from the “new” exotics procedure of single incision castration performed by specialists. My own vets who are exotics specialists will not perform this procedure as the incision through the abdomen increases rather than reduces the risk of abscesses. Most exotics vets in The UK still perform the 2 incision procedure and this is the accepted method of castration. As part of a rescue that regularly neutered boars I have seen numerous successfully castrated boars through the 2 incision procedure.
Click to expand...
I understand what you mean, but there is another thing to be considerated: the vets who are using this new procedures HERE are very experienced doctors and more famous than your Simon... a Paolo Selleri is considered a God here and sees piggies from all over the country. Hence, like your Simon Maddock, he sees and operates many more piggies than any other vet... A Selleri (he is not my vet) makes for sure a larger number of castrations and the personal experience for a surgeon is what makes the difference. If a dott X starts performing a procedure which is still not able to do, the risks are high. If dr X has only few patients and starts the new method, he will surely collect bad results.
In Rome all the 3-4 good expert vets are proceeding with this new method now; the price is the same for us, but they say that the risks of future inguinal hernia seems to have gone. This does not mean that my Osvaldo had a bad procedure, but that vet is still insecure with the new methods and for sure does not see so many piggies.
Moreover the surgery is faster and also delicate boars (cardiopatic or with some medical issues like the boar of a friend of mine) can be treated safely.
 
Beeves said:
@rome_italy that really helps, knowing which kind of procedure to look out for. If I hadn't known and my vet told me she was going to make two incisions, I'd be none the wiser.

@BonBon2010 yeah, I agree. My little lady shouldn't be cut open if I can help it.
Click to expand...
do you know what counts more with a surgeon? and that was told by a friend neurosurgeon: the number of procedures. Nothing else.
Hence we should know how many castrations they have done before... and how many complications they saw... But this are data we will never know.
I think that an experienced surgeon (also for us humans) is the one who keeps himself updated and have a great number of patients; but this does not mean that an oldfashioned procedure is wrong. And a very new method tried on the body of your piggie after only few attempts on other bodies would not be a great idea of course!
hence, do this: search online the reviews left by the customers of the vet you trust (and other vets); choose a vet experienced with piggies who have satisfied customers (in Italy we leave terrible/excellent reviews also for doctors and hospitals). And possibly a vet who sees a lot of piggies...
And here in this forum there is an old horrific thread about owners who had had bad complications after the castration... don't search it and don't read it, because there is no use of knowing ONLY the bad consequences of a surgery. And don't forget the huge amount of owners who don't have any complications...
 
Ok, Rome, I take it you're not from the uk? Try not to make it too complicated for us guinea pig owners, not all of us have access to top notch vets.
Castrated my boy was the toughest decision yet for me, as not many vets do it near me.
Thankfully I know who to trust
 
ive had twelve boars in total neutered,i have been very fortunate that none have developed complications.10 of my boars have been neutered with two incisions the last two with one incision.The most important factor is finding a cavy savvy vet that has experience of a large number of neuters.I'm lucky that i have an exotic vet that is very level headed and is very upfront about any risks.he also loves guinea pigs.for me it is such a wonderful sight to see a guinea pig that has fought with other males,housed on his own.then been paired up with sows,and it is the best reaction ever.also ive a few guinea pigs and really cannot take the risk of any unplanned babies !
 
I think I only have two vets with cavy experience in my area, come to think of it...I hope that means mine has seen every wheeker and squeaker from here to the bay lol.
 
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