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What is this?

Cooper & Chris Farley

Cooper & Chris Farley

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone, hope you and your piggies are well.
I just found something weird on my boar Cooper a moment ago and was curious if anyone had any idea what it was.. I found it matted to his bottom.. It is hard and skin-like? Scared me because I haven’t seen anything like that before on either of my boys.. They were both taken to the vet recently for a check since they’d been itching incessantly and I noticed them possibly sneezing as well. Both had no mites or URI’s, but Cooper has been having some mild crusting in his right eye. Vet recommended 1ml of children’s benadryl which has helped tremendously with the itching. Anywho—I have attached a photo of the weird skin(?) thingy on Coop.
Thanks in advance!
 

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Is it waxy or hard? Waxy would be a lump of grease matted into hair. Hard could be boar glue.
 
At least you figured out what it was! I have yet to cross this bridge but my Mocha had a bit too much grease around his gland and I thought he was biten by Cappy. Nope over active grease gland!
 
dhill_cb7 said:
At least you figured out what it was! I have yet to cross this bridge but my Mocha had a bit too much grease around his gland and I thought he was biten by Cappy. Nope over active grease gland!
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Glad he wasn’t bitten! I sure do learn something new every day about these fellas.. Haven’t run into the grease gland issue yet but the forums here have been so incredibly helpful, I know I’ll be back to ask!
 
I love the boar glue threads.
Not something I ever got to experience due to all my boars being castrated at 2 weeks old, but after i first joined I remember one member had rushed their piggy to the vet thinking the hard batch on their fur might be ringworm :coat:
It wasn't.
 
Swissgreys said:
I love the boar glue threads.
Not something I ever got to experience due to all my boars being castrated at 2 weeks old, but after i first joined I remember one member had rushed their piggy to the vet thinking the hard batch on their fur might be ringworm :coat:
It wasn't.
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Was definitely a relief to know that it wasn’t something serious! Just felt like a serious clown when I found out what it was 👀😂
 
Wow boar castrated at 2weeks old… I’ve been told my piggy has to be 20 weeks old then separated for 8-10weeks
 
Gaile said:
Wow boar castrated at 2weeks old… I’ve been told my piggy has to be 20 weeks old then separated for 8-10weeks
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Swissgreys is in Switzerland where early castration is carried out (and I believe in other German speaking countries). In the UK it is 16 weeks at the earliest and separation is needed for 6 weeks to prevent pregnancy
 
Gaile said:
Wow boar castrated at 2weeks old… I’ve been told my piggy has to be 20 weeks old then separated for 8-10weeks
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Piggies&buns is correct - in Switzerland (and much of Europe) all baby boars are castrated between 2-3 weeks old (basically before they can make babies).
This means they are only removed from their mum and siblings for the op, and can be returned to the family group as soon as they recover.
There is no chance of any mis sexing resulting in unwanted litters, and members of the general public can't breed (knowingly or unknowingly).
There are literally no guinea pigs in rescue here as a result, and it seems to be a system that works very well.
 
Swissgreys said:
Piggies&buns is correct - in Switzerland (and much of Europe) all baby boars are castrated between 2-3 weeks old (basically before they can make babies).
This means they are only removed from their mum and siblings for the op, and can be returned to the family group as soon as they recover.
There is no chance of any mis sexing resulting in unwanted litters, and members of the general public can't breed (knowingly or unknowingly).
There are literally no guinea pigs in rescue here as a result, and it seems to be a system that works very well.
Click to expand...
Makes sense
 
Piggies&buns said:
Swissgreys is in Switzerland where early castration is carried out (and I believe in other German speaking countries). In the UK it is 16 weeks at the earliest and separation is needed for 6 weeks to prevent pregnancy
Click to expand...
Yes, I've often wondered about this and never found an answer. Maybe there's a vet in this group that will know.
We live in Germany and got a female and a neutered male. They do them here age 3-6 weeks - the advantage being that they can live with females all their life (no need to be separated post op) and so chances of getting an already pregnant female from the pet shop is low. And boar/sow pairs are much more likely to bond successfully.
Why don't they do this in the UK? Is it a different technique that's not taught in UK vet schools? Is there some hidden risk that you don't see when you get them already neutered?
 
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