3 year old sow rumble strutting more than usual.

[jaydaadams]

my female guinea pig (yvette, she's 3 years old), has been rumble strutting several times a day for about a week now. her nipples did look a bit larger than usual, but no crust or other discharge, and they're not as big as they would be with ovarian cysts (i've done a lot of research lol). she has no hair loss, no swelling in her belly, the rumble strutting isn't constant, but happens several times a day. her weight has been stable. other than being rumbly, she acts completely normal. she's excited about food, she's very cuddly, as she's always been. she only rumbles around her cage mate, and only when there's activity in the room. if i'm not in there or asleep, she rarely rumbles. (i have a camera on them.)

she does try to mount on her cage mate some (they've been bonded their whole lives), but she always did this during her heat cycle, her cage mate just runs away. no aggression or anything. her cage mate is also a female, she's very passive and shy, she always has been.

i understand it could be due to the seasons and lighting changing, and due to her age she's becoming more sensitive to her heat cycles, but i'm still worried about her. i'm making an effort now to make the lighting in my room more consistent.

if it is ovarian cysts, it's still early, and i will take her to the vet as soon as a notice any of these other symptoms. unless of course anyone says i should take her now. has anyone else had this happen? anything i can do right now?

TL;DR: my 3 year old sow is rumble strutting more than usual, but no other signs of ovarian cysts.

 

[Truffolo]

Bumping. I hope it is not a health issue. She sounds rather lovely

 

[Wiebke]

my female guinea pig (yvette, she's 3 years old), has been rumble strutting several times a day for about a week now. her nipples did look a bit larger than usual, but no crust or other discharge, and they're not as big as they would be with ovarian cysts (i've done a lot of research lol). she has no hair loss, no swelling in her belly, the rumble strutting isn't constant, but happens several times a day. her weight has been stable. other than being rumbly, she acts completely normal. she's excited about food, she's very cuddly, as she's always been. she only rumbles around her cage mate, and only when there's activity in the room. if i'm not in there or asleep, she rarely rumbles. (i have a camera on them.)

she does try to mount on her cage mate some (they've been bonded their whole lives), but she always did this during her heat cycle, her cage mate just runs away. no aggression or anything. her cage mate is also a female, she's very passive and shy, she always has been.

i understand it could be due to the seasons and lighting changing, and due to her age she's becoming more sensitive to her heat cycles, but i'm still worried about her. i'm making an effort now to make the lighting in my room more consistent.

if it is ovarian cysts, it's still early, and i will take her to the vet as soon as a notice any of these other symptoms. unless of course anyone says i should take her now. has anyone else had this happen? anything i can do right now?

TL;DR: my 3 year old sow is rumble strutting more than usual, but no other signs of ovarian cysts.

Hi and welcome

Stronger seasons can happen but your girl is currently at the age when hormonal ovarian cysts are most common (2-4 years) although they can happen earlier and of course later when fluid filled large cysts become the more common sort.
It is estimated that about 4 out of 5 sows develop ovarian cysts at some point during their lives although the vast majority won't cause any problems and very often goes unnoticed.

I would recommend not to panic but to see a vet for a check if you worry, or at least if strong seasons are becoming more frequent.
Seeing today's vet and operation costs, you can consider waiting with an operation until frequent or seeming nonstop seasons are becoming disruptive to the bond, your sow is losing weight, the ovarian cyst is hard to the touch (can mean that it could turn cancerous at some point) or a large cyst is impacting on other organs like the gut or bladder etc. and is causing secondary issues.

Right now, it is still very borderline. We are going by our own collective experiences.

Sow Problems 'Down Below' (Ovarian Cysts, Super-seasons, Womb Infection, Pregnancy & Mammary Tumours)