Boar Bum Question

[AmyAnn]

I've had my boars nearly a month now and have been doing quick and not super thorough penis/bum area checks while they were getting used to me handling them. I have read up on the boar bum care threads in full.

Last night when checking Ralph I saw some debris partly showing from his bottom. It looked similar to something I found in the run a few days ago, a hair covered lump. So I am fairly sure this is normal but understandably since it was my first time seeing it not expelled, I was concerned!

After gently poking it to see if it was loose, it look just a little wriggle to remove it from the anal sac. I will post a photo in a reply but wanted to forewarn as it's NSFW!

Anyway, a few questions then:
Is the hair lump a normal thing from grooming/wiping bum on floor on run? Since there seems to have been a couple of these during the week, one of which sorted itself out, should I be removing them as I see them or leave alone? On the boar bum thread it says about cleaning the anal sac, nothing seemed untoward there, had the white stuff it's meant to (which STINKS!), how do you actually go about cleaning in a non distressing way?
Ralph did a normal and fully formed poo whilst I was checking out the hair lump, so does this rule out any issue with impaction? He's three years old and seems to poo normally, I guess if impaction was an issue he wouldn't poo at all as it would be building up? He does have noticeably larger testes than Albie which of course (illogically I know) made me paranoid about his entire rear end!

Last of all, I haven't fully expelled their penises for a check yet, am kind of scared too as I doubt they'll be that happy about it and we're making great progress with handling. All I've had to remove from the foreskin area over the past few weeks are a few stray bits of hay/hair, but after re-reading the boar bum care thread am worried about wrapped around hair etc.

So it looks like I will be a 'worrier' guinea pig mummy after all...

 

[AmyAnn]

Bum photo a bit blurred I think, the hair lump is the whitish bit above the poop!

(My finger is for scale!)

 

[Wiebke]

I've had my boars nearly a month now and have been doing quick and not super thorough penis/bum area checks while they were getting used to me handling them. I have read up on the boar bum care threads in full.

Last night when checking Ralph I saw some debris partly showing from his bottom. It looked similar to something I found in the run a few days ago, a hair covered lump. So I am fairly sure this is normal but understandably since it was my first time seeing it not expelled, I was concerned!

After gently poking it to see if it was loose, it look just a little wriggle to remove it from the anal sac. I will post a photo in a reply but wanted to forewarn as it's NSFW!

Anyway, a few questions then:
Is the hair lump a normal thing from grooming/wiping bum on floor on run? Since there seems to have been a couple of these during the week, one of which sorted itself out, should I be removing them as I see them or leave alone? On the boar bum thread it says about cleaning the anal sac, nothing seemed untoward there, had the white stuff it's meant to (which STINKS!), how do you actually go about cleaning in a non distressing way?
Ralph did a normal and fully formed poo whilst I was checking out the hair lump, so does this rule out any issue with impaction? He's three years old and seems to poo normally, I guess if impaction was an issue he wouldn't poo at all as it would be building up? He does have noticeably larger testes than Albie which of course (illogically I know) made me paranoid about his entire rear end!

Last of all, I haven't fully expelled their penises for a check yet, am kind of scared too as I doubt they'll be that happy about it and we're making great progress with handling. All I've had to remove from the foreskin area over the past few weeks are a few stray bits of hay/hair, but after re-reading the boar bum care thread am worried about wrapped around hair etc.

So it looks like I will be a 'worrier' guinea pig mummy after all...

You can use plain baby wipes, cotton pads with hand warm water or a gentle bum bath with hand warm water to clean out boars and work off things.
Some piggies are more eager to scent mark their territory by wiping the glands on their bottom all over the floor and pick up all kinds of much (including hairs) that way. Boars are randier at this time of the year, so you see a bit more of that.

 

[AmyAnn]

Thanks @Wiebke, so would you recommend me doing that at this stage?
And should I remove the hair balls or leave be for a couple of days if any more crop up to see if it sorts itself out?

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks @Wiebke, so would you recommend me doing that at this stage?
And should I remove the hair balls or leave be for a couple of days if any more crop up to see if it sorts itself out?

I would leave be and check every 2-3 days unless it is really bad. Make sure that no hairs wind themselves around the penis and check that that is on the pink ro purple and not on the blue side.

 

[AmyAnn]

I would leave be and check every 2-3 days unless it is really bad. Make sure that no hairs wind themselves around the penis and check that that is on the pink ro purple and not on the blue side.

Thanks! I'll be back in touch if it's blue

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks! I'll be back in touch if it's blue

You need to see a vet asap if it is blue (i.e. he blood supply has been cut off)!

 

[MomoMura]

I would just leave it alone for the most part, unless it looks really bad or disgusting or he can't seem to remove it himself. They're animals that like to rub their bums on things lol stuff is bound to get in there. I actually think fiddling with their privates too much/often could cause more problems than it solves..