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Embarassing but need advice!

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Pocketrocket8819

Pocketrocket8819

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Hi Everyone

I've got two lovely happy boars, Bruce and Willis, both Alpaca's and both 10 months old.

Due to their long hair (which is regulary trimmed and cleaned) i check their bottoms and genitals almost every day to ensure there is no hay or hair caught up any where.

ANYWAY...I checked the other day and Willis has a white, creamy in texture, very strong smelling (!)mallethead torpedo shaped thing stuck in his anus....i carefully pulled it out with tissue and he didnt flinch or anything....but then i checked Bruce and he had something smilar too.

What is this...and what can do to prevent it?

xxxxxxxxxxx
 
I'm not clued up on boars as I have sows but could it be a sperm rod or boar glue where they have been getting frisky with each other? I have heard of this happening before.
 
Hi There! I know what this is! :))

It's pretty unpleasant but basically boars sometimes get a plug of nasty stinky stuff stuck inside thier bum, it is a mixture of boar "glue" poop wee and anything else that sticks to it such as hair, shavings or bits of hay megazorb etc.... yuck! Boars drag thier bums along the floor to spread thier scent around and pick up bits as they do so - some are cleaner than others and I find the older they get the worse it is... we have two boars with an imapcted bum problem and it is really a horrible job but we have to use soft cotton buds and some olive oil to gently tease out the plug and then clean inside the bum area. Its a very sticky thick substance that even seems to ooze out of their skin in that area (ewwww!!) we have a lovely name for it - bum cheese! :x:x Foggy my old grey teddy/rex is nicknames Foggy-Cheese and the other foster pig we have named Leicester! :-)
 
It does sound like 'bum cheese' to me too - thanks for that phrase Claire! In one of my boars, it is noticeable that he gets a lump of pooh, boar glue, hair etc with a creamy coating quite often as he does a lot of humping and bum dragging. This thread was very helpful to me on boars and cleaning - any use for you? Baby oil seems to really help shift any stuck gunk but the creamy stuff is a natural secretion so not a 'bad' thing, if that makes sense.

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=92537&highlight=boar+cleaning
 
I have just watched that video and find it unbelievable. Is it really something we should be doing to our pigs? What reason is there for it and who does that to wild pigs? Surely pushing something inside somewhere things are supposed to come out is not a good idea? nature made pigs the way they are, why do we need to poke them about unless they are suffering from impaction?

Sorry if I have offended anyone but I feel I should speak up for guinea pigs who are subjected to that humiliating procedure.
 
I'm pretty sure guinea pigs don't find it humiliating. That's a human construct. If guinea pigs got embarrassed about people looking at their bottoms they wouldn't sit there and eat their poo in front of us :))

Perhaps it is less of a problem in wild animals, or perhaps it is equally a problem but the mess stays where it is. In pet guinea pig boars, the bedding they're kept on, their hair length, the amount they like to scent mark and their own personal hygiene can all contribute to a build up of debris, which if left can cause discomfort and possibly health problems.

Some boars may never need their bottoms cleaned, but others will have a problem with it. I have six male guinea pigs, and their ideas of cleanliness vary wildly! None of them, however, seem that bothered about me checking their rear ends :))

In the case of older boars with a tendency towards impaction, you want to make pooping as easy as possible for them for the benefit of their health! Likewise, an anal plug, where the debris sticks itself to the rear end of the guinea pig, can be very unpleasant for them.

Also, you're not technically pushing something inside somewhere things are supposed to come out. Nothing should be inserted into the anus. The area being cleaned is the perianal sac - it's more similar to cleaning teeth or cleaning your ears than a colonic irrigation :))
 
I am SOOOOO glad ditto gasnt had this problem yet! Hes a very clean lad thank god lol! But when the day comes i will be ready with cotton bud in hand :)
 
That video is amusing and terrifying in equal measure. I noticed Picchu could probably have benefited from such a clean when he was sick with his ear infection, but only because he was very ill and basically immobile. My two current boars will NOT let me hold them with their tummies exposed like that -- I've tried it for claw trimming because it's how I hold the cat for trims, but the pigs squeal and kick like nobody's business. I hope they calm down before they ever need that doing!
 
SpinningNickel said:
That video is amusing and terrifying in equal measure. I noticed Picchu could probably have benefited from such a clean when he was sick with his ear infection, but only because he was very ill and basically immobile. My two current boars will NOT let me hold them with their tummies exposed like that -- I've tried it for claw trimming because it's how I hold the cat for trims, but the pigs squeal and kick like nobody's business. I hope they calm down before they ever need that doing!
Click to expand...

Wallace is a "laid back" pig.. but no way would he let us put him on his back for that amount of time, but we suppose if it had to be done we would have to find a way..
 
Our beloved Snowball (RIP) was a very lazy pig and he had a sperm rod hanging out on two separate occasions-thank goodness Amy is the one who has the boars.

I have to admit that although our boars are very laid back and loving I still sway towards the girls-I just find they smell a bit sweeter and had nicer 'bits' :(|)
 
I'm currently a mum to three boars. Two are very clean, but one is a stinky boy! All three get their 'areas' checked and, if need be, cleaned on a regular basis. Although cleaning the anal sacks is difficult for some people to stomach, it really is absolutely necessary. Impaction can lead to health problems, especially in older boars. As responsible carers for our boy piggies, it's just something that we have to deal with. It can be quick and easy to do when you get the hang of it. A drop of baby oil on a cotton bud and they don't feel a thing :)
 
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