• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Grease Glands ..

Status
Not open for further replies.
Just bathed her behind to ease the smell and get rid of the greasyness :{

Then noticed her bits are swollen, tried to get pics but its hard on your own with a wriggly piggy lol so apologies as they are crap
DSCN5572.jpg

DSCN5572.jpg
 
Being new to guinea pigs can I ask what is the grease gland and where is it mallethead
 
It's on the rump, if you follow the line of the back down towards the bottom, you will feel it probably about where a tail should be. No idea why, or what for though! They need washing sometimes (you will know when, lol) xx
 
CCC4 said:
Looks like "Henrietta" may actually be a "Henry"! :))
Click to expand...


hmmm certainly looks that way .. sure she looked girl before now and am sure Helen has also looked at her bits lol
he/she is currently in with my girls ani & abi but the never has been any mounting or mating behaviour apart from He/she having an odd grumble.

As I say though when I press nothing willy like pops out, i am very confuddled :{
 
The grease gland is the caudal gland,it is used for scent markiing in boars.Some boys secrete more than others and it can cause a blacky sticky mess.The best way to clean it is to use warm olive oil on a make up remover pad.Let the oil soak in for 10 minutes or so,then the grease should come off easier.If the grease is very stubborn it is safe to use Swarfega but this must be washed off thoroughly with a mild shampoo.
Sows can get an eruption from the gland,but not very often and not to the extent that boys do.
This looks male to me.You need to find out though because if it is a sow,with swollen genitals you need to monitor the urinary flow because she might have a renal stone blocking the ureter.



Maryh
 
looks very male! i'd go to the vets as its worrying not being able to get a penis to come out, and its very worrying if its a girl
 
At first look at the photos, she looks like she has a penis to me also! :{

Usually grease glands only appear on boars too! And sows do not tend to have the strong scent that boars do.

Also could the swollen bits actually be testicles. Not trying to worry you, but are you sure she isn't a he?
 
My sow used to have a problem with her grease gland, towards the end of her life. She was definately a she - lol :))
 
hopefully she is a she! I have only boars and I can't get their bits to pop out either though! I tried to check to be sure but to no avail I know george is definately a he as the lady in petshop made it pop out and I saw it :)) They both lok the same as each other though so not worried!

Good luck - maybe you should take to the vets for sexing - just to make sure!
 
I have pigy who has a problem in the pivate area and I have develped a technique to locat the problem area. I wrap the piggy in towel and the put him in the nook of my arm. I then can have better acces to the area and with the piggy being secure it makes things easier. Simply you the use two fingers to push the area at the base of the penis and then pully the skin done, You should then see the penis appear immediately but keep pulling down gently to expose the entire penis, This seems very undignified for the poor pigy but mines just lets me get on with if and seems unperturbed after is indignified examination
 
This is definately a male guinea pig. Sows' grease glands don't often get smelly/greasy. Is he living with another guinea pig? If he's "excited" his grease gland will be worse, also hence the swollen "bits"!
 
Girls can have dirty grease glands, i had a sow who had one that needed cleaning every so often. Am i the only one who can see a definite Y shape? I also have to say none of my boys' testicles protrude from the body like this - it just doesn't look like "quite right" :{
 
My Mistake.

Henrietta is a Henry............................

I cannot believe I have made this fundamental mistake in sexing but I have. I did have slight concerns when I went to collect Henrietta as despite being assured she was a sow - obviously I went on to check in any case as is standard practice - on checking - I felt no testicles at all and furthermore - she did have a very loose, flappy looking vagina.

I obviously tried to extract a penis but to absolutely no avail. I have sexed many many piggies and have never got it wrong in an adult.

I hold up my hands in this case of course.......................I am terribly sorry to Becky for this and we have spoken personally.

Any vet bills incurred by Becky and Mark will be paid by myself in the event - which unfortunately is highly likely - of her darling girls now being pregnant.

Becky may foster Henrietta/Henry until we can pair him with a baby boar and rehome.

Helen.
x
 
Helen I really dont blame you for this, I looked several times too and yesterday took me 6 attempts of extracting his willy, Took 2 hands to do it to persuade it down and out.
Since putting him with the girls there has never been any signs of him mounting or mating the girls what I've seen and been in alot, so fingers crossed he's lost his urge or even infertile :)

Helen your still my bestest piggy friend
Comfort.gif
 
Totally agree with Becky! Helen you're fab and this is just a one off. These things happen! Milo has a funny willy (I hope he forgives me saying that) and looks female but obviously he isn't haha!

Fingers crossed for the girls. How long have they been with Henry? What about neutering him to live with the girls? I bet he thought all his Christmas' had come at once!

(((hugs))) x
 
Henri is approx over 3yrs old and I'd be concerned about the op at his age :(

I've had Henri 2 weeks on Wed 11th :) seems longer though
 
Last edited:
Ah bless him. Yeah it would be risky wouldn't it. Baby boar then. He is lovely. ^)
 
Aw bless little henry! He does look quite a tricky one to sex, he doesnt seem to have large testicles like most males I have seen. I have a boy that has pretty much non existant looking testicles also and was a bit dubious of his sex. My older boy has huge ones LOL they are very edvident but my younger one (max) they are tiny and he could be mistaken for a girl. But I have seen his penis so he is def a boy!

Like humans they all come is diff shpes and sizes and it can be quite tricky to tell.
 
Just pointed in the direction of this thread for information on grease glands but now I need to know. Did Henry impregnate any of the girls?
 
Is it not possible to have guineas that are "intersexed?" It happens with humans and most other animals - having some sexual characteristics of both male and female. Might it just be possible that this is the case with Henri - perhaps then infertile?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top