Guinea Pig - Travelling with Cystic Ovaries

[roadhogs]

First, thank you to this community for providing so much good advice that has helped me care for my guinea pigs!

I have concerns about an upcoming car journey with the pigs when I suspect one of them has cystic ovaries. The trip is in a month and mandatory since I am moving for work. It will involve two long days in the car (around 7-8 hours each day). They have made this road trip with me multiple times and never had any issues, but they have always been in good health before this.

I think that opting for a spay operation in the next couple of weeks would not give her enough time to recover before going on a stressful trip. However, I am worried about her being in a stressed situation for a couple of days if she does have cysts.

Does anyone have any advice for making sure she will be comfortable and safe on our journey? Or any experience with guinea pigs with cysts that you think I should be aware of? Any thoughts are much appreciated!

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Some context:

I have two female piggies around the same age. One of my girls is 4 1/2 years old and I'm almost certain has cystic ovaries. I've taken her to two recommended small pet vets after she started losing fur on her back. Both times the vets said her symptoms weren't positive signs of cysts but that could be the cause. They didn't seem too comfortable suggesting a spay without positive signs. Since she now has crusty nipples I am worried about her. She isn't showing overt signs of pain, but of course, guinea pigs will hide pain as much as possible.

 

[Wiebke]

First, thank you to this community for providing so much good advice that has helped me care for my guinea pigs!

I have concerns about an upcoming car journey with the pigs when I suspect one of them has cystic ovaries. The trip is in a month and mandatory since I am moving for work. It will involve two long days in the car (around 7-8 hours each day). They have made this road trip with me multiple times and never had any issues, but they have always been in good health before this.

I think that opting for a spay operation in the next couple of weeks would not give her enough time to recover before going on a stressful trip. However, I am worried about her being in a stressed situation for a couple of days if she does have cysts.

Does anyone have any advice for making sure she will be comfortable and safe on our journey? Or any experience with guinea pigs with cysts that you think I should be aware of? Any thoughts are much appreciated!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some context:

I have two female piggies around the same age. One of my girls is 4 1/2 years old and I'm almost certain has cystic ovaries. I've taken her to two recommended small pet vets after she started losing fur on her back. Both times the vets said her symptoms weren't positive signs of cysts but that could be the cause. They didn't seem too comfortable suggesting a spay without positive signs. Since she now has crusty nipples I am worried about her. She isn't showing overt signs of pain, but of course, guinea pigs will hide pain as much as possible.

Hi

The only problem I can foresee is if your cystic piggy is very hormonal and confrontational (like being in season nonstop) and the bond is already under considerable stress before the journey. In this case you may want to have a spare carrier at the ready in case they are getting into tussles/fall-outs in close confines. I've repeatedly travelled for over an hour to my specialist vet for ovarian cyst removal ops with their 'paw holding' husboars or best friends without any problems ever.

Otherwise there are no special issues. It is however always preferable to allow a bonded pair to travel together (including to the vet) if possible because it is helping massively with the stress factor. There is always a certain risk that the pair may not go back together again after a separation. In these cases it is always very much a weighing up when dealing with dodgy bonds.

Travelling with guinea pigs