How risky is neutering?

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MOC

MOC

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Out of curiosity. I'm quite sure Clive would take to a boy however Wigner is not going to play ball, so I'm feeling the only thing I can do is get him neutered and find him a wifey pig. I don't have any option for dating close to me so I'm starting to feel this may be the only option, other than him living alone and I really don't want that to happen.
 
As with any operation or proceedure the anesthetic is risky, its a mixed bag, i have had my boy done and he was fine, recovered quickly, no post op problems, lat week, someone had 2 boys done at same time and both had post op abscesses?

Sorry not much help, i am not sure if their are any statistics for successful op's and problematic op's?


See a good experienced vet, after a health check they will decide if it would be advisable to go ahead with the op. Its just the anesthetic that is the risk.
xx
 
How risky neutering is depends very much on the quality of the operating vet and his team. If you can find a vet with a good history of neutering piggies, then the risk is comparatively low; it can never be competely excluded (the same as with humans).

If not, you are much more likely to run into post op trouble and - at worst - you are dealing with vets who havw no idea of coping with problems that are not exactly run of the mill. It is really worth asking around and if necessary go quite a distance. Your local rescue may be able to tell whether their vet is experienced enough or not.

As important as the op itself, you need to act quickly as soon as you notice any swelling or loss of weight/appetite even weeks after the op. The sooner you can get in there, the better the chances to get on top of any problems. Make sure that you have probiotics, Critical care etc. at home. Your own round the clock care is as critical for the ultimate recovery as the medical support.
 
Toffeewoffee said:
As with any operation or proceedure the anesthetic is risky, its a mixed bag, i have had my boy done and he was fine, recovered quickly, no post op problems, lat week, someone had 2 boys done at same time and both had post op abscesses?

Sorry not much help, i am not sure if their are any statistics for successful op's and problematic op's?


See a good experienced vet, after a health check they will decide if it would be advisable to go ahead with the op. Its just the anesthetic that is the risk.
xx
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Ok thank you, I trust my vets dearly as they've saved multiple of my animals but I'm unsure how experienced they are with piggies. I'll book him in for a checkup and see how it goes, if not it looks like I'm finding another vet (:
 
If I were you, I'd still try to date your problem boy first and only of that is unsuccessful think about neutering! You may be surprised - so far Suzy's most difficult dating customers have all found a compatible friend on their second round of full dating (candidates 4-6 ).
 
I'm probably gonna get attacked for saying this rolleyes

but anyways, if it was me, and there wasn't a rescue nearby (within 2 hours traveling i'd say), i'd much rather just go to a breeder than go through the risk of neutering, it's not just the operation, it's all the after care, the costs, and the stress on both you and the pig, i looked into it, and just decided against neutering all together when i was looking for options for Marmite, because to me it's too risky, and although i trust my vets, things go wrong that are out of there control. And i don't care what anyone says, i'd support a breeder once if it meant i could make my piggy happy, and give him a friend, without taking any risks to his health.
 
Wiebke said:
If I were you, I'd still try to date your problem boy first and only of that is unsuccessful think about neutering! You may be surprised - so far Suzy's most difficult dating customers have all found a compatible friend on their second round of full dating (candidates 4-6 ).
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I did actually look into dating and it was going well but unfortunately for one reason or another it didn't work with my local rescue. Now I'm in a position where my nearest is miles away and I doubt I could go back and forth dating my piggies. I'd much prefer them to have same sex friends to not only save me the expense but also take away the risk of them getting hurt but like I said I'm running out of options now. I feel awful for them having to live alone, it makes me feel like I'm failing as an owner even though I have genuinely tried my best. I tried bonding them together but Wigner really got agitated and started showing all the signs of 'I'm about to have a fight' so I just don't know what to do for the best now.
 
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I just wanna add, you really would be surprised how quick and easy dating can be, especially if you can find a rescue with babies,

Marmite, (who you know about) was only ever paired with one pig and it didn't work out etc. that made him 'aggressive' he met a new pig that was 8 weeks old and within an hour they were cuddling up together, your piggies may not be as fussy as they seem, they may just be a bad match for each other, in one trip to my rescue i could have been paired, but unfortunately due to problems at home someone else had the baby before i could confirm him coming to me,
 
can you not have the 2 arguing piggies living side by side so they can still interact but not fight? then there is no need for surgery?

having said that i had one of my boys neutered and he was fine with no problems. (well apart fromt he bar chewing trying to get to the others)
 
twiams said:
I just wanna add, you really would be surprised how quick and easy dating can be, especially if you can find a rescue with babies,

Marmite, (who you know about) was only ever paired with one pig and it didn't work out etc. that made him 'aggressive' he met a new pig that was 8 weeks old and within an hour they were cuddling up together, your piggies may not be as fussy as they seem, they may just be a bad match for each other, in one trip to my rescue i could have been paired, but unfortunately due to problems at home someone else had the baby before i could confirm him coming to me,
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That's awful, poor Marmy pig! He found a friend and lost him again :/
They definitely are a bad match for each other, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to try. I did look into another rescue after the first time but again it failed and after setting up a date the girl had family issues and has never contacted me since. Do you ever feel like you have no luck? Lol xD
 
lauralucy said:
can you not have the 2 arguing piggies living side by side so they can still interact but not fight? then there is no need for surgery?

having said that i had one of my boys neutered and he was fine with no problems. (well apart fromt he bar chewing trying to get to the others)
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I did think about this but Clive is used to having a 5ft hutch to himself. I wouldn't feel right splitting it in half.
 
MOC said:
That's awful, poor Marmy pig! He found a friend and lost him again :/
They definitely are a bad match for each other, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to try. I did look into another rescue after the first time but again it failed and after setting up a date the girl had family issues and has never contacted me since. Do you ever feel like you have no luck? Lol xD
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I deffo felt i had no luck when the baby went to another home ! haha, it's just i went to see the baby and marmite got on fine then i get back to my boyfriends house with a billion missed calls from my mum, as i'd been with no signal, i try phoning her but it won't connect my call, and in the end she calls back to tell me she has her leg in plaster and i need to go home :...
Got all caught up with that and forgot about the baby but then when i did get in contact they thought i wasn't interested anymore and he'd been rehomed, but then in a way i try to tell myself everything happens for a reason, and so I'm hoping i'll find the perfect pig soon, although i don't hold much hope anymore haha, :(|)
 
twiams said:
I deffo felt i had no luck when the baby went to another home ! haha, it's just i went to see the baby and marmite got on fine then i get back to my boyfriends house with a billion missed calls from my mum, as i'd been with no signal, i try phoning her but it won't connect my call, and in the end she calls back to tell me she has her leg in plaster and i need to go home :...
Got all caught up with that and forgot about the baby but then when i did get in contact they thought i wasn't interested anymore and he'd been rehomed, but then in a way i try to tell myself everything happens for a reason, and so I'm hoping i'll find the perfect pig soon, although i don't hold much hope anymore haha, :(|)
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I'm starting to feel the same. Hoping the perfect pig will come along and all this bother has been worth it, but again like you I'm not certain it will happen. It's a shame that happened to you, I certainly hope you and marmite get a breakthrough soon!
 
Same situation here, I lost a boy & have one left looking for a new friend. After 2 months of vet hell & huge bills for his brother, the thought of putting him in for surgery makes me feel sick. I don't think I could do it.

I have read good & bad stories... It's a tough decision...
 
PAMELAKT said:
Same situation here, I lost a boy & have one left looking for a new friend. After 2 months of vet hell & huge bills for his brother, the thought of putting him in for surgery makes me feel sick. I don't think I could do it.

I have read good & bad stories... It's a tough decision...
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Very tough. If I'm honest I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to mine. Good luck deciding, I'm sorry to hear about your other piggie ):
 
MOC said:
I'm starting to feel the same. Hoping the perfect pig will come along and all this bother has been worth it, but again like you I'm not certain it will happen. It's a shame that happened to you, I certainly hope you and marmite get a breakthrough soon!
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Well i wish you luck in your search haha, it's difficult !
 
Think very carefully about it. I had one of mine done as everything went great but then he literally keeled over in front of me and was dead with minutes.
 
ZaraPiggie6 said:
Think very carefully about it. I had one of mine done as everything went great but then he literally keeled over in front of me and was dead with minutes.
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:... Seriously? How awful!
I don't think I'm going through with it, I daren't even take the risk.
Thank you everyone for your help but I'm pretty sure that's my mind made up. I'll have to find another rescue and date them.
 
It's not a risk I'm prepared to take, altho I kno of people who have had success. Just don't think I could look at his cute chubby face & do it!
 
twiams said:
I'm probably gonna get attacked for saying this rolleyes

but anyways, if it was me, and there wasn't a rescue nearby (within 2 hours traveling i'd say), i'd much rather just go to a breeder than go through the risk of neutering, it's not just the operation, it's all the after care, the costs, and the stress on both you and the pig, i looked into it, and just decided against neutering all together when i was looking for options for Marmite, because to me it's too risky, and although i trust my vets, things go wrong that are out of there control. And i don't care what anyone says, i'd support a breeder once if it meant i could make my piggy happy, and give him a friend, without taking any risks to his health.
Click to expand...

Why risk one life, when you can risk two? Or three? Or four...?
 
Very handy thread, I'm hopefully having my Oliver neutered this Thursday, to say I'm scared is to say the least.
But I'm prepared and have a vet with a 100% success rate, soon doing all I can.
I love my little man.
 
Skelly said:
Very handy thread, I'm hopefully having my Oliver neutered this Thursday, to say I'm scared is to say the least.
But I'm prepared and have a vet with a 100% success rate, soon doing all I can.
I love my little man.
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Good luck Hun! I hope everything goes well for little Oliver and he makes a speedy recovery from the op. your vet sounds very safe do hopefully you don't have anything to worry about xx
 
Thank you so much sweetie! I feel sick everytime I think about it, but each day I put it off Oliver must get a little lonelier.
i just hope everything goes smoothly and he makes an amazing recovery. I will put up a thread documenting his operations, post op care, problems ( :... )
Xx
 
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