Infection grease gland or testicle?

[Angela99]

Hi my little Truffle has a very stinky bum... he's had many dominant hours since March which normally he does once a year with Buttercup. They love eachother but these bouts last 4-5 hours at a time... and every few days. Anyways I was thinking he's acting out or something was bothering him so I looked very carefully today and underneath looks like his testicle is raw and red scratched irritated... so I cleaned in warm water and sea salt with a really wet towel... dipped it in. He was squirming when I touched it poor little guy! I was thinking to clean it daily with sea salt soak and good dry off. And see what it looks like in a couple days. I can't take a picture it's too underneath. Anyone have dealt with this? He is otherwise full of energy and eating happily but I don't want him to be suffering. Glad I found it today!

 

[Betsy]

I would take him to the vet for a proper diagnosis. If he is sore then cleaning it in saltwater will really sting.

 

[Angela99]

I would take him to the vet for a proper diagnosis. If he is sore then cleaning it in saltwater will really sting.

Right. Good point... anything else I can do in meantime?

 

[Piggies&buns]

It would definitely be best to have a vet check him over. Don’t be tempted to do anything - you can inadvertently cause further problems as well as potentiallh make it harder for a vet to treat

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

It is impossible for us to tell whether this a lump of some sort (cyst, fatty lump or abscess) or a regular body part. Testicles are generally hairless and they are also symmetrical. The grease gland is located in the middle of the bum a bit further up from the genitalia.
Please have this seen by a vet and do not DIY treat on spec as you can make things worse instead of better. This requires a hands-on examination, which we cannot provide.

You can find pictures of how testicles of different sizes as well as the grease gland in our boar care guide, which I would strongly recommend for you to read in order to check and if necessary clean your boar bits as part of your regular once weekly life long health monitoring weigh-in and body check regime to catch any developing problem as early as possible before it becomes an expensive emergency.
Here are the guides that teach you how to learn what is normal and what not and what to look out for during your weekly check:
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Guinea pig body quirks - What is normal and what not?
Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths
Early Signs Of Illness

There is a whole chapter dedicated to health monitoring and regular grooming in our very useful New Owner's information guide collection, which you may find both very interesting and helpful as a resource and which you may want to bookmark. It is one of the best and complete preactical how-to resources around: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides