messy boar behinds

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Lilly

Lilly

Adult Guinea Pig
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My Hazelnut has a completely hairless behind so it is very easy to spot anything unusual going on there. Twice now I've had to pull things out of there that don't belong there but have gotten stuck in.

Little Peanut Butter has a butt mullet so it is not so easy seeing down there and he is a very squirmy piggy if I poke around there.

Yesterday, I got home just in time to give them their midday veg and was sat at the computer when I heard a type of squealing I had never heard before. I looked over, the vegies had been eaten, and PB squealed 3 more times each time raising his behind high up. But there was no urine or poop underneath him. Mad panic! UTI? Constipation? Kidney stones? Bladder stones? Immediate call to the vet but she couldn't see him for another 2 hours.

So PB was sat on my lap on a white fleece while waiting to go to the vet. He proceeded to wee and poop as normal several times and behaved as he usually did. I kept trying to look at his behind each time he did something. It looked OK except at one point I saw a thin white long thingy poking out, which I tried to get a hold of but it disappeared. As PB is so squirmy I couldn't tell if I had got it and lost it on the white fleece or it had hidden back in his butt.

Well the vet took his temperature and that was fine. She then palpitated him all over and no pain or lumps. She then had a good look at his behind while I restrained him at the front. When she pulled back the folds of his anus there was the white thingy I had seen. When she got the anus opened up even further what a mess! And stinky! Full of stuck hair, dried pee and the white bits were off the white fleece he is normally sat on at lap time. She cleaned him out and told me to keep an eye on him in case that wasn't the reason for his earlier behaviour. His grease gland isn't even active yet but regular butt baths are obviously in his near future. And I am going to have to get a family member to restrain him so I can trim that butt mullet.

PB is my dental piggy and now this. He is 10 months old and seems to be at the vets every month. Hazelnut at 1 year and 7 months has never had to go to a vet.

So, do other boars get things stuck in their behinds? Do sows also, or is this a boy thing?
 
From your description I would say that your boy had produced a sperm rod, males excrete sperm in a packet that looks like a white worm if it has hardened on it's way out. Not to be confused with boar glue which is a different secretion and dries in a hard glob. Sperm packets can block the urethra and prevent the pig from peeing normally - this can be very uncomfortable and cause the squeaky wee noise you heard (often associated with UTIs).

Most pigs will pull it out with their teeth (and eat it) while fiddling about down there when they are having a problem peeing - occasionally it will wedge and cause a real problem. I imagine he sorted the problem himself and that's why he could pee again normally when you had him out on your lap.

The substance the vet found in his anal sac is perfectly normal - thick, creamy and very stinky. Other bits and pieces can be found - hay, shavings, food even, as boys do tend to turn it inside out and wipe it on the floor to scent mark, especially when they are feeling rude.

The sac only needs dealing with if he becomes impacted or he over produces the secretions (a fungal culture would be wise if he does). A check to remove debris is fine, though too much cleaning out isn't needed as it's important that the natural balance is maintained - it's where boys store the poos they eat so the gut flora is kept at a correct level.

HTH

Suzy x
 
AmazingGuineas said:
Oh no! That must of been very shocking for you.
Click to expand...

Oh, it was! When the vet pulled his anal sac apart and I saw & smelt all the gunk I thought he had something life-threateningly wrong with his behind.

I was just so struck with worry I hadn't noticed what the vet was reaching for and as she proceeded to wipe him with something I asked her what she was wiping him with. A tissue she said. But it's wet with what I asked. Water she replied. She must have thought me a real prat!
 
Suzygpr said:
From your description I would say that your boy had produced a sperm rod, males excrete sperm in a packet that looks like a white worm if it has hardened on it's way out. Not to be confused with boar glue which is a different secretion and dries in a hard glob. Sperm packets can block the urethra and prevent the pig from peeing normally - this can be very uncomfortable and cause the squeaky wee noise you heard (often associated with UTIs).

Most pigs will pull it out with their teeth (and eat it) while fiddling about down there when they are having a problem peeing - occasionally it will wedge and cause a real problem. I imagine he sorted the problem himself and that's why he could pee again normally when you had him out on your lap.

The substance the vet found in his anal sac is perfectly normal - thick, creamy and very stinky. Other bits and pieces can be found - hay, shavings, food even, as boys do tend to turn it inside out and wipe it on the floor to scent mark, especially when they are feeling rude.

The sac only needs dealing with if he becomes impacted or he over produces the secretions (a fungal culture would be wise if he does). A check to remove debris is fine, though too much cleaning out isn't needed as it's important that the natural balance is maintained - it's where boys store the poos they eat so the gut flora is kept at a correct level.

HTH

Suzy x
Click to expand...

Thanks ever so much Suzy. That is really great information. The white thingy I saw did look like a worm! I have already had a nasty exprience with boar glue so knew what that looks like. Boy piggies!
 
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