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Neutering?

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gothchick1515

[colorr]I want to gt my 9 month ol boar, Zubin nutr but iv nvr ha a Gpig nutr or vr oprat on so i nt no what to xpct, coul non tll m about thr xprncs so i hav an ia what to xpct x ;D
 
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Most guinea pigs dont do well being put under. Both my sows have had hysterectomies due to ovarian cysts. The first one did absolutely fine and recovered within 5 days even though one of her cyst was a tangerine size. The other one who had smaller cysts had to remain in the vets for 3 weeks. She ended up with infections and had temporary anorexia. Lost alot of weight and wasnt completely back to health until 2 months after the operation. I was very very lucky not to lose her. The vets didnt think she would survive. Personally I would only put a piggy under an operation again if it will save their life. If its just to neuter them to go in with sows I wouldnt risk it. Thats my own opinion but it was very scary and wouldnt want another piggy or owner to go through what i did and my piggy went through. but it is up to you.
 
Why do you want to get him neutered? If there is no reason then you shouldn't do it, it's very risky as Michele explained! Just to let you know, neutering does not change the temperment of a boar.
 
I also nearly lost a piggie becuse of anaesthetic complications. Their lungs are so tiny they can't cope, and they don't wake up very easily. Please think carefully!
But good luck with whatever you decide.
x
 
Neutering is only good for stopping a boar getting a sow pregnant. It does not change temperament (or reduce odor! - as if they smell anyway!) as it does in other species.

Some rescues do neuter boars - maybe get in contact with one of them for more advice. I know there is a high risk of post op abseces for months afterwards so if you do go ahead keep a close eye on him!
 
i no it dosent change there behaviour, i want him to have company hes so lonely and he is on the sofa with me practically all day i understand the risks I'm reli 50/50 on what to do i was goin 2 w8 till hes 1yr b4 i get him done so ive got till june I'm not sure the vet sed it routine, do u think he was sayin tht cos he wants my money? ive tried him with another boar and they just fought constantly :-\
 
[color]Som boars ar iffrnt with how thy act with ach othr. Usually an ault boar will gt on wll if introuc to a baby boar, howvr I o not rcommn gtting an ault boar for him as this woul mor than likly rsult in you sparating thm. Most of my boars ar by thmslvs bcaus thy ha fights with thir cag mats. I know its not rcommn for a boar to b by thmslf howvr all of min njoy bing alon as thy gt a lot of attntion.

I hav no ia about nutring as I hav nvr ha it on. I woul suggst that you o som rsarch on it bfor ciing what you want to o.

Prhaps you shoul gt a baby boar an try thm togthr. If thy o not lik bing togthr you coul hav thm living nxt to ach othr in sparat cags as thy tn to lov going ovr an looking at ach othr through th bars. That way thy won't b lonly! :)
 
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Thnx 4 the advise i have done tht excatly as u have said to during the summer and it was ok 4 a bit, i put Zubin (then 7 weeks) with Rudi (then 3) and they where ok until Zubin was sexually mature and they where always chattering and flying at each other. i have researched the operation but its all very clinical has neone on here had the Boar neutered 4 the reason of putting him with a fmale if they have id like to know how its all done and if putting them together went well? I want another Gpig because Rudi passed away and even though they fought constantly wen together Zubin looks lost and hasnt Squeaked since he realised rudi wasnt coming bak i even took him to the vets but he sed Zubin was healthy? x ;D
 
Hi

Both Boris and Bertie are neutered and both live with girlie pigs. However, the ops were done by the rescues I got them from so I'm not sure how they were after the ops or anything. If you do go ahead and decide to get him neutered you need to make sure you find a really good guinea pig vet. Neutering is quite a complicated operation in guinea pigs as everything needs to be sealed properly internally to ensure there are no complications. It is quite a different operation to that which is performed on dogs and cats. So you need to make sure your vet is really competent at performing the op on piggies. Luckily, I have a really good piggie vet up here in the North who was recommended to me by the lady who runs the British Association of Rodentology courses. Perhaps they could put you in touch with a good local vet who has performed the op many times. I know Amir at the Cambridge Cavy Trust is very experienced in carrying out neutering ops. It just depends on where you live.

Hope this helps a bit

Alex
 
HI, I do think it depends on how the piggies recover afterwards. Ihave very good piggy vets and both my piggies responsed differently.
 
I would say consider your options carefully before you decide. Is there another way he could have company?

I have sucessfully paired up lots of lonely adult boars now with no surgey involved by pairing them with other boars. You can do this in various ways- a 4 week old boar, careful adult to adult introductions if they are compatable.

Some boars can be happy living alone- usually provided they can see, hear and smell other guineas. Are there other piggys around or is he an only pig? What I am reading from your post is that you don't think your piggy IS happy. Its hard to know and often we transfer our human emotons to our guineas... but I know i have been able to tell when any of my piggys have been lonely or unhappy alone so I think our insticts are pretty ok. They are not active. They just sit there. They don't make much noise or interaction, no wheeking etc. And this is when I've stepped in and sorted out a friend. Even with a problem piggy who won't accept a friend you can do it by making a special split the cage with a mesh wall down the middle so they can talk and even touch but not bite.

If you have thought about all of that and have decided its not for Zubin then it might be worth thinking about nuetering... which is another way to give a boar company. But only if you have a realy good guinea pig vet who has operated on lots of piggys before or are willing to travel to one and monitor him closely post op, keeping him on towels etc. If you do opt to go ahread these links will be helpful to you: http://jackiesguineapiggies.com/neutering.html and http://www.treenspigs.com/care/focus/neutering/neutering.html. They are owners (Jackie and Treen's) experiances of nuetering. This link has technical info if that was what you were after http://www.cavyspirit.com/neutering.htm

I found all of this so hard to decide when I was first trying to pair up a lonely boar- take a look at these pages about the 'options' which basically go through all the ways you can do it... http://www.susieandpigs.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/optionsmenu.htm which will hopefully help you make up your mind.

Susie
Hope that helps! Good luck in what ever you decide
 
Thank you susie great advise, Zubin will not leave his Pigloo its a struggle to get him out at all, He was with Rudi for five months and in those months he popcorned all the time wheeked and was happy to be out of his cage, since Rudi died Zubin hasn't Wheeked or Make a noise once! and he just fights us to get him out he is just so sad he looks blank if that makes sense? he is alone (the only piggie i have) he sees the rabbits now and then but i understand its not good for rabbits and guineas to be together and my rabbits can be very visious and as there is three i think its too dangerous they play happily in the garden sometimes but still i dont want him to be put with Punkin, Flic and Bobbin too risky seeing as how ive spend £300 in vets after they had a fight (their seperated now) as for vets i am seriously considering ringing around our vet is ok but hes miss diagnosed alot of previous pets and although he neutered our bunnies perfectly and fixed them up after there fight the desision for them to be fixed was my sisters not mine and I'm a little bit more cautious than her so i may spend my day off college ringing vets untill i find one perfect for my piggie, As for pairing him up with another boar it took a long time for this to work for Him and rudi and any fights they had where started buy Zubin, I'm completely 50:50 as to what to do at the moment Thanks again for your advise! x
 
Ah I see what you are saying, if he has lost a cage mate he could well be finding it tough. Some piggys are fine others get depressed. Is he eating ok? Anyway re: finding a good vet I would get in contact with Vedra at the CCT (07721 026401) and ask for the details of your nearest good vet for guineas, even if you have to go a few miles for the op its worth it to know its going to be done right. And you already have those links to Treen and Jackie's sites which have good advice on aftercare. those are the two key things with nuetering- a good vet and good aftercare (monitoring, keeping on towls etc).
 
Depressed is definatly a way i would discribe him. Hes beginning to perk up he did what i'd call a mini wheek the other day but its because abbie (my sis) brought a pilliow that rudi loved in the room one that i hadnt found under my bed he was so excited as if he thought rudi had come back so i told abbie to take it away it would be like her best friend passing away and then me bringing in a lifesize model of her! i have rang my vets and the receptionist told me that Macki (Zubins vet) would ting me back when he had finished his surgery i want a vet thats experienced but Macki has been Zubis vet for nearly a year and Zubin isnt nervous around him so i hope he has the right experience x
 
have you thought about getting him a young boar if they dont get on then put them side by side in cand c runs but occasionally put them in a run together ( obvioulsy watch) but you never know he might get along with a young boar, I have lost a pig due to pining away when his brother and run mate died so would do everything I possibly could to cheer him up,
when Gingers brother Fred died there was no way I was going to lose Ginger same as tweety and sylvester, so I tried him with some of my other boys and he is now quite happily living with Bertie and dipstick, its 50/50 whether it worked but i took the chance and watched very carefully, that was over a year ago and I have never had any problems , obvioulsy I have to give the warning here to watch and wait and seperate at any sign of problems, but I would say a depressed guinea pig is not a nice thing to see, so good luck what ever you decide to do,
 
It took months for Zub n Rud to quit fightin and my dad is very anti animals so he wont let me get loads and if he didnt get on id stil feel he was lonely then id need to get him someone to live with so as like you i want him to be happy i know its more likely for him to be friends with a sow so thats what i am going to do and i've never had a female and it would be nice to have a girl but he did wheek today a full loud wheek so i think hes perking up!
 
For what it is worth, no surgery comes without risk.... I agree with those to state unless it is a matter of saving or improving his overall quality of life, I would not recommend same.
I would rather have a "depressed" cavy then one I don't have at all because of a bad decision...I would just get him another pet or put him out to mingle with the others seperated by a wire mesh so he can't get at them...You could also put dividers in the cages so he can "see but not touch".
I have raised cavies for over 15 years and I have never put them under any needless surgery... They don't handle it well and if it not necessary, why do it..... Something to think about.

Linda
 
I'm still 50:50 on my decision. I would put him in our divided run with our rabbits but their quiet aggressive and its not really a good idea these days for the two speicies to be together i have a appointment with my vet soon to discuss everything they mentioned it too me last time i was their thanks for your comments x
 
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