Nicked Piggy's Scrotum During Haircut - Feeling Terrible

[piglette]

Today I was trimming my long-haired pigs ... for the first time ever, I nicked one of them, Theo. I got him at the back of the scrotum. The wound was about 1.5cm long, and quite shallow (no blood!), no testicle involvement (skin only) and he honestly didn't even seem to notice - but I had a minor breakdown.

Our GP vet recommended a castration - which made me panic even more ... but after a bit of discussion we decided on a wash-out, skin-glue and antibiotics + Metacam. It's now about 5 hours later and Theo's perfectly fine / normal, the wound is looking fine ... but I know the risks of infection and dehiscence...

I feel terrible, and am so anxious about whether I made the right decision not to castrate. Has anybody else ever nicked a pig?

 

[Deleted member 114675]

OMG - poor you ! Poor Theo !

I'm afraid accidents happen sometimes - and you did the right thing getting him checked by a vet.

Are you taking Theo back for a check up ?

 

[Wiebke]

Today I was trimming my long-haired pigs ... for the first time ever, I nicked one of them, Theo. I got him at the back of the scrotum. The wound was about 1.5cm long, and quite shallow (no blood!), no testicle involvement (skin only) and he honestly didn't even seem to notice - but I had a minor breakdown.

Our GP vet recommended a castration - which made me panic even more ... but after a bit of discussion we decided on a wash-out, skin-glue and antibiotics + Metacam. It's now about 5 hours later and Theo's perfectly fine / normal, the wound is looking fine ... but I know the risks of infection and dehiscence...

I feel terrible, and am so anxious about whether I made the right decision not to castrate. Has anybody else ever nicked a pig?

Unless your vet is very experienced in guinea pig neutering, you have made the right decision. Neutering is an operation that comes with its own risks, as well as potentially quite high costs.
If you ever need to think about neutering, I would recommend to contact one of the good guinea pig rescues in the Brisbane area to ask which vet they are using to have boars neutered, as that vet will be experienced and the potential risks are vastly minimised.
QLD Guinea Pig Refuge
Gold Coast Guinea Pig Rescue Inc
Australian Cavy Sanctuary Brisbane Shelter


As it is so shallow as to not cause any bleeding, it should hopefully not have caused any lasting problems.

 

[AbiS]

I'm imagining all of the male forum users crossing their legs right now!

 

[piglette]

Thanks, everybody The wound has opened a little overnight - but no worse than the normal castration wounds I've looked at online, and it's dry and clean. Theo's not bothered at all, absolutely fine - same can't be said for me

@PiggyOwner - thanks, checkups definitely.
@Wiebke - thanks so much, that was my feeling too so I'm glad it seems like a reasonable decision.
@AbiS - thanks for making me smile!