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Spaying recovery Question

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IHorseCarzzy5

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I have my two female pigs living in one cage. I am going to spay one and I am wondering if the two pigs need to be in different cages for a while. They have lived together for more than 3 years so they kinda rough-house with each other.
 
Hi :)
They probably will need to be kept apart to let her heal properly but I've never had one spayed.
Why are you spaying her? Just wondering as it's a very risky procedure and isn't usually advised unless for medical purposes.
I'm sure someone with more experience will be along soon :)
Sophie xx
 
The vet recommended that it be done to prevent another tumor. (she is also having a breast tumor removed)
 
Does she have a tumour on/in her womb then? Spaying is a big op for a pig...

regarding separating I have mixed views on this as I have done both in the past.

I would say that it depends on the other pig. if you think she is going to be a bit rough and/or keep bothering the recovering pig then yes I would separate. Please try and keep them side by side though so that they can still each other.
After you will have to re-introduce them properly and I am sorry to say that i have experienced difficulties with trying to put a separated pair back together - it did work out in the end but I pretty much had to start again and treat it as complete new intros.

One of my sows just had a mammary tumour removed last week and this time I decided not to separate and it has gone very well. However a spay is a much bigger op than a lump removal and I would imagine that the recovery time will be longer.
 
I had one of my sows spayed a few weeks ago. She has lived with her cage mate for 3 years also and because they tended to get extremely grumpy with one another I kept Baby separate to recover (scar was about 1.5 inches with stitches).

I still hold by my decision to separate but I've not been able to put her back since because they started to fight. In hindsight I would have had her recouperating next to her cage mate but this wasn't possible a few weeks ago. If your pigs have a good relationship I don't think it will be a problem (I've done this in the past and not had issues) I think it really depends on your pigs.

After the spay they are very delicate for at least 10 days and she was on antibiotics/metacam etc. Also bear in mind that just like us she will likely be grumpy and may not be happy with the same playful behaviour she would normally.

Fingers crossed her op goes ok. My girl had ovarian cysts removed and whilst I appreciate how invasive the surgery can be Baby has a new lease of life since the op.

Good Luck
 
I would keep them separated for a few days at least, until the pig is back to her normal self. She will be sore and cranky for a few days and not up to running around or anything. I'd keep her somewhere quiet and dark, in a small cage or box if you can, and keep her warm and dry. You could use a towel as bedding (just make sure it doesn't get too damp), because other bedding might stick in her wound (shavings, hay, etc. might) and if you use a white towel then it would show up any blood or anything that might come out of the wound.


Spaying an animal when young greatly reduces the likelyhood of getting mammary tumours, but the older they get, the less it reduces it, because they've had the hormones in their system for that time.

My vet was removing a mammary tumour from an old dog last year and she decided not to spay her, as it would be a big operation, and the research that she did said that it very likely wouldn't help anyway. But that was a 13 year old dog, and your guinea pig is only kinda middle aged (she's about 3 right?), so it probably will help in your guinea pig I guess. And there are different opinions on how much spaying helps, so hard to know what to believe.

Just warning you that spaying is a lot more risky than removing the tumour. Make sure your vet is very experienced with guinea pigs and doing surgery from them. Or if you have any doubts then get a second opinion, there is a list on here of good guinea pig vets I think.

I wish her luck and hope it goes well and her tumour doesn't come back.
 
I have to say i have never heard of spaying for mammary tumours.
Ovarian cysts yes but not mammary tumours... I assumed that the OP's piggy had some other issue relating to their internal bits...

I would be very interested to know if it does indeed reduce the risk of further mammary tumours in piggies. I can see that it would remove the risk of ovarian cysts obviously...

I have had 2 pigs with mammary tumours and my vet has never mentioned spaying which is why I am curious. Both have had the lump and mammary glands removed (as well as their nipple) and have recovered successfully.

whatever you decide, I wish your pig a speedy recovery

x
 
IHorseCarzzy5 said:
She is four. (got her when she was one). She has a smallish breast tumor.
Thanks for your help
Click to expand...

Sorry me again....

Obviously it's entirely up to you and please do not take this the wrong way but personally I would not spay for a mammary tumour alone, especially age 4.

Spaying is a big op for any pig and I am not sure it's going to serve any purpose here.

Obviously its completely your choice though

x
 
Laure said:
I have to say i have never heard of spaying for mammary tumours.
Ovarian cysts yes but not mammary tumours... I assumed that the OP's piggy had some other issue relating to their internal bits...

I would be very interested to know if it does indeed reduce the risk of further mammary tumours in piggies. I can see that it would remove the risk of ovarian cysts obviously...

I have had 2 pigs with mammary tumours and my vet has never mentioned spaying which is why I am curious. Both have had the lump and mammary glands removed (as well as their nipple) and have recovered successfully.

whatever you decide, I wish your pig a speedy recovery

x
Click to expand...

Dogs are usually spayed if they get mammary tumours, and it does reduce the risk, but the older they are the less it reduces it, and after a certain age, it doesn't really reduce the risk at all. That's what my vet said anyway. Because mammary tumours are caused by hormones.

I guess it's not usually done for guinea pigs because it's so risky for them. And also guinea pigs only have two mammary glands, so it's a lot less likely to come back. Dogs have so many mammary glands. The dog I saw in the vet kept getting tumours on the right hand side glands. I wonder with guinea pigs, if you just removed both mammary glands, wouldn't that be easier than spaying . . . I dunno.

Personally I would just get a second or even third opinion about spaying.
 
CiaraPatricia said:
Dogs are usually spayed if they get mammary tumours, and it does reduce the risk, but the older they are the less it reduces it, and after a certain age, it doesn't really reduce the risk at all. That's what my vet said anyway. Because mammary tumours are caused by hormones.

I guess it's not usually done for guinea pigs because it's so risky for them. And also guinea pigs only have two mammary glands, so it's a lot less likely to come back. Dogs have so many mammary glands. The dog I saw in the vet kept getting tumours on the right hand side glands. I wonder with guinea pigs, if you just removed both mammary glands, wouldn't that be easier than spaying . . . I dunno.

Personally I would just get a second or even third opinion about spaying.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that explanation :). I can see that makes sense for dogs like you say though not sure about pigs...

I wonder what the odds if it coming back are as it was never recommend to me to have both mammary tumours removed. Each time they only removed the problem one.

Agree with you about getting further opinions on this.

x
 
Here are tips for post op care:
http://www.guinealynx.info/postop.html

I have a lost a four year old sow last year in a spaying operation due to quickly growing, very large ovarian cysts. I wish you and your girl all the best if you go through with the op.

You may find that some older girls won't go back together after an op even if they have been kpet next to each other with interaction through the bars. Make sure that you bathe your girls before re-intros on neutral ground. You have obviously got to wait until the wound has healed well enough.
 
Laure said:
Thanks for that explanation :). I can see that makes sense for dogs like you say though not sure about pigs...

I wonder what the odds if it coming back are as it was never recommend to me to have both mammary tumours removed. Each time they only removed the problem one.

Agree with you about getting further opinions on this.

x
Click to expand...

I don't really know, I was just wondering if they could remove both . . . I don't know much about it but with the dog I saw it kept coming back on the same side but different glands. But guinea pigs only have one gland on each side so maybe it isn't very common that it comes back? Maybe not as common as with dogs.

When that dog was at the vet's, I asked the vet would it help to just remove all the mammary glands but she said that was way too big an operation for a dog since they have so many of them. I guess they wouldn't do it as a precaution for a guinea pig so, only if they got a tumour there.
 
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Both of my old girls were spayed at about 4 yrs, 2 completely different reasons. They were sisters so I didn't seperate them after the op and they were absolutly fine with each other. They were bedded on shavings then a thick layer of paper bedding with a small amount of hay. They both recovered remarkably quickly after the op. Lily went on to live another year although Sherbet had to be put to sleep after about 6 weeks (cancer). It was a difficult choice for me to make because it is such a big op.
 
Make sure you get your vets to take an xray of her chest before the op. Mammory tumours have a tendancy to spread to the chest and metatastesise, so its important for you to know this before considering the op really. Its really hard to say to you but if it has spread to the chest then i wouldnt consider spaying her as it will have already spread. Sorry, I'm being all gloom and doom today. I just want to be realistic if you want the best for her.

Good luck with it all, and make sure you let us know how shes getting on.

x.
 
Wiebke said:
Here are tips for post op care:
http://www.guinealynx.info/postop.html

I have a lost a four year old sow last year in a spaying operation due to quickly growing, very large ovarian cysts. I wish you and your girl all the best if you go through with the op.

You may find that some older girls won't go back together after an op even if they have been kpet next to each other with interaction through the bars. Make sure that you bathe your girls before re-intros on neutral ground. You have obviously got to wait until the wound has healed well enough.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this, very useful as I am also facing a spay soon (not me personally!)
 
These two pigs being my first all I know is she is having her back teeth filed down, breast tumor removed, and being spayed.
 
Personally I think that is a huge amount for a guinea pig to go through. The spay is very, very invasive and I lost a sow after a spay (she had a uterine tumour) - I regret putting her through it as the days after surgery were not fun and in hindsight I wish she'd lived her last weeks in comfort as the tumour was causing her no pain whereas the spay recovery was grim, even with painkillers.

I'm sorry that sounds doom and gloom as well but I agree with what Abi_nurse said - if the mammary tumour is the only problem then that is what they should be removing. It's just not as simple as a dog or cat spay.

Does she have a problem with her teeth that she is getting them filed? It's hard to get them to eat after a serious op let alone when recovering from dental work as well. It just all seems so much for a very small body to cope with.
 
Update on patches

It been about 1.5 weeks since being spayed and she is a crazy ball of fuzz. She is going back with her cagebuddy later today.
 
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