How Safe is Neutering?

[Cherish]

Well, I've had to seperate The Scientist from another cage mate. He's a lovely pig when it comes to being cuddled by people, but he turns horribly vicious when it comes to other pigs.
This is the third time this has happened with him; he starts off fine (just a lot of humping, head-butting and rumble strutting) then as time progresses, he tends to get more and more aggressive towards his cage mate, even if the other pig is completely submissive.
He was living with The Professor (who's a very submissive and relaxed pig), I usually just let my boys work their problems out amongst themselves, but the poor little guy was covered in bald patches and bites, and when it got to the stage where The Scientist wasn't letting him near either of the water bottles, I've decided enough is enough.
He just won't get on with other males.

So... it seems I have a choice now.
Either The Scientist lives in solitude for the rest of his life (which I'd really hate to do to a pig, it just seems wrong) or I get him fixed and put him with a lady pig, as he's much less likely to be so dominant and aggressive towards a female.

How safe is neutering? What's the mortality rate?
He's a big, strong, healthy, fat pigger, but I'd be devastated if I lost him.
Is it worth the risk?
Has anyone here neutered a pig? What were your experiences?

Any advice is appreciated on this one, I'm torn.

[suzilovespiggie]

I have a pig who cannot live with any other boars. I have tried many pairings and he is just mean. What I have done so he is not entirely alone, is I have 3 C&C cages that share sides. I have 7 boars. Three each are in one cage, the other three in a cage. Skunk's cage borders both on a side. That way he can put his nose in to smell, talk to the other pigs, he even puts his rear up to them some time. That way he has company but he cannot fight or bite the other pigs. This is the only way it has worked for Skunk. The cage is huge to house all of them but it has been worth it. Does this make any sense to you?
I have never spayed or nuetered any of my pigs so cannot offer any help there.

[Haley0489]

Have you read all the links GL offers?
Guinea Lynx :: Links!

and Cavy Spirits page?
http://www.cavyspirit.com/neutering.htm


I had a friend who recently neutered one of her boars. Sadly, he passed away the following evening. They think it was an underlying heart problem.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

I've neutered several pigs. It depends on your vet's skill and experience. If they are really good, the risks are lower. Post op abscesses are still common though.

[Cherish]

Suzilovespiggie- That's similar to how we're housing him at the moment, but he's just spending all day and all night leaning against the divider. He has a 2.5x5 cage all to himself, but he's hardly run around or enjoyed having the space to himself at all, he even drags his food to the cage wall... yet he still snaps at the other pigs and occasionally tries to bite at them through the cage, daft thing.

Haley- Thanks for the links! I've read them before, and I just read them again, and I'm still torn! There's pros, and there's cons.

Rabbitsncavylove- I'll have a call around, and have words with as many vets as possible and see what their experience/sucess rate is.

Obviously, best case scenario would be to somehow find a single female that's already spayed, but I've yet to find a single shelter that does it rutinely.

I suppose the question to ask, is if it's worth risking his life, for a better quality of life (not living alone) at the end of it.

[ArtisticRainey]

I got one of my boars neutered because he and one of the others were fighting. I found a female rescue pig to pair him with and decided to go through with the neuter. He was up and about within a day and hasn't had any side effects, healed up perfectly. Though I have heard stories of neuters going badly.

The only thing I will say is that what if he doesn't get on with any female pigs either? You'll have done a neuter and have another pig to cage separately. Then again, you won't know until it happens. It's a pity he isn't happy living beside the others.

[salana]

Jackie had to get fixed once his brother died and I didn't want to adopt another boar. There are two neuter procedures, the common scrotal neuter (they cut open the scrotum and the testicles pop right out) and the rare abdominal neuter (they cut in the lower abdomen and pull the testicles into the abdomen and then out through the incision). Basically the pros and cons seem to be as follows:

Scrotal:
Pro:
Slightly invasive
Does not cut into abdomen
Testicles are large and easy to extract
Easier to find a vet who will do

Con:
Moderate to high risk of abscesses because of location (incisions drag on floor, get filled with impacted poop)
Low to moderate risk of hernia (if inguinal ring is not sutured, intestines may spill into scrotum)

Abdominal:
Pro:
Incision is in slightly less filthy location and has a lower risk of abscess
Lower risk of herniation because inguinal fat pads are left intact

Con:
Invasive procedure
May be more expensive
Harder to find a vet trained in this new procedure


Jackie had an abdominal neuter, which I thought was perfect for him as he's the filthiest pig that ever lived, and this way he didn't get any infection or abscess whatsoever.

There is a small chance that his aggression could be caused by hormonal problems that neutering may help. Jackie became much less of a jerk once he was neutered. However, most boars experience no change in hormone levels or aggression.

[Cherish]

ArtisticRainey- That is something I've worried about, too. But of course, there's no way to test it out before neutering.

salana- I'd not heard/read about the abdominal procedure before! Thankyou.
That may be better for The Scientist, as he is really a filthy pig. He's very fat, so his body drags along the ground; he's a Rex, so stuff tends to get stuck in his fur; and he has no problems whatsoever with sitting i his own mess.
I suppose that to get a vet that would have experience with that procedure, they must be pretty experienced with guiea pigs i general, too, so they'd be more able to survey whether or not he'd be better with an abdominal neutering.

[salana]

I'm not sure if the procedure has made it across the pond to the UK. If you have a vet who is curious I can give you the contact info for the vet who neutered Jackie abdominally.

[weta!]

This is an interesting thread. I'm having much the same problems as Cherish - a boy who is clearly lonely (he's a grid gnawer) but has issues with other boys. I tried pairing Milo with Ralph - the most submissive pig ever, but after two days, and Ralph clearly in distress, I decided not to persevere. Ralph is now living quite happily with Bongo (who fell out with Milo earlier this year).

I'm now thinking about neutering Milo and getting him a girlfriend. They would still be sharing a grid wall with the two other boys. I would be interested to hear people's experiences with girls and intact boys nearby. I'd hate for Ralph and Bongo get upset with each because they're feeling randy.