Neutering/Spaying I've decided to neuter my male, PLEASE help!

I have had two males neutered, one was in with two females, the original 3Piggles, all are gone now. I have a neutered male waiting a month to make sure his plumbing is clear. Then he will go in with Molly. I will keep looking for another young sow, so I have 3 piggles again.

My girls were cute and fun by themselves. When Zippy joined them, he opened up a whole new world to them. He loved to explore, run up and down ramps, and play all sorts of game they'd never played before. When he died in April last year, the girls were devasted. They were never the same without him.

Mort is about a year old, full of life, loves to do things, and talks a lot. Molly is a sweet, quiet little teddy about 18 months old. She played with Zippy's girls when she first arrived, but never got to play with Zippy. I can't wait for Mort to show her how to really have some fun.

I think it's natural for males and females to be together, and we know herd life is natural for them, so having a boar and sow together should be right, and more than one sow per boar works well, too.

I forgot to mention that I have two females that he WILL be moving in with after his procedure..

Then stand back and let them have fun. When Zip first joined the girls, Harlequin did her ninja pig thing all over him if he came anywhere near her, but Momma was always friendly. She was also the dominant pig, so he was respectful. He got over being a rumblestrutting fool quickly, and settled into leading them on adventures.

My guinea pig just got neutered a little over 2 weeks ago. He is going in with the girls next weekend. I am extremely excited!! I was crazy nervous. I stayed there 7 hours waiting. Everything went great. I would say the heavier he is the better. He was 1 week shy of 5 months and he weighed 989 grams. He has lost some weight, but is gaining it back. I clean his cage 3 times a day and give im fresh water everyday. He did amazing. He is healing up fantastic. I would advise you to check up on the medications BEFORE you give them to your piggy though. I was so nervous I started crying. He is back to normal now, eating like crazy, pooping a ton, and being very vocal. You can barely see the stitch now. I still have been cleaning his cage twice a day to be certain it's nice and clean for him though.

Unfortunately my experience was bad. He stopped breathing and wasn't able to be neutered. I got a friend for him.

I got three days of pain meds when Zippy was neutered, for him, not me, but the vet who neuterd Mort didn't use any. Zip seemed to take a bit longer to recover, and I think it was the pain meds. Back then I didn't know they could slow down a pig's system and make them lethargic and stop eating. Mort was more angry with me for puttinghim through all that than in any pain. I would be very careful about using any pain meds unless it's absolutely necessary.

I have heard of pigs developing infections and abcesses, which needed to be treated. Those pigs came out okay after the treatment, but gave their owners a scare.

Their breathing and heat rate just slow down under sedation, some faster than others, which is why sedation is only for short periods. Some coold own too quickly, and their hearts stop. The best a vet can do is check for a healthy heart and respiration before starting the operation, and watch the pig's vital signs closely.

I would insist on both pain meds and an antibiotic with probiotic. And keep the cage spotless. Use either towels or fleece so nothing sticks to the incisions.

Unfortunately, pain meds dope pigs too much, and many vets give too high a dosage. If the pig doesn't need painkillers, no reason to give them. Also no need for antibiotics if the pig doesn't have an infection. Again, antibiotics kill good bacteria that has to be replaced by probiotics, so why play with the balance unless the pig gets an infection. Neither of my boys got infections, so needed no meds.

Definitely keep the cage extra clean. I used white towels the first few days to make sure there was no bleeding. Their activity should also be restricted the first few days so they don't tear their stitches or cause extra bleeding.

I had a 2½ year old male neutered without any complications at all. He was groggy when we brought him home and walking funny from the anesthesia, I assume. He was fine the next day, walking and eating normally. Two days post neuter I would say that he was 100% and acting like nothing at all had happened. His incision healed perfectly. The hardest part was giving him the antibiotics.

He is now in with three females who tolerate him, but don't seem to like him all that much. He is definitely the low pig on the totem pole. He tries to romance them regularly but is very, very rarely successful it seems. They don't fight, but they do bicker at each other from time to time.

When I got Sebastian neutered it went very smoothly. Sebastian was about 2 years old. The vet that did it does lots of rabbits so I felt comfortable with him doing Seb's neuter.

After about four weeks post neuter I introduced him to the girls. It was a terrible experience and ended in Peggysu drawing blood on Sebastian. I tried introducing them a few weeks later but they just couldn't work it out. He now lives happily with an intact male cage mate. My boys get along better then the girls. Ultimately it depends on the pigs in question. Many members of this site have herds with a nuetered male with no problems at all. Good luck and I hope it works out really well.

My females and male are already dying to get to each other! During supervised floor time they do not fight, and my dominant female doesn't let him rumble strut anywhere near her or her little sister. He is certainly a gentleman, although when he is separated from them in his own cage he does get a little carried away. Hopefully the transition to living with them will go smoothly, I have a 2 by 5 that the girls live in now, and a 2 by 3 that is his. It is attached above their cage so when they can be integrated I can run a ramp up and they will have ample space to be alone if they want to.
My big question is how old and what weight would you recommend as a minimum for him? My vet says 4 months and 600 grams. He is currently 10.5 weeks and 600 grams. I DO NOT think he is ready. I would feel better about him being 4 months and maybe 800 grams. What do you guys think? I would just like your feed back before I take my vets word for it.

A little word of advice would be that you should not let them play together supervised or not. All it takes is a few seconds and bam you have a pregnant sow on your hands.

Cavyspirits home page has info on weight and age requirements for a neuter.

It depends upon the vet. My vet says 5 months.

3Piggles said:

Unfortunately, pain meds dope pigs too much, and many vets give too high a dosage. If the pig doesn't need painkillers, no reason to give them. Also no need for antibiotics if the pig doesn't have an infection. Again, antibiotics kill good bacteria that has to be replaced by probiotics, so why play with the balance unless the pig gets an infection. Neither of my boys got infections, so needed no meds.

Definitely keep the cage extra clean. I used white towels the first few days to make sure there was no bleeding. Their activity should also be restricted the first few days so they don't tear their stitches or cause extra bleeding.

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I found that there are two opposite views about using antibiotics after neutering. My vet felt very strongly against using them and had an excellent success rate to back it up so I agreed to go without them, although I had requested them. Rigatoni did well the first 2.5 weeks and then, overnight, there was a lump. I had been changing his fleece three times a day so his cage was really clean.The incisions were already healed up. I took him right in and he, sure enough, he had an abscess. She drained and flushed it, put him on Baytril with an probiotic. It was touch and go at first.... He's finally out of the woods now but, in hindsight, I'd never do a neutering without them. I still have to take him in for another recheck to make sure it's completely gone. I can't feel anything but I want to be sure. He did well with the pain meds after the neutering. He was eating right after he came home. I put him in with the girls once he was past the 4 week period and once I knew he'd recover to help him perk up a bit. It did the trick for him but really annoyed ( and is still annoying) the girls...

I was given pain medication for 5 days and an antibiotic for 14 days. I went and got my own probiotic since they didn't give me one. They also gave me critical care. I had to go back since the non senior vet gave me a bad medicine which is why I say look up the medicine before giving any to your piggy.

Wow, there seem to be as many indications that antibiotics should be used as there are that they aren't necessary. It does seem to be a reasonable preventative. Maybe the vets who don't give them think it's better not to make the pigs's system too used to antibiotics in case the pig really gets sick and needs them. Next time I'm at the vet, I'll try to remember to ask him why he didn't prescribe any. I have been lucky that neither of my boys got infections or abcesses.

I remember it took a while for the girls to totally accept Zippy, and he basically had to stop trying to romance them and just be one of the herd before that stopped. Mort and Molly have been separated by grids, so they know and like each other, but I'm sure he'll manage to annoy her quite a bit at the beginning. It does stop once he gets the point.

3Piggles said:

Wow, there seem to be as many indications that antibiotics should be used as there are that they aren't necessary. It does seem to be a reasonable preventative. Maybe the vets who don't give them think it's better not to make the pigs's system too used to antibiotics in case the pig really gets sick and needs them. Next time I'm at the vet, I'll try to remember to ask him why he didn't prescribe any. I have been lucky that neither of my boys got infections or abcesses.

I remember it took a while for the girls to totally accept Zippy, and he basically had to stop trying to romance them and just be one of the herd before that stopped. Mort and Molly have been separated by grids, so they know and like each other, but I'm sure he'll manage to annoy her quite a bit at the beginning. It does stop once he gets the point.

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My vet's reluctance to prescribe antibiotics after the surgery was due to the effect that antibiotics have on their digestive systems. She felt that a good appetite was important after the surgery. But, after he developed the abscess, he ended up needing them anyway and went through days where he didn't want to eat. I was hand feeding him and he developed bloat so we had to treat him for that, too. I know quite a bit about guinea pigs so I caught the abscess and the bloat quickly and knew what to do for each, but someone who doesn't have a lot of experience with guinea pigs might not have reacted as quickly. I was lucky because my vet only charged me for the medication, not office visits since she considered it all to be post op.

Pain meds for 2-5 days are almost a necessity. If you believe the vet is giving too high of a dosage, then you can check here or at gl for proper dosages. They need them as they've just been cut into and stitched up and that causes pain. I know I always need some pain relief no matter the type of surgery I have. Antibiotics after surgery are a good thing too as it helps to prevent infection. Of course most people want to give a probiotic too depending on the AB used.

I'm a big proponent of pain meds, If someone is going to cut and stitch my pig, you best believe he'll be given pain medication. Who am "I" to put an animal through an elective surgery, then deny pain medication because "I" fear overdosing / over sedating. Why even risk putting a pig through unnecessary pain when pain medication is available. It's for short term use, through the Post-op period. If a vet came to me and said they don't prescribe pain meds for what ever reason......I'd leave and find a new vet. Recovery time is usually lessened when pain management is involved.

As far as antibiotics go....debatable. If a pig is having surgery, prophylactic use of an antibiotic "I" would do if it were my animal. It depends on the different variables as to why the pig is having surgery and where the surgery is being performed on the pig.