karynne
Active Member
Cavy Slave
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2010
- Messages
- 38
So, basically I'm wondering why everyone appears to be opposed to spaying as a preventative health measure...I realize that every surgery comes with inherent risks, especially when small animals are thrown into the mix, but I personally feel like the benefits outweigh the risks. So here's a little bit of background...
We adopted Penelope from the Humane Society, where I volunteer, about a month ago. She is a year and a half old, and just a few grams shy of two pounds. Her last vet visit was three weeks ago, as she was being treated for an ear infection that has since cleared up. She has a cage mate named Javier, a cute little black and white neutered male that we adopted from a rescue as a companion for her. They share a large (21 square feet!) C&C cage in our living room, and get lots of floor time, fresh veggies and love. We have them on what we consider a good diet, Oxbow Cavy Pellets, and a daily variety of fresh foods that have high levels of Vitamin C. Neither of them have shown any symptoms of illness (other than Penelope's ear infection), and when our vet examined Penelope she said that, other than her ears, she was in perfect health.
As a volunteer with the Humane Society (I work mainly with the small animals) I naturally hear a lot of people's pet stories. Most of those pet stories are about a now deceased animal, how the animal passed away, how much they miss them, etc. And a LOT of people have told me heartbreaking accounts of their pets battling uterine tumors, cancer, etc. My husband and I lost our beloved hamster (named Mouse) last year to a uterine tumor that we only discovered when she started bleeding vaginally. We rushed her to the vet hospital, where they did an ultrasound and found the tumor. At that point there was nothing we could do for her other than put her out of her misery, as she was obviously in pain, and had been for quite some time. After a very long tearful goodbye in the exam room (the one and only time I have seen my husband cry), the vet took her into the back and ended her suffering. We were both depressed for months, and we still have her ashes in our living room. Needless to say, we were very upset over the loss.
As well, as our guinea pigs, we also have two house rabbits. A male and female, both spayed and neutered. I know spaying/neutering rabbits didn't used to be common practice either, until the House Rabbit Society started spreading awareness about the benefits of doing so, and vets started taking an interest in exotic/pocket pet medicine. So why is it different for guinea pigs? The statistic for rabbits (according to the HRS) is that 80% of unspayed females will develop uterine cancer by their fourth birthday. Those are pretty scary odds, and it is the reason we opted to have Bettie spayed even though pregnancy wasn't a concern (Escobar was already neutered).
So to sum it up here are my questions...
Has anyone opted to have their guinea pig spayed? If so what was your experience?
What are the SPECIFIC reasons for not spaying? Please don't just say "because it's risky".
Does anyone know of any reproductive cancer statistics for guinea pigs? They can't be that far off from rabbits can they?
I guess I should also mention that the spay would be done by Dr. Sperlich at Brown's Point Vet Clinic. She is a very knowledgeable cavy vet that is used by both the Tacoma Humane Society and Foggy Creek Cavy Rescue to treat their piggies. We already went through all the interview questions with her and everything checked out.
We adopted Penelope from the Humane Society, where I volunteer, about a month ago. She is a year and a half old, and just a few grams shy of two pounds. Her last vet visit was three weeks ago, as she was being treated for an ear infection that has since cleared up. She has a cage mate named Javier, a cute little black and white neutered male that we adopted from a rescue as a companion for her. They share a large (21 square feet!) C&C cage in our living room, and get lots of floor time, fresh veggies and love. We have them on what we consider a good diet, Oxbow Cavy Pellets, and a daily variety of fresh foods that have high levels of Vitamin C. Neither of them have shown any symptoms of illness (other than Penelope's ear infection), and when our vet examined Penelope she said that, other than her ears, she was in perfect health.
As a volunteer with the Humane Society (I work mainly with the small animals) I naturally hear a lot of people's pet stories. Most of those pet stories are about a now deceased animal, how the animal passed away, how much they miss them, etc. And a LOT of people have told me heartbreaking accounts of their pets battling uterine tumors, cancer, etc. My husband and I lost our beloved hamster (named Mouse) last year to a uterine tumor that we only discovered when she started bleeding vaginally. We rushed her to the vet hospital, where they did an ultrasound and found the tumor. At that point there was nothing we could do for her other than put her out of her misery, as she was obviously in pain, and had been for quite some time. After a very long tearful goodbye in the exam room (the one and only time I have seen my husband cry), the vet took her into the back and ended her suffering. We were both depressed for months, and we still have her ashes in our living room. Needless to say, we were very upset over the loss.
As well, as our guinea pigs, we also have two house rabbits. A male and female, both spayed and neutered. I know spaying/neutering rabbits didn't used to be common practice either, until the House Rabbit Society started spreading awareness about the benefits of doing so, and vets started taking an interest in exotic/pocket pet medicine. So why is it different for guinea pigs? The statistic for rabbits (according to the HRS) is that 80% of unspayed females will develop uterine cancer by their fourth birthday. Those are pretty scary odds, and it is the reason we opted to have Bettie spayed even though pregnancy wasn't a concern (Escobar was already neutered).
So to sum it up here are my questions...
Has anyone opted to have their guinea pig spayed? If so what was your experience?
What are the SPECIFIC reasons for not spaying? Please don't just say "because it's risky".
Does anyone know of any reproductive cancer statistics for guinea pigs? They can't be that far off from rabbits can they?
I guess I should also mention that the spay would be done by Dr. Sperlich at Brown's Point Vet Clinic. She is a very knowledgeable cavy vet that is used by both the Tacoma Humane Society and Foggy Creek Cavy Rescue to treat their piggies. We already went through all the interview questions with her and everything checked out.
