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Vet What to look for in a vet.

Ridgefire

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I need to find a vet that can neuter my boar. I don't have any local exotic pet vets in the area. The closest one that specializes in small animals is 150+ miles away. I have 3 local veterinary offices in this town. They all do dogs, cats and farm animals. 1 does list on their website they do "some" exotics. The other 2 don't mention anything.

I guess what should I ask when calling about having a boar fixed? I know if I call and just say can you neuter a boar guinea pig, their answer will be yes. But whether or not that is a correct answer I don't know.
 

LitaRutherford

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I would not trust a vet to do a piggy neuter unless they've done a few at least. However guinea lynx does say that rabbit neuters are similar so you could also ask if they have ever done rabbits. There is a page on guinea lynx with questions and things to ask any vet before a neuter. If i wasn't on my phone i'd link it, sorry. But it has everything from how long they should fast (the morning of the neuter NOT the night before like a dog or cat would) to what anesisia is ok for use on them.

If there is any way for you to get to an experienced guinea pig vet, even if it's far off, i'd trust them more, though. But i don't know your situation so i don't know what your capable of.
 

Ridgefire

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I'm sorry "guinea lynx"? What is that?

I also need to turn off notifications my phone keeps going off. lol
 

HannibalLecter

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Unless you can find an experienced cavy savvy vet who neuters pigs on a regular basis, I really wouldn't risk it. Why do you want to neuter him?
Cavies are extremely fragile & surgeries/anesthesia is risky even with an experienced vet. An inexperienced vet may not use safe medication/anesthesia, be light enough on the anesthesia or able to preform a successful neuter on such a small animal, which can be deadly. If you suspect that they would lie to you, I see no reason to put his life in their hands.

Use the Guinea lynx question list when calling, make sure you get to speak to the actual vets.
https://www.guinealynx.info/vet.html
https://www.guinealynx.info/surgery.html

You need to ask how many neuters the vet has done, and if they were successful. As well as ask questions about medication & aftercare.
If you decide to neuter him, you need to make sure the vet prescribes safe pain medication post surgery.

Post op care:
https://www.guinealynx.info/postop.html
 

Ridgefire

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Well if we want to keep the boar he needs to be fixed, we have females and don't want babies, nor do I want to make the poor boy live a life by himself.
 

Ridgefire

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if I could thank you more than once for those links I would. Awesome information there
 

HannibalLecter

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Oh I hope you find a good solution for the little guy. Maybe a local member can help you.

If you have any guinea pig shelters or rescues near you, you can always call & ask if they can recommend someone.
Guinea Lynx also has a small vet list with a few member recommended vets, maybe you have one closer than you think:
(broken link removed)
 

Ridgefire

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I checked and according to the lynx the closest vet is even farther than I found doing my own research. I plan on contacting my local vets and do some questioning.
 

Roo99

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If you cannot find a good vet to perform the neutering surgery, would you consider adopting another male? I know that its a difficult situation to be in. Did you adopt your pig? If so, you can see what vet that the rescue uses.

Since all that your location says is Northern Michigan, I got on Petfinder.com and found some small animal/piggy rescues in Michigan. I don't know much about the geography of Michigan, so I'm not sure if these are near you (if you could specify that would be helpful!), but here is what I found! Be aware that these are not all guinea pig rescues, but I'm guessing that it's possible that the vets that treat for these rescues are exotics experts.

(broken link removed) in Davisburg
Humane Society of West Michigan in Grand Rapids
Eaton County Humane Society in Olivet
Capital Area Humane Society in Lansing
Pets on Parade Inc. Exotic Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Sanctuary. 501(C)3 in Saginaw
(broken link removed) in Bay City
West Michigan Critter Haven in Jenison
https://www.petfinder.com/shelters/MI68.html in Rochester Hills
Rabbit & Small Animal Rescue in Westland
(broken link removed) in Muskegon
Tiny Paws Rescue & Sanctuary in Warren
Wonderland Rabbit Rescue | Petfinder.com in Melvindale
(broken link removed) in St. Clair Shores

I hope that this helps! Let us know if you find anything.
 

RodentCuddles

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Could you have two cages, are any of the babies males? If so, they could live with your guy. Or are all the babies females?
 

Ridgefire

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Gahhh... I called the one vet office, now granted the person is the receptionist but still. I started off by asking if the vets do exotics. She asked what kind of exotic. I told her guinea pig. She responded, "Oh yeah sure no problem." I was like ok great can the vet neuter a boar? She put me on hold for a minute and came back and asked if I was talking about 2 different animals. I said, No a male guinea pig is a boar and female is a sow just like in pigs. She was oh wow never knew that. So moving on to the next office....lol
 
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