Neutering/Spaying Neutering/Spaying

LC Kiko · Mar 10, 2013

Recently my boyfriend and I have been thinking about getting a second pig as a companion for Duff. Nate has his heart set on a female pig. Right now we have Duff, who is an inact boar and over 4 years old.

So my question is.... if we do get another pig and it is a female, would it be better to neuter Duff or spay the female? I am quite aware that spaying is a much more invasive surgery. However, younger animals recover much more quickly than those that have had all their parts for their entire lives - and would require less pain medication and etc.

Also, how early can you spay a female pig? Is there a weight restriction for anesthesia? When I worked in various animal clinics we never saw any exotics, only cats and dogs.

bichonmom · Mar 10, 2013

piggies dont take well with a spay...if you must get one fixed do the boar...they could be next to each other in cages and not together..I have two boars next to each other in seperate cages....they love visiting...but my texel likes his space but loves the visits...just an idea...

Mastershroom · Mar 10, 2013

I've read that neutering a boar is preferable to spaying a sow, but I have no idea how age plays into that. Is there any particular reason you want a female companion instead of another male? Unlike a lot of other rodents, male guinea pigs usually get along okay as long as there aren't any females to compete over.

LC Kiko · Mar 11, 2013

Mastershroom said:
I've read that neutering a boar is preferable to spaying a sow, but I have no idea how age plays into that. Is there any particular reason you want a female companion instead of another male? Unlike a lot of other rodents, male guinea pigs usually get along okay as long as there aren't any females to compete over.

Its more for a learning experience for myself. I personally want to see how a female would be in comparison as far as personalities, behavior, etc. I'm a geek and want to learn more about pigs

Mastershroom · Mar 11, 2013

LC Kiko said:
Its more for a learning experience for myself. I personally want to see how a female would be in comparison as far as personalities, behavior, etc. I'm a geek and want to learn more about pigs

Nice

Good choice; all my lady pigs are really friendly.

Hhbean · Mar 11, 2013

We recently had Sheldon neutered and he is over 5 1/2 years old(might be 6 1/2). He didn't do well on his antibodict so he was switched to another type and is now happily living with the ladies(Butter and Diamond). None of our 4 boys really enjoyed living together and they had a massive cage. They are all neutered now and living with their respective female/s.

LC Kiko · Mar 11, 2013

Hhbean said:
We recently had Sheldon neutered and he is over 5 1/2 years old(might be 6 1/2). He didn't do well on his antibodict so he was switched to another type and is now happily living with the ladies(Butter and Diamond). None of our 4 boys really enjoyed living together and they had a massive cage. They are all neutered now and living with their respective female/s.

Did you notice any changes with your boar? After recovering did he not seem like himself? I'm worried about him losing his personality.

Mastershroom · Mar 11, 2013

LC Kiko said:
Did you notice any changes with your boar? After recovering did he not seem like himself? I'm worried about him losing his personality.

From what I've read, guinea pigs do not change behavior or personality much after neutering.

spudsthepiget · Mar 11, 2013

Both of my boars are neutered. Spuds was neutered at 3 years old and even though the vet had some trouble on the operating table, he recovered very well. I think he's a lot more sassy now afterwards, but it didn't change him much. I think the same with Guinness; he's really no different now than he was before, although he is a bit more mellow.

I know spaying females is a more risky than having a male neutered. Guinness' surgery probably took an hour and he was done with no complications. Spuds took a little longer, but the vet said she couldn't find them and had open longer than she wanted. He went through an antibiotics course and there weren't anymore complications after that.

RubyRain · Mar 11, 2013

We neuter most of the males that come into our rescue unless they are a bonded pr already. It has not changed their personalities or behavior in any significant way.

Neutering is safer (though still always a risk) than spaying a female as mentioned above and you may have a hard time even finding a cavy savvy vet that would spay-they don't like to do it because of how invasive it is.

Good luck

Hhbean · Mar 11, 2013

I didn't notice any changes until he moved in with the ladies, then he became a very happy piggy! I have noticed that all my boys perineal sacs tend to be smaller after neutering and not as dirty. Well Rogers is still the worst but he had the worst before also!

LC Kiko · Mar 14, 2013

Thanks all!

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