Genitals Boar penis cleaning issues

Comely Guineas · Jun 16, 2016

Sorry if this is a bit of a icky topic.

My 5 year old boar has had some penis cleanliness issues in the past. It's had some smegma/boar glue build up and needed to go to the vet to get cleaned up because I noticed him being in pain when I touched his 'bulge' from the outside, and it was swollen. Keep in mind he has a 'cauliflower' penis where the foreskin flowers up and is much bigger than usual. So lately, I've noticed his foreskin at the tip has hardened and swollen, when I touch it it's hard and feels like a callous. He can still urinate fine and without pain. I'm just wondering if this sounds like an issue or it's something I don't need to worry about. It's just like he's been rubbing it on the fleece which has irritated it. Or like his penis needs to be cleaned.

He also has a bad problem with calcium deposits in his urine, the spots are numerous. No pain or anything, and he has a very good low-calcium diet but it has not changed anything. Anyway, maybe there is a calcium build up in his foreskin/penis? Either way, I can NOT extract it for the love of me. I've tried so many times, but it just won't come out. (Which is why I had to get the vet to clean it before) Plus, there is no real gap where it comes out, as his foreskin tip is really big and now hardened, I'm scared to hurt him.

Sorry if this makes absolutely zero sense, I can take a photo if needed

bpatters · Jun 17, 2016

See https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/85830-Awesome-video-on-how-to-clean-the-Anal-Sac. You should be checking regularly and cleaning as necessary. Get the vet to show you how to extrude the penis, because it needs to be checked way more frequently than you can afford to have the vet do it. Unless you're sitting on a lot of money somewhere, of course!

What exactly is in his low-calcium diet? What kind of hay? Which pellets, and how many? Which veggies and how many of each?

CanadianComforts · Jun 17, 2016

Hi, I'm the one who made the cleaning video for anal sack care, so I thought I'd see if I can assist you at all.

I second @bpatters on doing the cleaning yourself, it isn't hard to do and cheaper than a vet.

I've found that some boars are worse than others and you might be right but it could be as simple as too much build up cauing the irritation, which is a good thing and bad thing. Its good because its easy to care for with monthly (or weekly depending on how bad it is). Its bad because you might have to do it for the rest of his life.

I'd be more inclined to say do it yourself but Id like to see a photo (if possible) because if its too inflamed I'd urge to see a vet. If its slightly irritated, try cleaning it yourself first.

I'd also like to see what his low calcium diet is like too.

Comely Guineas · Jun 17, 2016

Sorry but I didn't say anything about his anal sac in the post. Everything I wrote was about his penis. His penis is very hard to extrude because of the foreskin, it's huge and hardened and basically blocked the opening for the penis to come out. I do not want to hurt him by trying to force it out, when it's basically sealed in by his foreskin. I will get some photos up soon.

His low calcium diet is everything that bpatters and others recommend on this site. Orchard grass hay, Cavy Cuisine Adult pellets, he gets capsicum, green leaf lettuce, tomato, cucumber, celery, carrot, corn husks etc. Basically I only feed him very low calcium veggies. I never feed him spinach or anything with a lot of calcium. He has been having these calcium issues for years now, and I have been looking for a solution for so long, but nothing has worked.

Comely Guineas · Jun 17, 2016

He also gets 'penis spikes' not sure the official term, but you can look it up online and see it's normal. It's dried boar glue. He has one in these photos, maybe you can see it. Should I pull it out or what?

CanadianComforts · Jun 17, 2016

Doesn't looked inflamed, red wise. I'd take a go at it yourself if your feeling confident.

The extra skin around it is normal, some have lots some don't. Here is some quick references to GuineaLynx with pigs with that issue that you can read:
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=69110
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=64524 <---- This one is by far the most in depth one of all the stuff I know and can find and would be a great place to start reading.

Comely Guineas · Jun 17, 2016

Thank you soo much CanadianComforts. Those links were so helpful to me. The photos look exactly like my pigs does, and I'm glad to see that it's perfectly normal. I will try again to extrude it so I can give it a clean.

CanadianComforts · Jun 17, 2016

No problem. I actually saw that unfold so I luckily knew about it already.

bpatters · Jun 17, 2016

Actually, you might want to take him off pellets altogether. And celery is fairly high in calcium.

Comely Guineas · Jun 17, 2016

Celery is given occasionally. Do you really think if I stopped giving him celery it would make a huge difference? He would magically stop having issues? I don't think so. I've tried for years and he hasn't improved with the spots. I'll think about the pellets.

bpatters · Jun 18, 2016

Taking away celery won't have as much effect as taking away pellets. But he may just be one of those pigs who's going to excrete calcium no matter what.

CanadianComforts · Jun 19, 2016

Corn husks have calcium in them as well. I would stop the pellets as well.

Here is a GREAT list about Calcium and veggies to help you:
https://www.guinealynx.info/diet_order-cal.html

Comely Guineas · Jun 19, 2016

Yep I look back at that list frequently. Corn husks aren't a everyday thing either. His daily veg are definitely all on the lowest end of the calcium chart. But he still had this issue for years. So I will finish the bag of pellets and stop them.

I've started to think that he is just a excess calcium pig and will always be though. If stopping the pellets doesn't change it that will be proof.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

bpatters · Jun 19, 2016

Actually, I don't think we know what corn husks have in them. I've tried for years to find a nutritional analysis for them, and haven't been able to do so. I've always just assumed that they're not very nutritious, but without any real basis for that other than that they're husks, and not the fruit of the plant. @CanadianComforts, if you've got a reference for that, I'd love to see it.

What husks do have is silica, which is good for keeping the teeth ground down.

CanadianComforts · Jun 20, 2016

Comely Guineas said:
Yep I look back at that list frequently. Corn husks aren't a everyday thing either. His daily veg are definitely all on the lowest end of the calcium chart. But he still had this issue for years. So I will finish the bag of pellets and stop them.

I've started to think that he is just a excess calcium pig and will always be though. If stopping the pellets doesn't change it that will be proof.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Some pigs are more sensitive that's for sure. Think about like a human, some of us can eat bread with no issues, others are so bad they have to have gluten free and there is a whole rainbow of people in between. Just cut out as much as possible and definitely try cutting the pellets for a few weeks to see if there is any change.

spy9doc said:
@CanadianComforts, if you've got a reference for corn husks, I most definitely want to see it! I as well have searched for the nutritional content and have never found a reliable source.

bpatters said:
Actually, I don't think we know what corn husks have in them. I've tried for years to find a nutritional analysis for them, and haven't been able to do so. I've always just assumed that they're not very nutritious, but without any real basis for that other than that they're husks, and not the fruit of the plant. @CanadianComforts, if you've got a reference for that, I'd love to see it.

What husks do have is silica, which is good for keeping the teeth ground down.

Spy9doc & bpatters,
I think I read it on GL years ago. I'll see if I can drag up a thread or anything I read about it. If it was GL I should be able to find it as it was only 4 or 5 years ago.

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