Size What is appropriate Recovery/medical cage size?

[Smileandnod]

What would be the proper size cage to have for 1 guinea pig recovering from surgery or illness?

I plan to get my male neutered soon so he can go in with his mom & sisters and read that it is best after surgery to have a guinea pig in a more confined space until healed. Yet I cannot find I any specifics about the size that confined space should be.

My pigs are used to having a lot of room so I worry about stressing him out by making too small of a space. On the other hand, I worry I will make it too big for proper confinement and healing. So I want to have the proper size and do this right.

I also thought it would be a good idea to have it on hand in case I deal with an illness in any of my girl pigs as well. You never know when an emergency might come up.

Thank you. I really appreciate it.

 

[spy9doc]

I would make it no smaller than a 2x2 grid cage. Boars really aren't that fragile after being neutered and generally heal within about a week. However, since it takes about a month for all the previously manufactured sperm to die, you can't put him with the females for those three additional weeks. That means that he needs to be in a space in which he can live comfortably for that month. With a 2x2 you don't want to have many objects in the cage that aren't absolutely necessary to avoid cluttering up the space.

I have never confined my boars post-neutering. The confinement is necessary when you have him in a cage with others and they might pick on him or encourage him to be overactive and strain the incision site. If he is alone, how he feels will limit him to some degree.

After the surgery, keep an eye on the incision site to ensure that there is no redness, swelling, or discharge from the area. Vets rarely use sutures and instead generally use vet glue to close the incision. As the incision site begins to heal, it will "shrink" and may be uncomfortable. You can use a xylocaine ointment or just an OTC hydrocortisone ointment applied very lightly with a q-tip. It will help to moisten and soften the area.

If he has large testicles and scrotum, it is going to look pretty funny post-surgery. My Sparky was particularly well-endowed and he had this big floppy thing where his ginormous testicles once resided. I had not seen this in previous neuters so was on the phone to the Vet. After a laugh, he assured me that the scrotum would atrophy and just disappear. Sure enough he was right.

Trust me on this one........getting him neutered is probably more eventful/stressful for you than for him. He won't miss his cajones. He won't remember that his penis is good for anything other than a water spout. lol

 

[Smileandnod]

Thank you so much for the information spy9doc! This was very helpful!!