Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SPAY/NEUTER

FOR YOUR GUINEA PIG?

(aka: Why are our adoption fees may be higher than other guinea pig rescue groups?)

Most people want to know why its advantageous to spay/neuter a guinea pig when they are basically ok if left alone. Spay/neuter is surgery, right? And that is dangerous, right?

a group of males and females living in a herd

Well... technically, all surgeries have some risks associated with them. However, if you have a great veterinarian who is familiar with anesthetizing guinea pigs along with spaying and neutering techniques, there are many wonderful health reasons for having these surgeries performed. We at Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue have several experienced veterinarians who have operated on our guinea pigs for many years now and know these procedures very well.

Below is a partial list of why we have these surgeries performed before our guinea pigs are adopted out.

We want to ensure that our guinea pigs do not add to the overpopulation problem. Spay/neuter ensures that they can not reproduce.

Female guinea pigs have an elevated risk of uterine cancer, ovarian cysts, mammary tumors, and other reproductive organ tumors as they age. Spaying them eliminates those risks.

Male guinea pigs often have atrophy of rectal muscles as they age. This can lead to impaction problems that require daily cleaning of the anal sac. Additionally, the development of smegma (the cheesy and smelly secretion from the sebaceous glands) can be a health concern. Neutering a guinea pig almost always eliminates these problems.

Female guinea pigs, when spayed, have less likelihood of developing obesity.

Male guinea pigs can get prostate cancer and mammary tumors. Neutering them eliminates the risk of prostate cancer and greatly lessens the risk of getting mammary tumors.

If you were to seek out these surgeries on your own, you would likely be charged a minimum of $100 for a guinea pig neuter and $120 for a guinea pig spay (based on local Washington, DC metropolitan area veterinarian fees). When you adopt one of our guinea pigs, you are guaranteed that they are spayed/neutered and have already been checked by a veterinarian. Other area rescues do not make this guarantee, and its one that we find extremely important and essential.

If you would like to see the neutering protocol of one of our veterinarians, check out http://www.cavyspirit.com/neutering.htm#8Protocol and look at Example Two.

If you have any questions, please feel free to direct them to info@mgpr.org.