any guinea pig money saving tips?

tru

We didn't want babies either, so we bought 2 males. One ended up pregnant..............:D We had Beans done a couple of years ago, it cost us about £35. We dropped him off at 9am, the vet rang a couple of hours later to say he'd had the op and was fine. We picked him up at about 4pm, once home he carried on as if nothing had happened.

Edited to add -
Yes, put them in together, he'll be OK on his own but piggies tend to get lonely.

Waterfalls

The anaesthetic risk is alot higher than a cat or a dog. but think it would be worth it as gpigs do like company.
but there is a chance he could still be fertile for a few weeks post op.
also have a chat with ur vet as not all vets feel comfortable giving small furries an anaesthetic

when u put eventually put them together, i have heard some people recommend sepating them in the same cage via a cake rake or similar so they can get use to each others smell etc, without the risk of fighting. but not experienced this myself
good luck!

katie1234

i bought two female piggies but one was unfortunately damaged goods when i got her! baby piggies were hard work so he would need spayed. one of my pigs had to undergo anaesthetic due to overgrown teeth and by the time she got it was very fragile and skinny because she couldnt eat and she went through two fine. i have heard reports of males fighting but i think thats only with other males so with females he should be fine!

ANGLICANPAT

Some of it comes down to the skill of the vet practice and how up to date they are with their anaesthetics. Some have few small animals on their books, others are shall we say die hard vets who got their equipment and skills 40 years ago and are confident that the old ways are the best! Might be worth asking around to see if there is a GP rescue in your area, and enquire who they use.

pug_in_a_bed

Both my boys had the snip, all went fine, it cost me £140 for the two. They were quiet for an hour or so at home and then back to their usual selves, I was really pleased, although it was a last resort to solve their fighting. In the end this didn't work, so I had to give my youngest up

However, I now have two girls with my elder boy Martin and they live very happily together;)

When I introduced Martin to the girls, I left him a carrier next to the girls cage for sniffing, after about half hour introduced on the landing, a neutral area. I cleaned the girls cage out really thoroughly so when they went back in it was also neutral.

There will be some rumbling probably and some dominant humping, but they should be ok.

You should really separate them for several days in case of any infection/ disease crossing over. I kept mine separate for 24 hours, although the girls had come from the rescue and had a vet check up that day.

beckseven

I had my kids guinea pigs in a secure(!) pen in my garden during the day but brought them inside in the evening so that the fox wouldn't get them. Unforutunaly my neighbours 3 doors down have a jack russell that they don't secure in their garden and she has managed to get in my run today and break my little guinea pig boys necks. I found one in the garden and one in the neighbouring field. I am so upset and have no proof except i have found the dog in my garden loads of times. Feel awful for my little fellas.RIP guysxxx

skiTTish

Awww poor lil mites ,what an awful thing to happen .
Have you spoken to your neighbour yet ?

jackieglasgow

Hugs for you, I don't really know what else to say, make sure you put chicken wire or something over the pen if you get anymore, you wouldn't want that to happen again. Poor wee souls.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

How sad. I think you may need to reinforce the garden fencing though, as your garden should not be part of his daily routine.

SnowyOwl_2

How horrible, poor creatures! The Jack Russell ought not have been allowed to stray though...its owner has an obligation to prevent it from getting out unsupervised, not that that helps you much now. It boils down to an irresponsible dog owner. The advice about the chicken wire is good - little critters as cute as they are will have each other for dinner given half a chance.