[Gpdd] HEALTH: Spaying & ovarian cysts

[Chris Boortz]

I recently adopted/rescued a 2 year old female piggie from my boss. I  
was at his house for a party and found their guinea pig in the  
garage, as the temperatures approached 100 degrees. Their daughter  
turned out to be highly allergic to her, so they'd been keeping her  
in the garage for quite some time. Of course, I ended up bringing her  
home.

She had crusty eyes and a  v-shaped bald spot on her lower back, so I  
kept her separated from my other pig. After a week with no  
improvement, I took her to a small animal vet. He said the crusty  
eyes were just due to stress from her former environment, and they  
have in fact improved substantially in the few weeks since that  
appointment. He said that skin scrapings showed no signs of mites,  
and a blood panel did not show an elevated white blood cell count, so  
no infection. He believes that the bald spot is a result of ovarian  
cysts and the elevated estrogen levels caused by them. He recommended  
spaying, and quoted a price of $550 - $680. I checked with another  
small animal vet I've used, and they quoted a price of $220.

Not that I WANT to spend a ton of money (I have spent up to $800 on  
vet visits for former pigs) but I am primarily concerned about  
whether the surgery is the best thing for her. I've been reading that  
spays are fairly risky for pigs.

In addition to the spaying issue, there is a small lump, about the  
size of a raisin, on her belly behind her right front leg. The vet  
feels it is just a fatty lipoma, but suggested going ahead and having  
it removed during the spay. It has not changed in size during the 5  
weeks or so that I've had her.

In the meantime, she is LOVING her new home. She's bonded with my  
(neutered) male piggie, is loving all the different veggies and  
fruits she gets, and has fallen in love with hay, which she had never  
got before. Her appetite, behavior, energy, etc. all seem fine.

So.... knowing all this.... any advice on spaying pigs? Ovarian  
cysts? Lipomas/lumps? I just want to make sure I'm doing what is best  
for her.

Thanks,
Chris - pig mom to Mimi and Speedy