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there is a skinny pig at a pet store that I am interested in buying (he is a rescue pig). His penis is 'out' and won't go back in. The staff suggests I get the skinny pig neutered, and that this will help the situation. What else can I do to rectify this? Will neutering help?Thanks a lot...
Optional Information: Type of Animal: skinny Gender: male Age: 2 years Already Tried: Nothing yet - he is not mine yet. I am considering buying him from a pet store, where he was left as a 'rescue'.
Hello, I'm Dr. XXXXX XXXXX and I'd like to help! As strange as this may sound, some pigs resolve this condition (paraphimosis) if they are given worming medicine for intestinal parasites, so this is something that can be attempted tried before doing anything else. If this is going to help, you would notice an improvement in 1-2 weeks.If the penis is out all the time, castration may not help and a surgery may be needed to "tack" or "pexy" the penis into its normal position. This is a difficult surgery in some pigs, depending on their size.
One more quick question - is neutering a skinny pig reasonably safe and is it recommended in general, or is it best to try to leave him without the neutering? Thanks for the worming medicine tip - I will ask the store to try that.
He should definitely be neutered as he will be easier to manage. Even though he is thin, it would be safe to neuter him and in fact, it may be safer than if he were very heavy. Hopefully the deworming will help him put on weight as well.
Is it easy to explain why the intestinal parasite medicine might work for this? Just one more thing - this is a hairless guinea pig (called a 'skinny pig').
Lol, I thought you were referring to a real pig, not a guinea pig. I'm very sorry. The previous answers won't apply to this situation. The neutering may in fact help with the penis. They should try to keep it lubricated with Vaseline. Sometimes hair or fibers can get wrapped around the penis and cause this as well. In these cases, the penis gets quite swollen however.
No, I should have said hairless guinea pig in the first place. Sorry!! Okay, I will look into the neutering then (and skip the worming med!). I'll try to see if it is a hair or fiber - he was living in 'hamster bedding' stuff, so I wondered about something like that (hair or fiber). I should be able to see this, right, and can try to fix it? If you can give any tips on how to see if it is a fiber or hair, and how to remove it, that would be great. I will pay, promise. Thanks for all of the info.
Lol, no problem! I would get someone to hold him upside down and you may need to use magnification or in my case reading glasses to see the area. It would look like a narrowing at the base of the penis. Often sedation is required to remove it but not to see it. If you are suspicious of this, they can remove it when he gets neutered. We typically use very small scissors to get under the fibers and cut them.
Experience: I have been a veterinarian in general and emergency practice for 21 years caring for all types of family pets.