Neutering your guinea pig

It is also important to realize that there is a risk of loosing your guinea pig during the procedure. Any surgery involving anastesia carries the risk that your guinea pig's heart may stop, or that he or she will fail to wake up afterwards. Even experienced vets can have a guinea pig die during surgery, so it is important that you be aware of the possibility.

That being said, here are some tips and questions to ask when calling around for information, so that you can locate an experienced vet and. in turn, minimize your risks. Don't be afraid to drive a long distance to have this operation performed; it could very well mean your cavy's life.

• First and foremost, you need to locate a vet that works with "exotics". These are the vets that work with small mammals (including the guinea pig), birds, reptiles and other pets that aren't just cats or dogs.

• The vet should be able to tell you how many neuterings he or she has performed in the last year, and what their success rate was. The success rate should be well above 90%.

• Ask what kind of anesthesia is used; it should be isoflurine gas.

• There should be a heart monitor and an EKG during the surgery, with a technician monitoring them.

• Recovery should be in a heated compartment.

• The vet should not recommend that your guinea pig fast the night before the operation. It is okay, and recommended, to fast the morning of. The goal of fasting is to make the guinea pig's reaction to the anastesia predictable, as well as minimize the risk of regurgitating his or her stomach contents. However, fasting more than four hours before surgery is completely unnecessary. In fact, a long fasting period can cause stress in the guinea pig, and lead to a buildup of toxins in their body during and after the operation, as well as run the risk of stopping the GI system to the point where it might not start up again when the guinea pig wakes up.

• If the guinea pig is three years or older, the vet should perform a blood test beforehand, in order to look for any pre-existing medical conditions.

• The vet should not prescribe oral antibiotics afterwards. Antibiotics should never, ever be prescribed casually or as a precautionary measure, but rather only when a bacterial infection has, or is suspected to have, taken place. Antibiotics are a dangerous treatment for guinea pigs; they can cause severe diarrhea and even toxic reactions that can lead to death, and should only be used to treat existing conditions.