Male Guinea Pig Care: What Every Owner Should Know!

[00:00:00]Hi everyone and welcome back to the channel. Today we are shining a spotlight on male guinea pig care because there's a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding out there when it comes to male guinea pigs aka balls. And this often leads to people choosing females over males when it might not necessarily be the right choice for them. So today I want to set the record straight, talk about the advantages of owning bars, and cover everything else you need to know, including their anatomy, behavior, taming, health, social dynamics, and some of the practicalities of day-to-day bar ownership. But first, of course, I need to introduce my own bar. So this is the lovely Nacho, and he is a neutered bar who lives with four female piggies here at Squeak Dreams HQ. He is very much the leader of the gang and he'll be featuring a lot in [music] today's video.

[00:00:56]So, let's start with the anatomy of male guinea pigs. When they are very young, it can be hard to tell them apart from females, but it's not impossible. It is recommended to wait a few weeks after they're born though before trying to sex them because young guinea pigs are just very wriggly and it's difficult to see things properly. So, whilst females have a Yshaped area down below, young male guinea pigs have an eye shape, a dot with a line coming down from it. [music] And the line is not connected to the dot. Males also have a little ridge that you can feel just underneath the skin above [music] that dot, and you won't feel this in females. And as males grow up and become more mature, they start to develop fairly obvious testicles. and where the penis is hiding away under the skin also becomes a bit more obvious.

[00:01:45]Males also tend to be slightly larger and heavier than female piggies. And just like females, males have nipples, though they are usually much smaller and a lot less prominent than in females.

[00:01:57][music] Another thing that both sexes have is a grease gland. This is a [music] scent gland that looks basically like a slightly greasy patch of fur on their bottom. [music] And males tend to use their grease gland more, so it can be a little more obvious on them. But it also depends on their fur type and what breed of guinea pig they are. And just like I mentioned in the female video, if you've brought your guinea pigs home recently from a pet shop, it's really worth double-checking that you were sold the right sex because missexing is incredibly common. If you're in any doubt about the sex of your piggies, you can always go to a vet and have them confirm it for you.

[00:02:39]Next up, one thing people new to guinea pigs often wonder about is whether male piggies are really any different in personality to females. And whilst every guinea pig is [music] different and personality traits vary enormously from one pig to the next, bs are often described as being more confident and [music] more outgoing than females. In general, they tend to be a bit more brave, a little bolder. They're quicker to come and investigate [music] things, a bit more curious, and less easily scared by new sights and sounds. And from an owner's perspective, [music] BS can be easier to handle and form a bond with quicker than female guinea pigs.

[00:03:18][music] And speaking from personal experience, I've definitely found this in male guinea pigs that I've owned before. They've all been incredibly outgoing, usually not scared of anything at all, and they've all been wonderful characters. But I have to say, so have all of my female guinea pigs. It just so happens that females can tend to be a little bit more reserved and a little bit shy, and they definitely take more time to let their personality [music] shine through. Females usually take a bit more work when it comes to taming as well. Here he is again. [laughter] So, Najjo is such a character. He is so chilled out. And I think the only thing that he [music] ever gets freaked out by is the occasional strange noise. Other than that, he is literally the most chilled, relaxed war I have ever owned.

[00:04:07]And he's clearly very happy sharing his life with four females. So much so, he just wants to get back in the cage. The annoying human is cuddling you all the time. Yes. So, if you're a new owner or you're looking into getting guinea pigs for the first time, perhaps you're even sharing the responsibility of looking after them with your children, I would actually recommend considering males over females because they can be that little bit easier to form a relationship with.

[00:04:37]Moving on to social dynamics, and this is probably one area where male guinea pigs differ significantly from females in terms of practical ownership and how many guinea pigs it's possible to keep together. As we know, guinea pigs should always be kept in pairs or groups. And this applies to males just as much as it does to females. But the options for housing males together are a little more limited. So, for starters, a bonded pair of males can work really well. And it is a myth that males won't get along with each other at all. For a lot of owners, a bonded ball pair is a really lovely combination. It's usually easier to bond two males together when they are young.

[00:05:17]As they become adults, it can be more difficult to bond them. Though, it's not impossible, especially if you're pairing complimentary personalities. And this is usually what happens at rescues because they'll be able to read male personalities and pair them up with a compatible companion and get them both ready for adoption in the process.

[00:05:38]However, there's always a downside.

[00:05:40]Adding any more males into the mix can be very difficult. Groups of three or more are very unlikely to work long term. They might seem fine initially, especially if you're adding a young male to two adults, and that young male just naturally assumes a lower ranking on the dominance hierarchy, but you'll likely see escalating dominance and potential for fighting as that young male grows up. So, if you plan on keeping only male guinea pigs, realistically, you're looking at no more than two males per enclosure. And as we discussed in the female video, males can also live with females. And two things to note here.

[00:06:20]Firstly, only one male can live with a group of females because as soon as you introduce a second male, those boys are going to be fighting over the girls. And secondly, when we're mixing sexes, either the females need to be spayed or the male needs to be neutered. And it's usually easier to neuter the male. Some rescues even have a policy of neutering all their males, whether they're getting adopted out with females or not. This just means that an older male left on his own at any point in his life can easily find a female companion. Now, as with females or sves, males will establish their own dominance hierarchy.

[00:06:57]But males typically demonstrate dominance behaviors much more frequently than females do. If you have two males living together, especially if they're young adult males in their prime, you'll likely see dominance behavior every single day. We're talking rumble strutting, chasing, mounting, and scent marking. Generally, a lot of boisterous activity. But as long as neither piggy is getting hurt and they both have enough space to do their own things, dominance behaviors are completely normal and they're nothing to worry about. However, if you start to see more aggressive behaviors, so we're thinking really loud teeth chattering, lunging at each other, and actual fighting, then you may well have some more serious dominance battles on your hands. And it's worth keeping a close eye on things and separating [music] your balls if needed. And I will pop a video all about dominance behaviors and how to recognize them down in the description below.

[00:07:54]Okay, next up is neutering. And this might be something that owners wonder about, whether it's really necessary and what the reasons might be for neutering their male guinea pig. So, first of all, neutering is mostly done to enable a male to live with females without the risk of anyone getting pregnant or babies. Unlike in other animals, neutering isn't really seen as a solution to boisterous or dominant behavior. Even though it does lead to hormonal changes, guinea pig owners report that neutering doesn't alter the behaviors of their males. And unlike spaying in females, neutering in males doesn't really reduce the risk of any serious health problems. Although it can help to prevent impaction from developing later in life, which is a condition that can affect older balls, and we'll get to that in a moment. And as some of you will probably know, after adopting Nacho, I had him neutered by our own exotic vet. This was all agreed with the rescue, and I did learn some important information in that process that every owner looking to neuter their male guinea pigs should be aware of.

[00:09:02]Basically, there are two different surgical approaches to neutering. I'm sorry, Nacho. Close your ears. There is an abdominal approach where the incision ends up higher up on the tummy. And there's also a scrotal approach where the incisions are much lower down close to the piggy's bottom. And this scrotal approach is actually not recommended because of the risk of post-operative infection. And that's as high as 33% which is definitely not insignificant.

[00:09:31]So if you're looking to have your barn neutered, definitely discuss with the vet how they'll do it and seek an experienced exotic vet who will use the abdominal approach. Nacho had the abdominal surgery and he recovered really well. I will link his neutering vlog down in the description below. One other thing to mention here is that it's recommended to wait at least 6 [music] weeks after neutering before introducing your male to female guinea pigs because sperm can still be present for some time even after the operation.

[00:10:05]Next up, there are a couple of health maintenance considerations that are specific to male guinea pigs, including some that you've probably seen videos on floating around on the internet. The main one that I think a lot of owners hear about and they're quite shocked and horrified by it is impaction. So, as some male guinea pigs age, [music] the muscles around their perennial sack, which is basically their bottom pouch, can weaken, meaning it's harder for them to be able to pass poops naturally. And this can cause a buildup of poops in that sack. And that's what impaction is.

[00:10:43]If you notice that your older bar is not comfortable, there's no poops around the cage, and maybe you can actually see the poops accumulating and not falling out the way they should be, then it might be that you need to help him remove those poops and keep that area clean.

[00:10:59]Sometimes as often as once or twice a day. And yes, I know it sounds unpleasant, but it's actually described by most owners as a completely manageable condition that doesn't affect their quality of life at all. And an experienced exotic vet can show you how to keep things clean for your older male. It's also not super common, and it typically doesn't affect young bars. And as we mentioned earlier, neutering has been shown to reduce the chances of it occurring. Now, as well as impaction, you might have read about or seen online about regular cleaning inside a male sack and cleaning around their penis, sometimes called bore cleaning as a collective thing. I've actually gotten asked about this a lot and I've wondered about it myself because it's something that I've never been sure about whether it's required and I'm sure it certainly is for some individual males, but it's not a thing that we should all be doing by default. Most male guinea pigs are completely capable of keeping themselves clean. Excessive intervention, so digging around with cotton buds, is not only unnecessary in most cases, but actually can cause irritation and damage. So my advice would be to avoid over cleaning when it comes to your balls bits and take advice from an experienced exotic vet as well, especially if you think there is a problem going on and they might need some help. Just because we see videos of bar cleaning online and they get a lot of views because they've got that shock element, it doesn't mean that we should go ahead and do it on our own males without any proper advice from a vet.

[00:12:39]Moving on, and a common concern that owners have when it comes to male guinea pigs is that they are somehow smellier and messier than females. And honestly, this is really hotly debated. I have read totally different opinions from all sorts of different owners on this one.

[00:12:55]And in my own experience, which is keeping a pair of unneutered balls when I was younger, I'd say that there were some malespecific smells that occurred, but they didn't make me regret having male guinea pigs at all, and they didn't cause any problems as long as I was keeping on top of cleaning in the cage.

[00:13:14]And having owned neutered males since, I really have not noticed any difference in smell, cleanliness, or tidiness compared to the females that they live with. In some cases, it would make sense that two unneuted males housed together, perhaps showing a lot of dominance behaviors and scent marking will produce some additional smells. But how dominant they are with each other, what kind of hormonal situation they have is going to vary so much from one individual bar to another. And I've also seen owners claim that their bars are actually very tidy and they only ever poop in one location, which [laughter] I don't know whether to believe that or not. And in comparison, they say that their females are the messy ones. So overall, I really don't think that smells or cleanliness is a factor that should influence your decision. It comes down to the individual guinea pigs you end up with more than anything else.

[00:14:11]So before we get to the end of the video, some of you might be wondering whether male guinea pigs are right for you and what I would recommend for bars versus sows. And to sum things up, if you're not looking to build a large herd of guinea pigs, which requires a lot of space, time, and money, and you'd be happy owning a very lovable, friendly, and outgoing pair of piggies, I would actually recommend going for males over females. And especially if you're a new owner who wants to build a really close bond with your guinea pigs, males can make that a little bit easier. Also, from a rescu's perspective, there are so many males in rescues, patiently waiting for their forever home, and often already bonded. Whilst it's misinformation or the occasional off-putting fact online that puts people off males completely. And as we've discussed today, that really doesn't need to be the case. So, if you're on the fence, I say go for males. Get two.

[00:15:12]Don't push your luck with three, unless they're already a happy trio. and then it's entirely yours and your vets's decision whether to neuter them or not.

[00:15:22]Let me know down in the comments. Do you own male piggies at the moment or have you owned them in the past and would you get them again? And if you've got any questions, just pop them below and I will do my [music] best to get back to you. Also, if you found this video helpful and it gave you some useful information for looking after your own piggies, please give us a subscribe and a like. I hope you enjoyed it and we'll see you in the next one. Bye-bye.