Owners urged to get their guinea pigs neutered
Guinea pigs breed incredibly quickly.
The RSPCA is calling on owners to get their guinea pigs neutered to tackle the issue of over-breeding.
The call, which comes on Guinea Pig Appreciation Day (16 July), comes in response to new figures which show the charity received more than 1,000 reports about guinea pigs in 2019 alone.
One of the biggest issues regarding guinea pigs is multi-animal households, where breeding has got out of control, the RSPCA said. Now, in light of many vets having to prioritise emergencies due to COVID-19, it fears there could be many more guinea pigs having unwanted litters.
RSPCA rodent expert Dr Jane Tyson, said: “Guinea pigs breed incredibly quickly so one unneutered pair can quickly lead to an owner having lots of guinea pigs on their hands! We would always advise owners to have their male guinea pigs neutered before introducing them to a female.
“We also find that they can sometimes be mis-sexed by the seller or previous owner which leads to accidental breeding so it’s also important to make sure that your guinea pigs see a vet regularly who would be able to spot if they have been identified incorrectly.”
Earlier this year, the RSPCA rescued some 40 guinea pigs from an address in Lincoln where breeding had got out of control. Many of the guinea pigs rescued were also pregnant at the time.
Four of the females were taken in by the RSPCA Altrincham and Cheshire branch and had 12 babies between them, the charity said.
Dr Tyson continued: “Many of the guinea pigs that come into our care have come from a multi-animal home where there have been large numbers of guinea pigs living in often cramped, dirty and unsuitable conditions. This also means that they may have experienced very little handling and are wary and fearful of human hands and need their confidence building up in RSPCA care.
“This is why, this Guinea Pig Appreciation Day, we wanted to encourage people to neuter their guinea pigs and help tackle the problem of overbreeding.”
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
