Guinea Pig Issue

Question
Today I noticed that my male guinea pig looks like he has an issue going on in this perineal sac area.   I bathed him a few days ago and it looked like he had poop in the area and I cleaned it.   Today it looks like it bled around the sac.   It looks very sore.   He is pooping, peeing,drinking and eating.    I used mineral oil and a Q tip to clean the area.    Any suggestions on what else I should do? Should I but any first aid cream on the area?  He is eating and seems fine.   Should I just clean it and watch for any signs of it getting worse?

Answer
What you are dealing with is a common issue with boars, particularly older ones. There is a space between the testes and right near that space is the rectal opening. As they get older they sometimes lose the muscle tone that helps push the stool out. The result is a buildup of soft stool commonly referred to (incorrectly) as an impaction.

A true clinical impaction is when stool builds up inside the colon due to a blockage of some kind. It causes a serious and can be life threatening backup of stool, to the point that a person cannot eat, has extreme pain and can actually begin to vomit feces because it has backed into the stomach.

What we see in these boars is not an impaction in the clinical sense, but merely a buildup within that sac. During hot weather it gets worse. Not knowing how old you are I'm going to assume you're an adult who understands the anatomy of a male human.

The scrotum holds the testicles which house the sperm and the sperm is extremely sensitive to temperature changes. When a baby boy (or an adult) has a fever the scrotum pulls down away from the body. That's nature's way of protecting the delicate testicles from an elevated temperature that could destroy sperm. When it's very cold the scrotum shrivels up in an effort to bring the testicles closer to the body to sustain the necessary heat.

This applies to all men of all species and ages. During the hot summer months a boar's body heat will also cause the scrotum to hang farther down to get the testicles away from the heat of the body. When that happens the poo gets warmed up and very soft, causing it to get stuck in that little pouch.

You did exactly what you should have done. An eye dropper with a bit of mineral or vegetable oil can be used to try to drop some oil in the sac and get behind the ball of stool. You can usually use some gentle pressure on both sides of the sac to cause the ball of stool to come out.

Another way is to irrigate the sac under some running water. Just hold the pig on his back and put the sac under the running water. That will usually wash it out as well. Once you've dried him off you can put a little more oil into that sac area and that helps them to pass the poo as well. Don't try to go into the rectum. Just keep that sac lubricated and that will help to keep it from happening and make it easier to keep the sac clean.

Don't use a Q-tip to clean out inside the sac. That's very sensitive tissue and does easily damage and bleed a bit. I wouldn't use any antibiotic cream on him. Mineral oil will soothe the area and it will quickly heal.

You'll probably need to keep a close eye on him as this usually requires regular clean.It's not typically a health issue, just a hygiene problem. As long as he's eating and drinking normally he is fine.