Guinea Pig/Prolapsed Rectum??

Question
My daughter has an adorable, lovable guinea pig named Desperoux.  He has the best personality you could imagine and just loves people.  He loves to jump around and "talk" to us as well.  He is definitely a member of our family!!  Recently, we took him to get his nails clipped and buy him a larger cage as he had outgrown the one he had. When I was handing him to her, I noticed his private looked like it was sticking out, I asked her about it and she told me it looked like a "prolapsed rectum".  When I asked her what that was, she told me to call the vet and offered me no other explanation.  I am concerned as to how this will affect Desperoux and if it is an absolute emergency and I should take him to the vets right away.  What is a prolapsed rectum and should I take him in immediately? Please help!

Answer
Hello Heather,
a prolapsed rectum is when part of the intestine pushes out of the body. I've seen it in a lot of animals, hamsters can get it really bad and end up pusing out their whole intestines, it's really painful and gross to see. Generally there a few options, if it's really bad than surgery is needed to correct the issue, if it's not too bad a lot of times they will give antibiotics and some ointment to put on the behind. A lot of times prolapsed rectums can happen because of the guinea pig being constipated and straining to push. The best thing is to take him in asap because the longer you wait the worse it can get.
If it's not his behind that's sticking out a little bit and it's his penis i'd check to see if it went back in.
Good luck and keep me posted.