Cystic ovarian disease in female guinea pigs

Veterinary nurses (VNs) working in referral or first opinion practice carry out routine physical examinations of patients daily. This can be as simple as taking a temperature, checking mucous membrane colour or performing a full health check as part of a nursing consultation. As prey species, guinea pigs instinctively hide signs of pain/disease and injury, therefore at every opportunity a clinical examination is prudent. This, together with a sound knowledge of common diseases and conditions in this species will provide the cornerstone to gold standard nursing care and improvement of clinical satisfaction and client trust.

Cystic ovarian disease is very common in sows over the age of 1.5 years, an incidence of 76% has been reported at post mortem (Keller et al, 1987). Puberty occurs at around 2 months of age in females and peak reproduction is between 3 and 20 months, although some sows may continue to breed until 4–5 years of age. Guinea pigs are seasonally polyoestrous but breed year round in captivity. The sow possesses a single pair of inguinal mammary glands, paired ovaries, a bicornuate uterus consisting of paired uterine horns, a uterine body and a single cervix (Pollock, 2017).