INJURY FROM A PIGGIE FIGHT
I have 2 boys who are brothers in one cage. Sometimes I notice them chattering at eachother.. but not getting physical. Today I woke up seeing Rex's ear split in half and dried blood. I seperated the boys. No I need to take him to the vet to get stiches?> I gave him a bath and put Neosporin on the cut. What do I do? I feel so bad!
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Talishan
- You can quote me
Don't feel bad. You didn't do anything. This is puberty. (Just as bad as with human teenagers, btw. ;-)
He probably doesn't need stitches, and probably doesn't need a vet visit UNLESS you see any sign of infection. Don't use Neosporin; one of the three antibiotics it contains can cause severe GI upset to them.
Gently rinse the cut ear with Betadine, diluted to the color of weak tea with warm water, or Nolvasan:
https://www.guinealynx.info/antiseptic_solutions.html
Keep a close eye on the ear for any swelling, redness, heat, discharge from the cut (pus), bad odor, bleeding (more than the little you've already seen), or evidence of pain. If you see any of that, take him to the vet. In my experience cut or torn ears generally heal up well, but keep a close eye on it nevertheless.
The bigger problem is that unless they have enough space, this is going to happen again, or worse. What kind of cage do they have, and how big is it? Do they have two of everything -- water bottles, food dishes, hay piles, hide houses?
He probably doesn't need stitches, and probably doesn't need a vet visit UNLESS you see any sign of infection. Don't use Neosporin; one of the three antibiotics it contains can cause severe GI upset to them.
Gently rinse the cut ear with Betadine, diluted to the color of weak tea with warm water, or Nolvasan:
https://www.guinealynx.info/antiseptic_solutions.html
Keep a close eye on the ear for any swelling, redness, heat, discharge from the cut (pus), bad odor, bleeding (more than the little you've already seen), or evidence of pain. If you see any of that, take him to the vet. In my experience cut or torn ears generally heal up well, but keep a close eye on it nevertheless.
The bigger problem is that unless they have enough space, this is going to happen again, or worse. What kind of cage do they have, and how big is it? Do they have two of everything -- water bottles, food dishes, hay piles, hide houses?
Thank you very much... you eased my worries!! They only have one house.. I bought a big pigloo because I thought it was big enough to share. Could that be a problem or a reason they are fighting? Now that they are seperated, they each have bottles and food, so no worries.. just have to buy another pigloo. Their mom is in a cage that is attached to theirs, so they can sniff eachother and keep eachother company.. do you think that they could be fighting over the mom? (in a sexual way) They do try to mate with her quite often. (the visits are supervised, I promise!)
THE VISITS MUST STOP.
Supervised or not, they are from this point until the end of time forbidden. Things can happen in the blink of an eye.
Visit www.guineapigcages.com for advice on properly sized cages.
Supervised or not, they are from this point until the end of time forbidden. Things can happen in the blink of an eye.
Visit www.guineapigcages.com for advice on properly sized cages.
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Talishan
- You can quote me
Ditto Rshevin. You have no idea how quickly they can do their thing.
Having mom in a cage that is attached to theirs is not necessarily a bad thing. When mom has her cycle (every 15-17 days), they may chew the bars more to try to get to her, or she may sniff around at them more, but they are not fighting over her in that way. They are fighting because they are adolescents.
From here on out, "share" is not in their vocabulary. ;-) Two (or more) of everything is an absolute necessity. Even if they don't seem to use it, it needs to be there.
If they are housed in anything you bought in a pet store, it's too small. Period. No pet store sells anything adequate, for any amount of money. Take a look at the site Rshevin listed; the cages there are much, much cheaper and much, much better for your pigs than anything you can find online or in a pet store.
If you don't think you can make anything like that, think again. Trust me. I can't make anything past a cup of coffee and I have made nearly a dozen C&C cages.
Having mom in a cage that is attached to theirs is not necessarily a bad thing. When mom has her cycle (every 15-17 days), they may chew the bars more to try to get to her, or she may sniff around at them more, but they are not fighting over her in that way. They are fighting because they are adolescents.
From here on out, "share" is not in their vocabulary. ;-) Two (or more) of everything is an absolute necessity. Even if they don't seem to use it, it needs to be there.
If they are housed in anything you bought in a pet store, it's too small. Period. No pet store sells anything adequate, for any amount of money. Take a look at the site Rshevin listed; the cages there are much, much cheaper and much, much better for your pigs than anything you can find online or in a pet store.
If you don't think you can make anything like that, think again. Trust me. I can't make anything past a cup of coffee and I have made nearly a dozen C&C cages.
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Brimstone
- For Rocky
You should probably check both your males over for other bite wounds that may not be as obvious. Gently feel around under their fur for any scabs or lacerations. If you find any, try to trim the hair away from that spot (makes it easier to treat and find), and clean the wounds as Talishan mentioned above. My guys tend to go for the haunches (hips, back) or under the chin.
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