On
Gumbo’s health check with the vet several old and healed injuries were found. All of the injuries are consistent with damage a rabbit could inflict upon a Guinea Pig if they shared a cage.
All over Gumbos body are scars of various sizes including one or two that could have been from ruptured abscesses. I could not get clear pictures of those because of his hair coat.
His ear is torn and tattered.
His torn ear
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His healthy ear [/FONT]
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He has a great deal of scarring on his left eye. The vet suspects a traumatic injury caused this rather then a simple infection. Once again the vet said it is consistent with an injury that can be inflicted by a rabbit. The scarring covers so much of the guinea pig’s field of vision that it is suspected he has no real vision in that eye at all. [/FONT]
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Left eye with scar tissue [/FONT]
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The middle digit of his left hind food has been amputated. The vet concluded that is was a traumatic amputation. The cause could have been getting it caught somehow or bitten off by another animal. Considering the other injuries and scars the vet believes it was probably bitten off, most likely by a rabbit. [/FONT]
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Amputated middle toe [/FONT]
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The owner of the rabbits and guinea pigs told me that Gumbo and his rabbit companion were “best friends” and that they got along wonderfully. All evidence points to the opposite. These injuries may not even have been caused by fighting between the animals. It could have been, in the rabbits mind, playful tussling. Unfortunately a Guinea Pig is not equipped for such rough handling and the injuries Gumbo suffered are proof of that. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Please NEVER house guinea pigs and rabbits together.[/FONT]