Injury from fighting boars. Need advice!

[MissJean]

Okay, so I'm really freaking out right now. I automatically want to rush my boars to the emergency vet, but I have issues where everything seems like the end of the world when I'm stressed. I can't think rationally right now.



This is Numa's injury. As you can see, a lot of scabs. They do not appear to be deep, but there's a lot of them and they were obviously bleeding. This particular injury must have happened when I was sleeping since they are dry scabs. I cleaned it with saline wound cleaner, then dabbed some betadine after that had dried.

The picture looks * a lot* worse than what it is, since it's zoomed in with poor picture quality. The redness shown in the picture is not just around the wounds, but the entire area from hair being pulled off. I know infected wounds have redness and swelling surrounding them, but I just can't tell. There doesn't seem to be swelling at least. How long would it take for the redness from the hair pulling to subside, so I can see if there's lingering redness around the wound?

Does Numa's wound look like it needs antibiotics from the vet? Do I just need to monitor it for redness and swelling? Since it has already scabbed, would applying betadine even be effective? Would some other topical antibiotic be more suitable? I have neosporin, but I'm not sure if that is piggie safe.



This is Erebos's wound (his name used to be Aiden, if foggycreekcavy comes in). This is fresh, as I just witnessed the fight. Numa managed to get one good attack in.

This wound in particular frustrates because:
-His skin and hair in that area are black and hard to see
-It looks INDENTED, but there's no bleeding, or a scabby feeling.

I was thinking perhaps it's an older wound, but there was Numa's saliva on that area. I am entirely confused by this. I still cleaned it up and dabbed betadine on it.

Obviously my boars are separated now.

[Petlovr]

Neosporin is bad if they ingest it, so if you use it, hold the pig for a while to prevent grooming, then wipe it off carefully. I think a vet visit can wait til tomorrow, just try to keep the areas dry and clean. Monitor closely til you can get to a vet. Erebos's wound looks deep, so I'd definitely take them both in.

[MissJean]

Wouldn't a deep wound bleed, though? It's the strangest thing! He's just a little 3 month old, too. =(

Hopefully my vet can get me in tomorrow. I have some back-up options just in case, but this guy is good.

[foggycreekcavy]

I actually wouldn't have separated them, but then that's me. Often after they do this to one another they settle down.

Numa's wounds look normal--a bit of redness is fine. They don't look too deep, mostly just surface and should heal up with no problem. I wouldn't even put anything on them, just monitor for swelling and odor. As the scabs get dry and are ready to come off use some vitamin e or something to soften them because they will itch.

The wound on Erebos looks like maybe it's more of a puncture, and more at risk for abscessing. Is that some grey matter in the middle? Does it smell bad? I would go ahead and apply some antibiotic ointment for a few days. I don't think you'll need to see a vet unless it starts swelling and generating pus.

[spy9doc]

Calm down! You're doing just fine with your first aid.

I doubt that there is much more that the vet will do for them except perhaps prescribe some antibiotics. Just keep the wounds clean and dry (if possible). If you use antibiotic ointment, just apply a very tiny bit with a q-tip, let it sit for a few minutes, and then wipe most of it off before putting him back in the cage. Sometimes ointment is not advised because it *could* be a breeding ground for bacteria. Keeping the area clean and dry is probably your best approach.

If the little guy is the one being bullied, then I might take him out of the cage. Otherwise, you may need to just let the rest of them sort it out.

[MissJean]

I did see a glob of hair in Numa's mouth, after he nipped that exact area. Could a puncture wound have come from Numa's teeth as he was ripping out fur?

There's nothing grey in the wound, but it is darker looking. No smell. I put a (clean) finger on it and it feels like skin, not dried blood. I'm 90% sure it's fresh since I saw Numa nip that area, the fur that resulted in his mouth, and saliva on the surrounding fur. I tried to take better pictures, but it's not working out so well. It's really weird. The only thing to compare it to is a pock mark.

The way they flung at eachother was scary. After I tried coming between then with a dustpan, they were trying to get at eachother again to fight more.

[jacqueline]

when i was still brandy new to this site, 2 of my pigs started fighting out of the blue. i was late to the party, and should have checked them earlier, but eventually i checked over one of them and found he had several bite marks that look very much like your. i had no idea what to do, but i cleaned it with water, and just kept a close eye on it for signs of infection. i held my breathe and after a few days the were obviously healing and not infected. i breathed a sigh of relief. knowing what i know now, i would have vetted them the next day. but in this case ignorance was just lucky. i'm sure yours will be fine, too. . !

[MissJean]

Okay, so now that the wounds have "aged" a little, they definitely calmed down. Numa's are less red and angry looking.

Erebos's weird thing on his back is definitely a raw piece of skin, from the hair being pulled off. It developed a slight rough texture, not unlike some of Numa's scabs. Since his skin is black it's harder to get a good look at, but it does not look like a puncture wound. I'm guessing it didn't have a vastly different texture earlier because it was fresh. I think that grey speck in the picture might have been a dead flake of skin. Does anyone want to see more pictures to double check?

My husband and I have decided to wait and watch their wounds very closely and clean them daily, unless someone comes in this thread and is adamant about us seeking vet care. I'm definitely not opposed to going, but I'm trying not to do the whole rush to the vet thing needlessly like I usually do.

[foggycreekcavy]

I think your plan is a good one. Do you have them separated into two groups again? I was thinking about it last night, and since Erebos is such a youngster you might want to wait until he matures a bit and his hormones aren't doing all the talking before trying to keep all four together again.

[MissJean]

Yep, they're in two's again! I was thinking Erebos might be in his crazy boar phase too, and I may try again later when he's older. He's not very "humpy" or bullying his dad (Jim/Artemis), though.