Injury Possible Bite, Should I Separate?

Abbyp137 · Nov 10, 2020

I started with 2 guinea pigs about 3 years ago. One had recently passed away a little more than a month ago, so I wanted to get my remaining one a new friend. I wound up adopting 2 more who were supposedly raised together and may be sisters, both at about 1.5 years old. My other guinea pig is about 4.5 years old. I even brought her to the rescue to meet the 2 girls to make sure they got along before bringing them home. I have them all in a 2x6 c&c cage, with a narrow patio. At first they all had a few squabbles here and there, even between the two new girls, but nothing that seemed too serious. They seemed to calm down and all get along really well after a few days. They would even all lounge in the narrow patio together which is a smaller area, even though they had access to hay and food in another part of the cage as well. About 2 weeks after I adopted the two girls, I found a scab on one of their ears. The next day I noticed another cut a little lower on the same ear. I put Betadine on it, but noticed a day or two later a small lump under the second cut. Went to the vet on Sunday and got antibiotics, probiotics, and some medicated wipes to treat it. The vet said it looks like it's probably from a bite. He also said I should keep her separated from the others while she heals. I sectioned off a 2x2 part of the cage for her to be separated just temporarily.
Is this something she will probably survive from and can heal pretty easily with this treatment?
I know it is said that after blood is drawn, that they would need to be separated. I'd hate for her to have to live solo for the rest of her life because I don't know which piggie bit her and not even completely sure that she was even bit. But is this the only option? Getting a 4th piggie, just for the possibility of the same to happen again, is not an option.
I appreciate any advice.

bpatters · Nov 10, 2020

I would NOT separate her for an ear injury. That injury is unlikely to prompt either of the other two to bite her again, and it's also almost certainly not contagious.

How much furniture do you have in the cage? Can they get past other without one getting in the other's face? Is there a possibility of making the cage a 3x4 instead of a 2x6?

Abbyp137 · Nov 10, 2020

bpatters said:
I would NOT separate her for an ear injury. That injury is unlikely to prompt either of the other two to bite her again, and it's also almost certainly not contagious.

How much furniture do you have in the cage? Can they get past other without one getting in the other's face? Is there a possibility of making the cage a 3x4 instead of a 2x6?

I have her separated where the others can't get to her, but they can still see and hear and smell each other. I just don't want to risk one of them even playing with her where her injury can get bumped or scratched or something to make it even worse. I trust this vet who specializes in exotics, since I could tell is extremely knowledgeable and I could tell he is experienced just from the way he handles them. I'm not so much worried about the injury itself causing them to want to bite again, but that if they did it once, what's stopping them from doing it again? There are plenty of hideys in the enclosure, but not too cluttered where they wouldn't be able to escape from one another pretty easily. I unfortunately don't have the right space to change the configuration to a 3x4.

bpatters · Nov 10, 2020

That's fine, but just be aware that when you put them all back together, you're going to have to do full reintroductions all over again. You can't just remove the divider and let her loose with the other pigs. Ask me how I know this...

Abbyp137 · Nov 10, 2020

Yea, I kinda figured reintroductions would be the safest bet to avoid another accident. I'll have to do some research on this, as they only really were introduced the first time at the rescue, then put in the cage together. Maybe I should have done it more gradually. I guess live and learn.

bpatters · Nov 10, 2020

See https://guinealynx.info/introductions.html for how to go about it.

Soecara · Nov 11, 2020

There is no gradual introductions, it really should be a 1 day event. It is very stressful to put them together and take them apart again several times, which is usually the way people go about "gradual" introductions. It doesn't work because they need to start establishing a hierarchy from scratch every single time you put them back together after taking them apart again, the won't begin to establish this hierarchy until they are in a shared space either so shared walls won't help begin introductions either. The stress of just beginning to establish this hierarchy only to be taken away to have to start again multiple times increases the chances that they will become aggressive.

Introductions are a one and done thing unless they are unsuccessful. Introduce in a large neutral area, then once they settle move them to a fresh cage that has been cleaned out to remove any existing scents so no one becomes territorial.

Abbyp137 · Nov 11, 2020

Soecara said:
There is no gradual introductions, it really should be a 1 day event. It is very stressful to put them together and take them apart again several times, which is usually the way people go about "gradual" introductions. It doesn't work because they need to start establishing a hierarchy from scratch every single time you put them back together after taking them apart again, the won't begin to establish this hierarchy until they are in a shared space either so shared walls won't help begin introductions either. The stress of just beginning to establish this hierarchy only to be taken away to have to start again multiple times increases the chances that they will become aggressive.

Introductions are a one and done thing unless they are unsuccessful. Introduce in a large neutral area, then once they settle move them to a fresh cage that has been cleaned out to remove any existing scents so no one becomes territorial.

Okay, thank you, that's good to know. Maybe I should try for a longer introduction, one time. I think I'm going to take out the patio area for when they all go back in together, since there's only one ramp, to hopefully avoid fighting there, and take out any of hides that only have one entrance.

Abbyp137 · Nov 21, 2020

I did reintroductions today! The girl who was injured is mostly all healed up. I followed the instructions from guinealynx, and while there was some aggressive behavior that I worried about, everything was considered "normal". Both piggies seemed to groom the ear on the injured piggie at some point. It made me nervous but once I saw that she wasn't bothered by it, I assume it was just grooming and a good sign. They all calmed down quite a bit before I put them back in their freshly cleaned and completely rearranged cage. They seem to be getting along fine for the most part. Crossing my fingers that there won't be anymore incidents and they can continue all living happily together!

ItsaZoo · Nov 21, 2020

Glad to hear things seem to be working out. With a long cage setup like this, I would stagger the hideys or angle them slightly so it's not one long tunnel. I know pigs like to run through tunnels, but when they are always in sight of one another they sometimes get testy and a bite can occur. Another idea is to hang some fleece fringe dividers so they aren't in direct sight of one another, but they can still run through if they want. I would also move the hay to the middle of the cage so they can approach it from both sides and no one can get cornered in the kitchen.

Abbyp137 · Nov 22, 2020

ItsaZoo said:
Glad to hear things seem to be working out. With a long cage setup like this, I would stagger the hideys or angle them slightly so it's not one long tunnel. I know pigs like to run through tunnels, but when they are always in sight of one another they sometimes get testy and a bite can occur. Another idea is to hang some fleece fringe dividers so they aren't in direct sight of one another, but they can still run through if they want. I would also move the hay to the middle of the cage so they can approach it from both sides and no one can get cornered in the kitchen.

I rearranged the cage again this morning based on your advice. Is there anyway of knowing after a certain point that they will all be good together?

ItsaZoo · Nov 23, 2020

I think all you can do is keep an eye on their behavior. It’s normal that they have an occasional squabble here and there. But if you see that two are teaming up on one, or if one is constantly bullying another and making it difficult for that one to eat or move around the cage, you might have to work something else out. I hope this works though.

And you can always rearrange the cage in different ways to keep them on their toes. I only have one pig but I rearrange her hideys and hay area each day because it’s good mental stimulation. Guinea pigs memorize escape routes and hiding places, so its good for them to explore new cage arrangements.

Abbyp137 · Nov 23, 2020

ItsaZoo said:
I think all you can do is keep an eye on their behavior. It’s normal that they have an occasional squabble here and there. But if you see that two are teaming up on one, or if one is constantly bullying another and making it difficult for that one to eat or move around the cage, you might have to work something else out. I hope this works though.

And you can always rearrange the cage in different ways to keep them on their toes. I only have one pig but I rearrange her hideys and hay area each day because it’s good mental stimulation. Guinea pigs memorize escape routes and hiding places, so its good for them to explore new cage arrangements.

Thank you. I plan to continue changing it up and also get or make some new hideys. Everything I had previously besides the tunnels only had one entrance, so just trying to work with what I have until I can get some different things.
They seem to be doing pretty well. The one who was originally bit is the one that seems to be picking on the other two the most,.but they all seem to be doing pretty well and everyone's able to eat. I will just continue watching. Thanks again.

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Injury Possible Bite, Should I Separate?

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