Injury Piggy bitten on nose, what can I do?

[Becca.Pig]

Hi guys.
I just checked on my pig at lunch time and he's got on hell of a bite on his nose and lip, he was fine last night when I checked on them both. He lives with his brother but they have been fine the last few months and haven't bitten each other once in that time ( it has happened in the past but it was very minor, just a bit of fur missing) I have no idea what's caused them to fight all of a sudden cause they are kept FAR FAR FAR away from the girls, which are kept out front while the boys are out back.
Anyway, the bits are quite bloody and look very sore and it looks like something's happened to his eye over night as well cause it's puffy and red, not bitten luckily.
Any suggestions on what I can put on them to keep infection away?

 

[bpatters]

There's not really anything you can put on them, because the infection from a bite comes from deep in the tissue, not on the surface. If it's really infected, you'll need to see a vet for a systemic antibiotic.

Watch for signs of infection: swelling, redness, heat, pus, odor. If you notice any of those, see a vet.

How big is their cage?

 

[Becca.Pig]

Okay.
Their cage is quite large (1 square m on the bottom) , it's a double story one so they can easily get away from each other if they get grumpy. I've watched them before and the worst that happens is they get a little grumpy and start purring grumpily at each other and chatter their teeth, but that doesn't happen very often.

 

[Katie Vetter]

How long have they been together? At my best guess, I would say that its the second level which is causing the problem. They might each be claiming a level as their own. Do you have two of everything? Perhaps they are fighting over resources. Could you maybe post a picture of your cage? We may be able to spot a potential issue.

 

[bpatters]

Two stories don't really help with guinea pigs. For one thing, they don't often think to go upstairs if they get in a confrontation. For another, the ramp is just another thing to fight over if one pig won't move to let the other one by.

 

[pinky]

If that was my guinea pig, I'd have him checked by an exotic vet and prescribed an antibiotic or the wounds thoroughly cleaned by the vet to keep them from getting infected. It's a lot easier to prevent an abscess than treat it after it forms. Those wounds look pretty severe to me. As far as his eye goes, I never mess around with an eye injury. That's an immediate vet appointment for me.

 

[Becca.Pig]

How long have they been together? At my best guess, I would say that its the second level which is causing the problem. They might each be claiming a level as their own. Do you have two of everything? Perhaps they are fighting over resources. Could you maybe post a picture of your cage? We may be able to spot a potential issue.

They've been together since they were born, about 1.5 years now. Sometimes they were separated or kept in close quarters because of floods or when the temperature got below 0, they were kept in the bath or a couple of small cat cages. They were also kept in separate cages at one point when they were often grumpy at each other when they were younger, I thought this was just the hormones kicking in etc, cause they calmed down again about a month or so later and they've been fine together since.
I do have two of everything and I always made sure there was 2+ pieces of all fruit and veges that I gave them.
I'm keeping them in separate cages now so that this doesn't happen again.