Fighting Repeated Biting

[onearpainter]

Hey guys, I am kinda at a loss. I have two ~1 year old males. They are in a 2x6 cage with multiples of everything in their cage. They are getting lots of veggies and hay. Both of them are perfectly healthy. But one of them keeps biting (and injuring) the other. It started with the one tearing the other's ear. And I keep finding scabs/ bites on the ones rump and back. I just don't know what to do. I rearrange their cage once a week, they get floor time daily. I've washed and de-scented their cage repeatedly.

Am I dealing with a guinea pig that is just always grouchy? He will often snip at the other when the other is eating and drinking. I'm just concerned that the one being bullied is depressed, at the moment he is at a healthy weight so he is managing to get food.

They do get along a good bit of the time, but I'm still worried about them.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks for dealing with this? the 2x6 cage is about as big as I can go.

Thanks!

 

[bpatters]

How much furniture do you have in the cage? Males need a lot of room to move around without getting in each other's faces, and if the cage is cluttered, they can't do that.

I'd take out all cage stuff except one hidey each, and I'd add a couple of fleece forests, or fleece draped across a couple of corners of the cage. That will let them move freely and sort of hide from each other. If the hideys have only one door, cut another or exchange them for something that does have two doors.

Also, have you treated them for mites? They can make a pig mighty grouchy.

 

[onearpainter]

They each have one house with two exits, as well as fleece hammocks hanging in two corners and thats's all thats in their cage (besides food and water stuff).

I haven't treated them for mites? I might take them to my exotics vet and see if they have mites. Thanks.

 

[bpatters]

The vet can't tell for sure if they have mites. He can do a skin scraping, which is painful for the pig, costs you money, misses the mites half the time, and the end recommendation is the same -- treat the pig for mites.

Here's how you can do it yourself: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/111160-How-to-treat-for-mites-and-lice

 

[onearpainter]

Thanks, I've read that post. However the Ivermectin is now $40.00 on amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Durvet-Iverm...sr=1-3&keywords=Ivermectin+Pour+On+For+Cattle).
So I'm going to ask my vet what she recommends to treat them with. She is not a fan of skin scraping, for the exact reasons you listed.
She also usually keeps treatment in stock so I will be able to help the piggies sooner.

 

[bpatters]

You're looking at the one liter bottle, and you don't need nearly that much. This is a better price: https://www.amazon.com/Ivermectin-P...TF8&qid=1489602417&sr=1-5&keywords=ivermectin

 

[onearpainter]

I got them checked out by the vet. They definitely don't have mites. There are no signs of them. I'm just going to monitor them more closely.
I might try getting them some new houses, and adding some stimuli to their cage.