Injury Open wound on face?

[Snugglybutt]

Hi everybody! I am a new guinea pig mom and I adopted two male piggies about a month ago. They are pretty hot&cold towards each other - some days they are friends and others they are purring/yawning and lunging at each other constantly. For the past week they have been OK with each other. After I came home from work today, I fed them their vitamin C and got things ready to clean their cage (2?4 CC), when I noticed one of my boys had an open wound on his nose/face area and was purring at me (he never purrs at all, very submissive piggy). The wound looks pretty deep and it is bright red when I look at it. I have currently seperared the cage (I have a 2x3CC which I need to get from my parent's house) and sent an email to a nearby exotic vet. Right now I'm not too sure what to do! Should I rinse out the wound with something? It is 10pm so I cannot buy anything from the store. I dont know when I will be able to see the vet either, it could be tomorrow or it could be in a week! Advice? I attached 2 images but not sure if they will show! The wound is in his face hair but if you zoom in you can kind of see it.

 

[bpatters]

Do you have a place where one pig can trap another? Like a pigloo? Places like that are just invitations for a pig to trap another and get its face slashed for its efforts.

I can't see the wound.

 

[Snugglybutt]

I did have a pigloo and I was actually planning on removing it when I did my cage cleaning tonight, but I guess I was too late! I'm going to let them simmer down for a bit until the wound heals a little, then try reintroducing them in a neutral area. If that doesn't work I guess I'll have to keep them seperated in their own CC cages!

Sorry, I tried taking a good picture but he kept shaking his head around and since it's in his curly face hair it's hard to see I mixed some water and salt and used a syringe to clean the wound.

 

[CavyMama]

A 2X4 is a bit on the small side for two males. Not enough room can lead to injuries -- especially between two males who are only luke warm toward each other.

 

[Snugglybutt]

Since I have a 2x4 and a 2x3 CC, is there a way to combine them together to make a 2x7? Can I cut out one side of the cages and tape them together??

 

[bpatters]

Don't tape them. Tape is like piggy crack. Use zip ties.

 

[Snugglybutt]

Don't tape them. Tape is like piggy crack. Use zip ties.

Ok thanks will be doing this soon!! Hoping a bigger cage will help them get along better

 

[Snugglybutt]

So I combined the cages and made it almost 3x4 grids wide. Michael (beige) was crying all night for Hippo (black). I decided to place them in the new cage together with new bedding and see how things pan out. Theyre still squabbling but it does not seem that intense and they have a lot of room to zoom around.

 

[Snugglybutt]

Hi everybody! Today I noticed something weird on Hippo's neck area. It is rough to the touch and is flaking off. I dont think its because of fighting. Any ideas??

 

[bpatters]

My first assumption would be a scratch, and I'd treat it with triple antibiotic cream (apply sparingly with a q-tip, rub in well, twice a day). If it doesn't get better in a few days, or gets worse in the meantime, post back and we'll try something else.

 

[Snugglybutt]

Thanks for the quick reply bpatters :^) I will do that!

 

[llllllllaxi]

My mom won’t let me get a bigger cage for my piggies... he’s in a little pet store one... my dad just gave him to me because his wife’s daughter wasn’t taking care of him and idk what to do I want to build one but my mom doesn’t understand..��

 

[Snugglybutt]

You should tell your mom that your guinea pigs will be much happier in a bigger cage! I had my two boys in a tiny pet store cage too, it wasn't even big enough for 1 guinea pig. Now that I have a pretty large cage, my boys seem to be more happy and run laps around the cage, they love it! Building a CC cage is not expensive at all. You can buy a package of grids at walmart for 20 dollars and a sheet of coroplast for home depot or a sign store for 20 dollars. Do you have a job? Maybe you can do chores around the house to "pay" for the cage? I hope this helps.

 

[bpatters]

This is an election year. Candidates' outdoor signs are made of coroplast. Candidates who lost their primaries should have plenty of coroplast available. You can duct tape it together (from the bottom, so the piggies can't get to it). A box of grids that will make a huge cage shoud cost less than $25.

Look in the cages forum -- there are instructions there on how to build, and more suggestions for getting free/cheap materials.

 

[Snugglybutt]

Update: Hippo's neck is healing up well! BUT.... I found another wound on him!! This one is probably from fighting with Michael. I don't get it. I moved them into the living room (where I spend my free time) and they seem to get along. I hear them purring or chattering a few times a day. I have two tunnels and two fleece forests for them and two of every object. I also noticed that Hippo is walking around the cage with his head tilted to the side sometimes?? Here is a pic of the new wound, is it serious enough for me to seperate them??

 

[Snugglybutt]

I forgot to add - ever since I got Hippo he has been shaking his head, maybe once every 20 minutes. He's been to the vet 2 times and checked his ears both times and no ear infection?

 

[Snugglybutt]

Ok so - Hippo is covered in scabs and scratches. I honestly don't think it's from fighting with his cage mate. The wounds are in weird places that I don't think Michael can get to. Just to be safe, I'm going to bring him to the vet and see what's up. I want his ears checked and also to see if he has something wrong with his skin. He has 4 scabs on his neck area and two rough scratches on his sides. I'll post updates when I see the vet!

 

[Wheeking Pigs]

Show her the plus's of having a large cage and the bad sides also. Maybe then she will understand.

Points To Make:

-A small cage to them is like 2 people living in a closet.

-You can enjoy them so much more.

-You will not have to clean the cage as often.

-They are more likley to get sick (and you will have to bring them to the vet more) if they are in a small cage.

-It will be less expensive to keep up because you will not have to bring them to the vet as often (because they will be sick less).

For more information, I would visit these sights: https://www.guineapigmanual.com/guinea-pig-cages/ https://www.guineapigmanual.com/guinea-pig-bedding/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8DkTrIfTNs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2twgWZrvvo https://www.guineapigcagesstore.com/about-candccages