Injury Boys fighting... Wiggles hurt, please help!

[Luna8]

Hey, guys!

You could very well say I am in deep guinea pig drama.
So, for the past week my two boys, Wiggles and Fiver, haven't been getting along too great. For example, a couple days ago me, my mom, and my sister had Wiggles and Fiver on my lap together, and it didn't go great.
My boys have never liked to be in that a close proximity when they're on someone's lap, and before we knew it they were both off the couch, on they floor in a great big scuffle (it was actually rather small... well medium sized, I don't really have anything to compare it to). We immediately picked them up and we all cooled off, and we've been keeping an eye on them. They've been chasing each other around the cage a lot, or at least, Fiver's been chasing Wiggles, and Wiggles has just been trying to defend himself. Whenever I see them doing that I kind of break them up, and I thought it was a dominance thing.
See, Wiggles is about 1 and a half years old, and Fiver is somewhere around being almost 1 year old, and even when we first got Fiver as a baby, he's always been "dominant." At least, that's what Wiggles has let him believe (Wiggles has always been extremely kind to Fiver and has treated him fairly), but I've been wondering if Fiver is getting his male hormones and actually trying to state that he's the one who's dominant now. I don't really know when they start getting their hormones...? My other guess is that (and I don't know how long female piggies are in heat), my single female guinea pig Coffee is in heat, and she's in my bedroom in a separate cage close to them. I don't really know the signs to know if she is, but it's just another guess.
Anyways, we and my sister Nula were in the living room about a half hour ago, and we heard them scuffling. We rushed in, and they were really going at each other, and once again Fiver was on the offence and Wiggles the defense. After a bit we got Fiver in a separate box where he is presently sitting in, and I sat down in the cage where Wiggles was, after we covered up the old hay with new momentarily before I could clean it. He was lying in his usual, curled-up, "I'm a cute puppy dog" form, and he couldn't get comfy. He was really exhausted, as was I from all the piggy drama, and was pretty restless.
When I pet his back/rear, he kind of wiggled away, maybe kind of flinched, and when Nula got him lettuce, I noticed something else. You know when you give a piggy something, you can't get it back unless is tears from their teeth? Well, I didn't hear a crunch, and I could just slide it out of his mouth. I has him follow the lettuce upward so I could see his mouth: There was a tiny bit of dried blood on his chin, and (as far as I can see), one of his bottom teeth is missing. He can still eat, though, so that's good. I actually had a guinea pig named Aslan that some of you might remember, and he lost a tooth from chewing on the bars but it grew back really fast, and (I don't know if it makes a difference), but he was older than Wiggles, actually his former cage mate. So I think that'll be okay, but I looked at his back and there's a lot of Fiver's bite marks! They're closed up, but still tender and I'm still looking for more things on him. But he seems in fine spirits besides that and I think he'll be okay as long as he gets the right kind of treatment. I'd like to know as much as possible about the bites and I'm cleaning the cage so there's no chance of getting any infections. Also, if you have any input on the Wiggles and Fiver relationship matter, please, PLEASE tell me. I really hope they can get over this. I won't put them back together until I can hear what you have to say.

Thanks in advance, and please send all your warm cuddly thoughts to Wiggles and Fiver,
Luna.

 

[bpatters]

You've got two rowdy pigs. They may calm down when they're a little older, or they may not.

First, how large is the cage? Can any pig get trapped in a hidey or on a ramp or a loft? If so, rearrange so there's no possible way for one pig to trap another. If the cage is small, don't put them back together until you can enlarge it. If you have the room, you may have to put a grid divider down the middle of the cage for a while until things calm down.

Second, keep a VERY close eye on those bite marks. Abscesses can easily form from bites, and you want to treat them sooner rather than later -- later may require surgery, and that's an expensive proposition. So if they're at all swollen, or reddened, or have lumps under them, then you want to see a vet ASAP.

 

[Luna8]

Oh my gosh, thank you so much!
I was checking my thread about every 30 seconds for a reply, ha ha!
About the cage size: My girl Coffee's cage mate LordBrocktree recently passed away, and they had a 2 by 5 grid cage, sense they were both bigger than the boys, but now that Coffee's by herself, I'm going to put her in the boy's cage, which is 2 by 4 grids, I just haven't gotten a chance to do that. I forgot to mention it in my post but that actually crossed my mind to swap cages but I was just freaked out.
I've checked the bite marks several times since my post and so far there's no change that I can see, but I'll keep a VERY close eye on them for sure!
Thanks so much for your reply! It's really helpful!!!

 

[lunamoonagirl]

I had the same thing happen to me with my three males two of them got into a fight a drew some blood. they had a cage that was extra big so we took some extra grids and put them across part of the cage to separate them so they could still see hear and smell each other. something else you can do is when you see them fight stick them in the bath together and they will forget about what they were doing before for a little while.

hope this helps

 

[Luna8]

Thanks! That's very helpful
It's really relieving to know your not the only one who's gone through this, you know? It's kind of hilarious: Our little guinea pig friends are so complicated and yet so simple at the same time! How long does the bath method usually last? I'm afraid that they might start fighting in the bath together and that it would be a little worst since they're cold and wet and stuff, but if all else fails I'll totally give it a shot!
Thank you!!!

 

[Luna8]

Hey!
We just figured out that instead of having one of Wiggles bottom teeth missing, he's missing BOTH of the FRONT TEETH! That kinda freaked me out a bit for him, as it's making it hard for him to eat his pellets, but he can eat his greens if I break them a little smaller and it's a lot easier for him. But I discovered something while looking at his mouth: His two bottom teeth were way shorter than guinea pig teeth usually are supposed to be, and I check his teeth often and they've always been the regular length. I suspect that, (for unknown reasons), Wiggles lost his two bottom teeth at the same time, and when they started to grow back he lost his front teeth. That's just my theory.

Also, we're swapping cages right now. Coffee just got the boy's cage and is enjoying the fresh bedding and drinking her water! It's so satisfying to see your guinea pig so happy! Wiggles is in his box right now, as is Fiver in his own box. After we put Wiggles in the Coffee's old cage, we're going to get Fiver to let him see Wiggles, and after that, well... I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.

I have an idea about getting Wiggles his pellets. I saw someone give advice to someone who's mommy piggy had passed away during the birth, leaving the baby alone. Someone said that they could crush the pellets into fine powder and mix with water, then feed the baby the mix with a syringe. Because of Wiggles tooth situation, could I get him all the things he needs from his pellets by doing that? I'm gonna try it, just not force him and take it real slow.


Thanks, everybody, for all of your help!

P.S. I'm checking the bite marks regularly and they still look they same. As long as he doesn't scratch them open I think we'll be okay. Also, I forgot to mention this but I'm going to make the mix ASAP because we think that he's lost a little weight. I'm trying to make sure he's as comfortable as possible, and so far it seems we've done a pretty good job!

 

[Luna8]

Great news!
I really think this whole thing will turn out alright! Last night we put the barrier in Coffee's old cage, and the sniffed each other and ate next to each other, and the only couple times that they rumble strutted or chattered, it only lasted for about 3 seconds! Wiggles really likes his pellet mash, and can each a few pellets by himself, because I discovered he has his two bottom teeth and on front tooth which is either broken off or growing back. Hard to see is a piggy's mouth... So small!!! I'm switching their water bottle back and forth until I get another one, and giving them lots of greens! Wiggles is eating them well. Speaking of Wiggles, he is in high spirits and in a very cuddly mood! I'm still checking his bite marks and they seem to be healing just fine, but they're still a little tender!
Also, about 10 minutes ago I got Wiggles out, cuddled for a while, did the same with Fiver and then let them see each other, Fiver in my hands and Wiggles on my bed. I didn't force them together but I let them see each other. It was kind of funny in a sad way, because Wiggles tried to chatter but because of his teeth it didn't give the effect attended. Fiver nosed him and they sniffed and chattered and sniffed and they seemed interested in each other, so that's good. I put them back on opposite sides of where they were before so they could get more familiar with they scents. They rumble strutted around to they hay for a while, and finally they just settled down, and it's just like they were when they were on they other sides on the cage.

Well, I've got my fingers crossed! Go piggies!!!

 

[lunamoonagirl]

that's really good news I hope that they will become friends again

 

[Luna8]

Thank you! They don't do too well by themselves yet, but they do great if they have some lettuce. Then they can get really close! Thanks for your support!!!!!!!