Injury Guinea pig missing a chunk of ear help!!!

[Kellecowell]

Hi everyone, I?m new here. I just needed some advice, I have two boars (Dobby and Sm?agol). I got these guinea pigs about 3 weeks (or should I say wheeks lol) ago! They were fine when I got them but suddenly Dobby has become aggressive, he bites when you hold him he?ll fight you when you want to cuddle him and he?s began to fight his brother, normally they?re just bicker and Dobby will bite Sm?agols bum. I took them back to the shop I got them from and they suggested this behaviour maybe a flirting behaviour and they?ll bicker but they?ll sort it out between them. So today I come home from work and they had a massive fight! Where Sm?agol squealed loudly! Normally I don?t check them becuase it?s never anything! But I checked Sm?agol and he?s missing a chunk of his ear?!?!

For the moment I?ve serperated the two but I don?t know what to do about smeagols ear and what to do with them in the future? The pet shop manager suggested I neuter Dobby to stop his sexually attacking Sm?agol?

 

[Kellecowell]

Sorry about my spelling this site isn’t very compatible with iPhones and it’s very late for me

 

[bpatters]

How big is the cage? Lack of space is a major reason for guinea pig aggression, especially between boars.

Since you're a new pig owner, here's some recommended reading:

https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/113176-Information-for-new-guinea-pig-owners
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/107827-What-NOT-to-do-for-your-guinea-pigs!

And FYI, pet shops are not very good places to ask for advice about caring for your pigs. They're there to sell them, not treat them, and we regularly see terrible advice being handed out by pet shop employees.

 

[Pammers2169]

I would watch some YouTube videos on the topic so you can see what male dominance behavior looks like. The store clerk thinks mounting is a sexual behavior but it’s really not sexual. Your males are sorting out who is dominate. I have two males with ripped ears. It will heal fast. I’m sorry that happed.

 

[Kellecowell]

I would watch some YouTube videos on the topic so you can see what male dominance behavior looks like. The store clerk thinks mounting is a sexual behavior but it?s really not sexual. Your males are sorting out who is dominate. I have two males with ripped ears. It will heal fast. I?m sorry that happed.

Thank you both for answering, I separated them both last night, I took smeagol to the vets this morning they aid the wound doesn?t look infected and to keep them both separate for 4 weeks until they?re old enough to be neutered, then neuter them and introduce them to each other. HOWEVER, a new problem has arrived, now they?re both alone they seem very depressed. I?ve arranged their cages so they?re facing each other and they can sniff and interact with each other but they can?t hurt each other. Would that distress them or is that okay to do? The last thing I want is to distress my piggies

 

[bpatters]

How large is the cage they were both in? Lack of space is a major reason for guinea pig aggression. If the cage is large enough, you may not need to separate them.

Having them in separate cages next to each other is apt to result in a lot of frustrated bar-chewing.

 

[foggycreekcavy]

How much are you invested in this vet? Neutering doesn't change a guinea pig's behavior regarding dominance issues. In any pair, neutered or not, male or female, one guinea pig is the boss, and males especially feel a need to establish this hierarchy. What neutering does is make it so you can pair your male with a female, not necessarily another male.

This happened to a recent adopter of mine. They got a pair of males, they started fighting since they were going through adolescence and trying to figure out dominance. A vet recommended neutering them to make them more docile. Well, it didn't work, and so they came to me and adopted two females. They now have two separate cages, each one with a neutered male and an intact female.