Biting Guinea pigs had a fight(there was a wound) and I don't know when to put them back together

[interesting thoughts]

Last night one of my guinea pigs bit the other. The one that was bitten was 5 months and he was bitten by a guinea pig who was 2 years 10 months. They are both boars. They are normally not aggressive with each other and the teenage one is actually the dominant one. He was bitten in the back near his butt. He bled for a little bit but his bleeding subsided. I have separated them both for now.

I need help with two things: first of all, how should I clean the wound? I dipped a cloth into water last night, and then I dipped the cloth into a salt water since I had seen online that you should clean it with saline. The wound is covered by his fur so it wasn't super bad but I am still quite worried for him since it wasn't a small nip. I will be calling my vet soon but normally they are super busy so I probably can't see them this week.

Second of all, should I put them back together? They normally love each other, especially the 5 month old who got bitten. He really loves his cagemate. He gets excited when he hears his cagemate if they aren't in the same cage and sometimes he will start wheeking. What happens is that my older boar sometimes gets really hormonal/excited and he will start chasing and humping the younger pig for an hour or longer straight but he usually isn't aggressive and trying to bite. Usually if he does get really excited like this(it was normally at night) I would separate them for the night and put them back together in the the morning but there would never be a real fight it would just be a lot of humping. It's very much not like my older guinea pig and beyond that they hump a little but they really mostly like each other. My young guinea pig still bites the bars between them a lot since he really misses his cagemate. I want him to be able to heal and I think at this point if I put them back together they would be fine, I just worry a bit for my younger pig. I also know that if I don't put them together then they will start to grow more distant and not like each other as much. I do want to put them back together at some point though.

What do you think I should do? Should I put them back together today?

 

[Guinea_Pigs_Are_A_lifest]

Last night one of my guinea pigs bit the other. The one that was bitten was 5 months and he was bitten by a guinea pig who was 2 years 10 months. They are both boars. They are normally not aggressive with each other and the teenage one is actually the dominant one. He was bitten in the back near his butt. He bled for a little bit but his bleeding subsided. I have separated them both for now.

I need help with two things: first of all, how should I clean the wound? I dipped a cloth into water last night, and then I dipped the cloth into a salt water since I had seen online that you should clean it with saline. The wound is covered by his fur so it wasn't super bad but I am still quite worried for him since it wasn't a small nip. I will be calling my vet soon but normally they are super busy so I probably can't see them this week.

Second of all, should I put them back together? They normally love each other, especially the 5 month old who got bitten. He really loves his cagemate. He gets excited when he hears his cagemate if they aren't in the same cage and sometimes he will start wheeking. What happens is that my older boar sometimes gets really hormonal/excited and he will start chasing and humping the younger pig for an hour or longer straight but he usually isn't aggressive and trying to bite. Usually if he does get really excited like this(it was normally at night) I would separate them for the night and put them back together in the the morning but there would never be a real fight it would just be a lot of humping. It's very much not like my older guinea pig and beyond that they hump a little but they really mostly like each other. My young guinea pig still bites the bars between them a lot since he really misses his cagemate. I want him to be able to heal and I think at this point if I put them back together they would be fine, I just worry a bit for my younger pig. I also know that if I don't put them together then they will start to grow more distant and not like each other as much. I do want to put them back together at some point though.

What do you think I should do? Should I put them back together today?

Oh, for your first question, I would recommend putting Vaseline on the wound. and for your second question, go ahead and put the piggies back together. This has happened to my piggies recently And unless it keeps happening, it should be fine!

 

[interesting thoughts]

@Guinea_Pigs_Are_A_lifest ok thank you!

 

[Daniellesuzie]

Last night one of my guinea pigs bit the other. The one that was bitten was 5 months and he was bitten by a guinea pig who was 2 years 10 months. They are both boars. They are normally not aggressive with each other and the teenage one is actually the dominant one. He was bitten in the back near his butt. He bled for a little bit but his bleeding subsided. I have separated them both for now.

I need help with two things: first of all, how should I clean the wound? I dipped a cloth into water last night, and then I dipped the cloth into a salt water since I had seen online that you should clean it with saline. The wound is covered by his fur so it wasn't super bad but I am still quite worried for him since it wasn't a small nip. I will be calling my vet soon but normally they are super busy so I probably can't see them this week.

Second of all, should I put them back together? They normally love each other, especially the 5 month old who got bitten. He really loves his cagemate. He gets excited when he hears his cagemate if they aren't in the same cage and sometimes he will start wheeking. What happens is that my older boar sometimes gets really hormonal/excited and he will start chasing and humping the younger pig for an hour or longer straight but he usually isn't aggressive and trying to bite. Usually if he does get really excited like this(it was normally at night) I would separate them for the night and put them back together in the the morning but there would never be a real fight it would just be a lot of humping. It's very much not like my older guinea pig and beyond that they hump a little but they really mostly like each other. My young guinea pig still bites the bars between them a lot since he really misses his cagemate. I want him to be able to heal and I think at this point if I put them back together they would be fine, I just worry a bit for my younger pig. I also know that if I don't put them together then they will start to grow more distant and not like each other as much. I do want to put them back together at some point though.

What do you think I should do? Should I put them back together today?

Guinea Pigs are to small for stitches on any cuts. Barrier Cream of.any brand is what you apply morning and night until the wound is completely healed the skin closed. Barrier Cream can be licked or eaten by piggies without drama to their health as that is what women use on their nipples for continuing to breast feeding without drama to the babies health too, Veterinary recommendation for Barrier Cream also. Keep the boars separated until such time healing is done because unless you get the older piggie csstrated the humping will never cease and the younger piggie needs to always be physically healthy and fit to be able to tolerate what can become bothersome hence the bite made for dominance and continuing such inappropriate behaviour for two boars under those circumstances of age difference so get a female if csstration is too out of pocket expenses for yourself. Keep them in viewing range of each other in the interim for preventing the loneliness of being alone. Best boars of closer age always works best for a fairer bond also making the humping/fighting on even score physically too.

 

[bpatters]

Do not, under any circumstances, put Vaseline on the wound. Clean it with warm water, and apply a tiny bit of triple antibiotic ointment (available at any pharmacy) to it and rub it in well. You don't want either pig to be able to lick it off.

But the thing you have to worry about is that a bite is a puncture wound, and bacteria have gotten deep into the wound. That can cause an abscess, so you're going to have to watch that area very carefully. Check it a couple of times a day, and if you see any signs of infection (redness, swelling, oozing, pus, bad odor), then get him to a vet for a general antibiotic.

As far as putting them back together, what size is the cage? Boars need more room than sows, so so two boars need at least 10 square feet of space. If the cage is too small, the aggression will continue.

If the cage is large enough, you can go ahead and put them back together. But make sure there's plenty of open flat space. Also, hang some fleece strips or pieces across the cage so they can't always see each other. You're hoping for an "out of sight, out of mind" situation where they're not constantly chasing each other.

If it doesn't work out with them together, you may have to leave them separated. To keep the bar chewer from breaking his teeth on the bars, you can line the inside of his cage with plexiglass up to about 10-12 inches high.

 

[ItsaZoo]

Good advice from Bpatters. Wounds need to be clean and an antibiotic ointment should be applied 2-3 times daily to prevent infection.

If you decide to put them in a very large space, also make sure you have two of everything. Hay piles, water bottles, pellets, etc. All the hideys should have two doors so one can’t corner the other one.

The behavior you describe with mounting for an hour and this severe of a bite indicates to me that they are not really enjoying each other’s company. The bar chewing is anxiety, not necessarily that he’s missing the other one, but that he wants to get after the other one.

For a short time I had 2 “bonded” sisters from a rescue and they exhibited this behavior. It ended with a bloody brawl and they were separated permanently.

 

[interesting thoughts]

@bpatters @ItsaZoo So yesterday I put them back together and they have been acting like normal(they still hump a little(but thats normal) so I don't know if I should separate them because another comment said that the younger boar probably isn't as strong and healthy). I don't think my younger boar biting the cage bars was a sign that he wanted to keep going at it since he is a rescue and I heard that when he was younger and first separated from his mother he would bite the cage bars a lot since he missed her. When I first got him and he wasn't with my older boar he would bite the cage bars in his separate cage because he wanted to be with the older boar. I think he just really likes the company. My cage is around 20sq feet(very large) so I think they are ok size-wise. Also the only vet in my area is not available for a while and they refuse to give instruction by the phone, so I don't think I can go to them yet.

I still think they enjoy each others company, I just don't understand why my older boar gets excited. I sometimes think its because if the time I go to sleep is later or earlier then they get agitated. They live in my bedroom and they don't really have a super dark place to go at night which is probably why my older boar gets upset sometimes. Thats just a theory but I don't really know. I had another pair who definitely didn't like each other as much but they still never bit one another.

Otherwise beyond that I think they are ok and I don't know what else to do

 

[Guinea_Pigs_Are_A_lifest]

Do not, under any circumstances, put Vaseline on the wound. Clean it with warm water, and apply a tiny bit of triple antibiotic ointment (available at any pharmacy) to it and rub it in well. You don't want either pig to be able to lick it off.

But the thing you have to worry about is that a bite is a puncture wound, and bacteria have gotten deep into the wound. That can cause an abscess, so you're going to have to watch that area very carefully. Check it a couple of times a day, and if you see any signs of infection (redness, swelling, oozing, pus, bad odor), then get him to a vet for a general antibiotic.

As far as putting them back together, what size is the cage? Boars need more room than sows, so so two boars need at least 10 square feet of space. If the cage is too small, the aggression will continue.

If the cage is large enough, you can go ahead and put them back together. But make sure there's plenty of open flat space. Also, hang some fleece strips or pieces across the cage so they can't always see each other. You're hoping for an "out of sight, out of mind" situation where they're not constantly chasing each other.

If it doesn't work out with them together, you may have to leave them separated. To keep the bar chewer from breaking his teeth on the bars, you can line the inside of his cage with plexiglass up to about 10-12 inches high.

You are right, do not put vaseline on your piggy! I was mistaking it for another product.