Chewed Ear ;(

Status
Not open for further replies.
3stooges

3stooges

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Apr 20, 2016
Messages
77
Reaction score
60
Points
170
Location
Cornwall, UK
Ok so after giving the cage a good clean and changing fleeces, I went outside to do the rabbits. When I came in I happened to notice Walter has a big rip in his ear ;(. It must have been a fight :(. I've cleaned with saline solution and luckily there is no blood but the ear has clearly been ripped. Am I going to have to separate? I am not even sure who done it but Walter has been really picking on the others lately and now has a rip in his ear.

What shall I do? Can anyone advise?

Thank You xx
 
Cookies&Glitter said:
Oh no poor little love if it were my piggy a torn ear would definitely mean separation!
Click to expand...

My head is telling me to separate which is what I will do tonight, so I can bathe it but I have no idea how it started or who it was. I have checked the others over and I can't see anything. I only left them for 20 minutes! xx
 
Ouch, that looks like quite a big rip!

My BB's left (I think) ear has a few chunks missing since I got her and her two sisters, I know it can be a bit different with girls rather than boys but I took it as them sorting them selves out in their new home as she did (and still does) challenge Chewie some times. Hopefully some more boar-experienced members will come along!
 
Poor boy :( Quite a few years ago when I first introduced my two sows, Eliza and Eleanor, Eliza took a chunk out of Ellie's ear although not quite as big a chunk as that :( but it can happen during the dominance phases.

I have no experience with groups of boars though.

I think @Wiebke would be the best person to answer whether you should separate considering you have a trio of boars
 
Poor little boy!

It looks like his mate has taken a real swipe at his ear and caught it. :(

As long as they are still getting on, I would leave them be. If it had been an intentional bite, you would see it in their interaction. There would be a lot of tension between them right now.

Please disinfect the ear with saline solution.

Here are tips for boys that are in the teenage months.
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
 
Wiebke said:
Poor little boy!

It looks like his mate has taken a real swipe at his ear and caught it. :(

As long as they are still getting on, I would leave them be. If it had been an intentional bite, you would see it in their interaction. There would be a lot of tension between them right now.

Please disinfect the ear with saline solution.

Here are tips for boys that are in the teenage months.
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Click to expand...

Thank You. Just got back from getting supplies for the pets and more Saline from the pharmacy and there is no more bites! However they all appear very excitable and pop corning around like mad but it looks like they are squabbling at the same time, not sure wether its them playing or arguing to be honest. They have got very excited to see someone home and hearing the bags and food containers going. Shall I disinfect with cotton wool? xx
 
3stooges said:
Thank You. Just got back from getting supplies for the pets and more Saline from the pharmacy and there is no more bites! However they all appear very excitable and pop corning around like mad but it looks like they are squabbling at the same time, not sure wether its them playing or arguing to be honest. They have got very excited to see someone home and hearing the bags and food containers going. Shall I disinfect with cotton wool? xx
Click to expand...

Yes, please do. It looks rather like an accident, to be honest, if they are popcorning and not teeth chattering and studiously keeping out of each other's way. You can't mistake the tension after a major bust up!
 
Wiebke said:
Yes, please do. It looks rather like an accident, to be honest if they are popcorning and not teeth chattering and studiously keeping out of each other's way. You can't mistake the tension after a major bust up!
Click to expand...

Ok Thank You. They all seem happy enough at the moment, I have 2 cuddled up and one in the cosy bed, so all settled for now. Just really desperately need the new cage to arrive as their cage is far to small now. Its very difficult for them to get away from each other. However I feel very apprehensive about going to bed incase i get another injury in the night xx
 
3stooges said:
Ok Thank You. They all seem happy enough at the moment, I have 2 cuddled up and one in the cosy bed, so all settled for now. Just really desperately need the new cage to arrive as their cage is far to small now. Its very difficult for them to get away from each other. However I feel very apprehensive about going to bed incase i get another injury in the night xx
Click to expand...

Please take a deep breath. You can't stay up all night and neither can they! I very much doubt that another freak accident like this happens again.

When you switch them over to the new cage, please transfer some old smelly bedding with them and rub the new cage down with it, so it smells "right". This will hopefully help to keep any new hierarchy sort-out in new territory to a minimum and doesn't rock the boat.
 
Wiebke said:
Please take a deep breath. You can't stay up all night and neither can they! I doubt that another freak accident like this happens again.
Click to expand...

I have uni in the morning(mature student) and really need to attend a lecture so fingers crossed. My Son has offered to watch them for a hour or two, so I have allowed his xbox downstairs so he is quite happy. Thank you for all your advice :) x
 
With the new cage they can have 3 of everything and toys as it is just over 7ft I think.
I expect I will have a separation in the future and I will work around that but they are so tiny still, it would be lovely if they spent a bit more time together even if it is just to learn piggy social skills. I might get lucky and get a trio but we will see.
I don't regret getting the 3 of them and they have been amazing in helping us move on from our loss but I feel a bit angry for being so naive at listening to the previous trio advice from their previous owner. Ah well, i suppose we all live and learn and I have 3 beautiful fur balls added to our family so i guess thats a blessing ;) xx
 
3stooges said:
With the new cage they can have 3 of everything and toys as it is just over 7ft I think.
I expect I will have a separation in the future and I will work around that but they are so tiny still, it would be lovely if they spent a bit more time together even if it is just to learn piggy social skills. I might get lucky and get a trio but we will see.
I don't regret getting the 3 of them and they have been amazing in helping us move on from our loss but I feel a bit angry for being so naive at listening to the previous trio advice from their previous owner. Ah well, i suppose we all live and learn and I have 3 beautiful fur balls added to our family so i guess thats a blessing ;) xx
Click to expand...

If you can get as far as Norman Gorman's Guinea Pig Sanctuary on the Cornwall/Devon border if you run into trouble to look for a suitable companion for a single boy, you will be in safe hands. It is unfortunately your nearest good standard piggy savvy rescue. Molly is locating to Liskeard in July.
 
Wiebke said:
If you can get as far as Norman Gorman's Guinea Pig Sanctuary on the Cornwall/Devon border if you run into trouble to look for a suitable companion for a single boy, you will be in safe hands. It is unfortunately your nearest good standard piggy savvy rescue. Molly is locating to Liskeard in July.
Click to expand...

I did have a browse earlier at the nearest rescues and noticed Devon was the nearest. I don't mind the drive but it is a little far for the pigs to travel but can be done. We have dogs and cats and humans lol, the Buns are out for summer, so we would have to have a pig that would be used to this. But would be amazing to offer an older boy a home ;) and July is not that long away ;) xx
 
My pig cages would all have lids on of course because of the cats and always supervised through floor time. The Rabbits live indoors through winter but they are triple the size of all my cats so they really don't bother them lol. xx
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top