Ear Biting

[Matt Y]

Hi All,

I'm a fairly new Guinea Pig owner, and recently I bought 4 female guinea pigs.
The older 2 had lived together for a while (11 Weeks), and the other 2 are still fairly young (8 weeks).

When I got one of the older pigs (the only long haired one), home, I noticed she already had some bites on her ear but I decided to monitor it, as she was living with a number of other pigs in the shop.

Over the last few weeks, it's clear her ear is getting worse and has a few lumps out of it, I've checked the younger ones, and one of them seems to have had a few nips out of her ear over the last day or two.

As a precaution, I've taken the 2 with bites from their ear out immediately just to be safe.

Should I just accept they will need to be separated for good, and get a second hutch or is there another option I've not thought of ?

Obviously, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure the pigs aren't stressed or bullied by other pigs.

Any advice is welcome!

Thanks

Matt

 

[Wiebke]

I would see how the separation works. Ear biting is generally the sign of a stressed piggy.
Here is lots of information about bonding/group dynamics and behaviours, which you may find helpful in working out what is going on:
Illustrated Bonding Behaviours And Dynamics
Sow Behaviour

 

[Matt Y]

I would see how the separation works. Ear biting is generally the sign of a stressed piggy.

The older one with the really bad ear has been hiding a lot. Very rarely leaves the tubes, tunnels or bedding. I'll see how it goes.

 

[Wiebke]

The older one with the really bad ear has been hiding a lot. Very rarely leaves the tubes, tunnels or bedding. I'll see how it goes.

I have added a couple of links to my last post, which you may find helpful. Ear biting can be dominance grooming going too far.
Here is another one: Barbering ( Eating Hair)

 

[Matt Y]

Thank you, I've checked her fur and it's hard to tell. She has so much of it!

This is a picture of her ear.

PicPaste - 20160828_140714-2zJKyQnA.jpg