HELP! Bite wounds to eye and ears

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Cinnamon+Mocha

Junior Guinea Pig
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I went on vacation for seven days, and left my guinea pigs with a pet sitter. We gave them in a slightly smaller cage, since the other couldn’t fit in the car. I gave him instruction on feeding, cleaning, etc.. When we came back, we had dinner with them. In the middle of dinner Cinnamon started squealing, so i went to go check on her. Her eye had 2 scratches, and one was bleeding! I checked her ears, and on the inside of one of them was a little less than a centimeter long bite, and it had a giant scab. When we got home, I cleaned out the wounds with water and antibacterial soap. I’m not sure why they fought, because of puberty, being away from home, or the smaller enclosure, but now I don’t know what to do. I’m going to the store tomorrow and buying a divider, and an extra water bottle plus hay rack. What do I do with them? I’m pretty sure Mocha is to blame, but I don’t know what to do! Please help!
 
@Cinnamon+Mocha Firstly Cinnamon needs to see a vet. Her wounds could be infected and as her eye is bleeding then that is classed as in need of emergency vet treatment.

Once the wounds have been treat and the vet gives you a diagnosis on the severity you can decide what to do next.

How long have they lived together? Is there a possibility that they didn't fight and something else caused the wound?

Separating them for now sounds like a wise choice. It may not have to be permanent though.
 
They’ve lived together for about a year. I got them and they were in the cage together. There are no vets near my house, but my friend’s mom is, so i’ll have to ask her. Thank you!
 
Cinnamon+Mocha said:
They’ve lived together for about a year. I got them and they were in the cage together. There are no vets near my house, but my friend’s mom is, so i’ll have to ask her. Thank you!
Click to expand...

Hi

Please see a vet asap with any eye injury. They can deteriorate very quickly; the sooner you can step in with a check and antibiotic eye drops and artificial tear gel for rehydration (wait with the latter at least half an hour after the antibiotic drops to allow them to be fully absorbed), the better and quicker the recovery chances. Eye treatment and medication is the same as with dogs or cats.

Also make sure that your girl is getting a thorough health check re. bites, skin parasites and other stress related problems.
Make sure to disinfect any open bite wounds and disguss the use of an antibiotic to prevent the risk of abscesses, especially in deeper wounds. Be aware that for rodents any penicillin derived antibiotic is fatal.
Safe medication for guinea pigs: Guinea Lynx :: Medications
Dangerous medication: Guinea Lynx :: Dangerous Medications
Calculating dosages for common meds: Guinea Lynx :: Dose Calculator

If you suspect fighting, please follow the tips in these guide links below. However, never overlook the angle of illness.
Please also check whether your piggies have actually lost weight in your absence and have been fed and watered properly on a daily basis. If not, lack of food/irregular feeding can indeed lead to full-on fights.
Bonds In Trouble
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Tips For Organising Your Holiday Absence
 
Last edited:
Sorry, to clarify, the wound was not ON her eye, it was near it. Would that still need vet assistance? Her eye is not swollen or anything, and now that they have been put in their regular cage, they don’t seem to fight. We still are going to separate them.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

Please see a vet asap with any eye injury. They can deteriorate very quickly; the sooner you can step in with a check and antibiotic eye drops and artificial tear gel for rehydration (wait with the latter at least half an hour after the antibiotic drops to allow them to be fully absorbed), the better and quicker the recovery chances. Eye treatment and medication is the same as with dogs or cats.

Also make sure that your girl is getting a thorough health check re. bites, skin parasites and other stress related problems.
Make sure to disinfect any open bite wounds and disguss the use of an antibiotic to prevent the risk of abscesses, especially in deeper wounds. Be aware that for rodents any penicillin derived antibiotic is fatal.
Safe medication for guinea pigs: Guinea Lynx :: Medications
Dangerous medication: Guinea Lynx :: Dangerous Medications
Calculating dosages for common meds: Guinea Lynx :: Dose Calculator

If you suspect fighting, please follow the tips in these guide links below. However, never overlook the angle of illness.
Please also check whether your piggies have actually lost weight in your absence and have been fed and watered properly on a daily basis. If not, lack of food/irregular feeding can indeed lead to full-on fights.
Bonds In Trouble
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Tips For Organising Your Holiday Absence
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for the articles, and other info. This will hopefully help my girls 🙏🙏🙏
 
Cinnamon+Mocha said:
Sorry, to clarify, the wound was not ON her eye, it was near it. Would that still need vet assistance? Her eye is not swollen or anything, and now that they have been put in their regular cage, they don’t seem to fight. We still are going to separate them.
Click to expand...

Hi!

Glad that the wound is not on the eye itself; this explains why your vet has prescribed a standard oral antibiotic and not antibiotic eye drops. Recovery chances should be a lot better and there is no risk of losing the eye. You can still give some eye gel for comfort to the eye. ;)

From the reaction of your sows, it was obviously a freak accident and not an intentional bite/fight, so there is no problem. I would however recommend to see whether your cage is too small and also remove any hideys with only one exit.
" Biting" And What You Can Do
Cage Size Guide
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
 
Okay, thanks! I have an 8 square foot cage, so I think that’s fine. I went to the store to get some toys and tunnels and that seemed to help a lot. Thank you 🙏 so much for your help and time!
 
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