injury- help (should I take to the vet?)

[KpiggieK]

for the past couple of weeks, I've been introducing my new Skinny boy (few months old) to my one year old guinea pig. They've been housed separately but because they had previously been doing so well, I was actually considering housing them together in the next few weeks...

That is until today.....
Baby (no name) has been doing really well with Nox (older pig) and they've only gotten into a few 'dance' and clicking matches before, but nothing out of the ordinary until a couple of days ago. They got into a small fight and Baby had a couple of scratches but there was no blood, so I wasn't too worried.
Today I put them together so they could have their daily runaround but they got into a fight (one thing to note- Nox has had previous aggressive behavior towards my previous pigs but mostly just hair pulling and only one or two actual fights). I pulled Baby out and he was covered in scratches (I've counted 4 or 5) and one on his lip is bleeding and so is one on his back.
He's pretty scared right now but is comforted by my furry blankets and mommy time, but what should i do?
Is it serious enough to go to the vet? Could they even help? He is not gushing blood but it seems to be a nasty bite.
I have photos if needed.

 

[Sappyshelly]

Can you send a photo? Also please be aware that the pigs might just not get along. I mean it couldn’t hurt running him to the vet for a quick quick check up just to make sure the injury is not more serious than it seems.

 

[KpiggieK]

This is the worst injury... It stopped bleeding now but I'm still quite worried

 

[Lady Kelly]

I would go to a vet for assessment. If it's painful then a pain killer will be required but depending on location and size etc the vet might decide that a preventative course of antibiotics would be necessary to stop any infections taking hold. Sorry to hear your boys don't want to get along

 

[YvonneBlue]

I would definitely get that checked out by a vet. It will need cleaning up and possibly painkillers.

 

[Reenie]

Your boys can't go back together now, not even for floor time. For future reference, it's not a good idea to keep putting boys together and separating again. If you want to bond males, then you need to set time aside to put them together in a neutral area and see whether they get on or not, then, if they are OK for a few hours, then they can be put back in a clean cage. There is a very detailed thread about bonding in the forum tab. There's also help on what to do if they fall out.
I hope your wee guy is OK. Please don't put him with the other boy again though.

 

[VickiA]

Definitely agree that he needs to see a vet.
And please don’t introduce them again. With boars you can’t keep introducing and separating. They have to wrk out the hierarchy. But once blood has been drawn you have to call an end to it.
Here are the guides that explain all of this.
Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Boars: A guide to successful companionship.
Introducing And Re-introducing Guinea Pigs
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?