Open wounds on guinea pigs

[MaarjaK]

Hi!
About a week ago, I noticed a pretty big scab on my guinea pig's nape (back of her head). It wasn't small enough to be a fungal or that type of infection - it seemed to be formed onto a scratch or a bite. Now, my two suspects currently are either my other guinea pig or my cat who, if the pig was too close to the door of the cage, could have scratched her while trying to play with them through the door, which his paw fits through (he is the most chill animal I've ever seen so he doesn't want to eat them, he's just curious).
Today she tore the scab off and there is an open wound on her neck. It's not bleeding actively too much but I cleaned it with water (as recommended by Google) about 5 hours ago and now when I looked at it, there was a little bit more blood on the wound. It seems to be only the top layer of skin that's damaged tho. How can I properly clean the wound and protect it from infections? Is there a sort of "band-aid" I could maybe put on the wound? Or should I just let it be

 

[Piggies&buns]

you can use a saline solution (salt in boiled water) to clean it if it is a scratch but you need to see a vet first to check healing and whether any antibiotics or painkillers are needed, and that it isn’t in fact caused by something else.
What do you mean by it not being small enough to be a fungal infection? Untreated fungal infections can spread and become quite large areas
Please don’t put any kind of band aid on it - this would not be appropriate

Please ensure the cat cannot get to the piggies. Even the most placid of cats are still predators and can do serious damage to prey animals

 

[Swissgreys]

Given the location of the wound it may also be caused by mites.
They can't be seen with the naked eye, and diagnosis and treatment requires a vet visit.
Given that your piggy has an unexplained wound I would seriously be making a vet appointment to have her checked over.
If it was caused by the cat their claws have bacteria which could cause a nasty infection.
So please have her seen as soon as possible by a vet.

 

[Wiebke]

Here is information on fungal infection and skin parasites. Please see a vet and do not home treat on spec. Be aware that pictures are just a rough guide but that the normal variance can be much wider. Both ringworm and mange mites can result in small to quite large shallow bloody areas.
New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

Sight unseen, we cannot help you any further as all we can do is guess based on your own perception and conscious/unconscious interpretation. Our own guesses can only be as good as the information presented.
It may help if you posted a preferably clear and well lit picture of the area in question (including where exactly it is located on the body). Please upload any pictures via the Attach Files button under your post when you write it. We are not part of social media.

 

[Free Ranger]

With fungal it's not so much that things start small - a pig can scratch an itchy patch until they break open the skin and it bleeds so quite a big self-inflicted wound can appear overnight. I was going to say can she actually reach that place to scratch but if she's taken the scab off she obvs can!