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Small wound found on nose

Namida

New Born Pup
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Hi guys - I just discovered that my boy has a small wound (not bleeding) on his nose. Is there any OTC medicine recommended for treating small wounds?


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I would try and keep it clean with saline solution.
But be very careful so close to his nose as you don't want him inhale it.

Do you know how he got the wound?
Does he live with another guinea pig and is it possible they had a fight?
 
Hi guys - I just discovered that my boy has a small wound (not bleeding) on his nose. Is there any OTC medicine recommended for treating small wounds?


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Hi!

Disinfect with saline solution, which you can make at home if necessary. Use a cotton but to apply it so close to the nose/mouth. See a vet if the area is swelling up (abscess risk).
You can find the saline recipe in this link here: First Aid Kit: Easily available non-medication support products for an emergency

Can you please give us more information the background? (Age and gender of your piggies, how long have you had them, cage size etc.)

Where the bite is located indicates that your piggy has likely been cornering their companion until the only way out was a defence bite. Please remove any huts with just one exit to avoid this kind of scenario; especially if you have got two teenage boars. The bond may be broken but for any further assessment we need the necessary background information.
 
He is one-year old boy and he has a cage mate at the same age & sex. They have been with me and living together since three months old. In my view, they are rather well bonded as they like staying close to each other, but sometimes I do see them chasing each other (which looks more like playing rather than fighting). Their cage is a 2x6 C&C plus a 2x2 loft.
 
He is one-year old boy and he has a cage mate at the same age & sex. They have been with me and living together since three months old. In my view, they are rather well bonded as they like staying close to each other, but sometimes I do see them chasing each other (which looks more like playing rather than fighting). Their cage is a 2x6 C&C plus a 2x2 loft.

They are still in the teenage months; with the mild-mannered ones the issues often happen right at the very end of it when all the others are out of the worst. Just remove any dead ends.
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
" Biting" And What You Can Do (Biting, Tweaking, Nibbling and Nipping)
 
Thanks for the suggestion, Swissgreys and Wiebke. I already disinfect the wound with saline solution. Hope he will heal soon :(
 
They are still in the teenage months; with the mild-mannered ones the issues often happen right at the very end of it when all the others are out of the worst. Just remove any dead ends.
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
" Biting" And What You Can Do (Biting, Tweaking, Nibbling and Nipping)
Thanks for the advice. There are dead-end fleece pigloos in the cage but they always sleep them on like a bed rather than hiding inside. Otherwise, there are no dead end items in the cage.

I heard them running around the cage at 5am this morning and I think thats when they got the fight :(
 
Thanks for the advice. There are dead-end fleece pigloos in the cage but they always sleep them on like a bed rather than hiding inside. Otherwise, there are no dead end items in the cage.

I heard them running around the cage at 5am this morning and I think thats when they got the fight :(

Intense short hormone spikes can sometimes persist into adulthood.

We generally recommend a temporary 2 day separation with a formal re-intro on neutral ground outside the cage afterwards. In most cases, the bond won't be broken at that stage but it is very much down to the piggies and whether it was an accident (and is perceived as such) or not. I would recommend that you consider switch to flat-topped huts with two exits so any chasing into a pigloo cannot happen again. It is a simple but very effective measure to prevent these kinds of instinctive split second bites in a piggy on edge. ;)
 
Intense short hormone spikes can sometimes persist into adulthood.

We generally recommend a temporary 2 day separation with a formal re-intro on neutral ground outside the cage afterwards. In most cases, the bond won't be broken at that stage but it is very much down to the piggies and whether it was an accident (and is perceived as such) or not. I would recommend that you consider switch to flat-topped huts with two exits so any chasing into a pigloo cannot happen again. It is a simple but very effective measure to prevent these kinds of instinctive split second bites in a piggy on edge. ;)
I just separated them but they have been calling for each other, which sounds a little bit heartbreaking 💔
 
Sadly my poor boy got bitten again tonight :(

I immediately separated them by dividing their C&C cage into half. Now their living area is equivalent to 2x3 cage each, which should be fine for one pig but I feel like it’s a big downgrade for them…

At first, they both bit the cage vigorously until I placed their beds side by side (with the grids in the middle separating them). They’ve kind of settled down for now, but from time to time they would still try to shake off the grids… Is this behaviour likely to get improved with time?

If they want to stick with each other, why would they fight in the first place… I really don’t get their relationship :(

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I’m sorry to hear this.
If they wanted to be together and get one then they would not have had a fight. So now they have had a fight, then it means they need to stay separated sadly. As they get used to being apart, they will settle down and live happily separately
 
I am sorry your boars have fallen out. The bar biting should settle down, if it's relentless I have in the past covered the divider with cardboard/corex and lifted it away for a short time each day gradually increasing the time until they get used to their new living arrangments. The lying next to each other by the divider is not necessarily them wanting to be together but making sure the one is not coming into the other's territory.
I currently have a lone boar living next to a pair for company, he unfortunately is a bar biter (always has been) and gets into a frenzy especially if the other's ignore him. I've attached perspex to the grids so he can still see the other's and chat to them but can't damage his teeth on the bars. I feel sad that they can't touch noses but it's better than damaged teeth.
I hope your boys settle next to each other soon.
 
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