Breaking obsessive behaviour

[darcidual]

I have two sows who are both 10 months old. Recently Moose has taken to licking Pipin's left eye. I took Pipin to the vet and they have given me eye drops because she has abrasions on both eyes (likely from the licking apparently, even though Pipin shuts her eyes while it happens), and I have been advised to separate the girls. The treatment is to last 5 days and I'm happy to separate them, however I am worried that the behaviour has become almost obsessive and that after the 5 days, if I put them back together, the licking will start again.

I am going on holiday next Saturday (7th Nov) and the pigs are going to the local ManxSPCA for boarding. They're supposed to be in a shared kennel kitted out for pigs and I'm worried that if it hasn't stopped by then, that they will be fully separated without being able to see each other. Or they'll be togrther and the eyes will get bad again.

Has anyone experienced anything like this before? Or do you have any tips for busting this type of behaviour?

Thanks in advance

 

[Merab]

My boar Micah was an eye licker and his favourite wife Phoebe the main recipient.
I just used to put Viscotears in her eyes to stop them getting dry and sore.
I wouldn’t have thought of separating them unless Micah’s behaviour shifted from enthusiastic affection to bullying.

 

[darcidual]

My boar Micah was an eye licker and his favourite wife Phoebe the main recipient.
I just used to put Viscotears in her eyes to stop them getting dry and sore.
I wouldn’t have thought of separating them unless Micah’s behaviour shifted from enthusiastic affection to bullying.

Thank you for sharing. How often would he do this? And were the eye drops a daily thing?

I thought it was an affectionate gesture at first (Google seemed to think so too). Her eyes wept a bit and I'm not sure if this happened as a result of the licking or if the abrasions came first. Pipin is ok with being separated, but Moose is finding it stressful. I don't want to put them together while Pipin has the eye drops, for fear of Moose licking it off and ingesting it.

 

[Viennese Furbabies]

My late Billie used to lick Muffin's eyes (he was the boar of the grouo and they were a really love couple). He had eye issues before Billie moved in. They stopped completely with her licking.

Are you sure the licking was the cause of Pipoin's eye issue? Or could Moose just have been trying to help Pippin?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Eye licking is an affectionate and social behaviour but it is also done as a way to help heal an issue with the eye - ie she knew she had a sore eye and was trying to help her

What eye drops has she been given?
Generally do not need to separate because one piggy has drops. It’s certainly not something I’ve ever done when one piggy has drops

Hopefully your girls are young enough and bonded enough that they will happily go back together but medical separations in general are not a good idea. This is due to the stress it causes but there is a risk in some cases that it causes the bond to fail and they refuse to go back together.

(If the theory that it is an obsessive behaviour holds water (which I have not heard of a case where that has happened) and she goes straight back to doing it, then I can’t see any way of stopping it without permanently separating them.)

 

[darcidual]

My late Billie used to lick Muffin's eyes (he was the boar of the grouo and they were a really love couple). He had eye issues before Billie moved in. They stopped completely with her licking.

Are you sure the licking was the cause of Pipoin's eye issue? Or could Moose just have been trying to help Pippin?

That's lovely to hear, thanks for sharing.

I am not 100% sure it was the cause, as Moose was only licking one eye (left) and apparently Pipin's right was worse.

I have them separated at the moment while she's getting two lots of eye drops 6-8 hours apart and I plan to reunite them after the 5 day course. But I am feeling more reassured that perhaps the licking didn't cause the issue, and Moose was only trying to help. The vet (not exotic) seemed to be very against the licking and told me I must separate them and stop the behaviour.

 

[Piggies&buns]

What eye drop has she been given?

Unfortunately vets sometimes underestimate the importance of keeping them together at all times.

The reintroduction will need to take place on neutral territory given they will have been apart for more than a day or so.

 

[Wiebke]

My Hafina had a bad long term untreated eye infection when she was dumped on somebody's doorstep and ended up with gunky eyes from blocked tear ducts. I adopted her because as an older piggy with an unsightly eye problem she was unlikely to ever find a home.



The whole Tribe group would regularly lick her eyes to clean them off; but mostly her closest friends.



Like @Merab , I would soothe the eyes with longer lasting hydrating eye gel (any plain carbomer based gel brand will do) once or twice a day but the problem has definitely come before the licking.

 

[Merab]

Thank you for sharing. How often would he do this? And were the eye drops a daily thing?

I thought it was an affectionate gesture at first (Google seemed to think so too). Her eyes wept a bit and I'm not sure if this happened as a result of the licking or if the abrasions came first. Pipin is ok with being separated, but Moose is finding it stressful. I don't want to put them together while Pipin has the eye drops, for fear of Moose licking it off and ingesting it.

In this case once a day was quite enough for Phoebe.
I have had piggies who needed eye drops for haypoke and have never had any issues with a cagemate licking the drops off.
I would never separate a bonded pair / group unless severe bullying was the problem.

 

[Wiebke]

I would also like to throw in that guinea pig saliva is very mildly antibiotic and that licking sore spots is their way of helping the healing process on, whether on themselves or on a mate in places where they cannot reach themselves.

That is also the reason why guinea pigs spit saliva on the paws which they then wipe over the coat during their regular piggy washes - it helps to keep parasites and skin problems down.

 

[darcidual]

What eye drop has she been given?

Unfortunately vets sometimes underestimate the importance of keeping them together at all times.

The reintroduction will need to take place on neutral territory given they will have been apart for more than a day or so.

What eye drop has she been given?

Unfortunately vets sometimes underestimate the importance of keeping them together at all times.

The reintroduction will need to take place on neutral territory given they will have been apart for more than a day or so.

She is taking ExOcin and 20 mins later Remend (corneal repair).

Moose won't leave her eyes alone and I don't want her ingesting the drops. Pipin does close her eyes when it's happening but at this stage, I just want them to heal before Moose goes back to licking. They seem ok on their own, they're right next to each other with bars between them.