Cuts/bites?

[Screamapillar]

I have two boars, always kept together like brothers. The dominant one is often quite bolshy with the smaller one but generally they just chitter at each other.

Recently I have been finding the bigger one has cuts or scrapes along his lower back or bum. They could be bites or he could be being scratched by the other one. They always heal well with hibiscrub and time.

Any advice about trying to avoid these? Or how I should be treated them when I find them?

 

[Wiebke]

I have two boars, always kept together like brothers. The dominant one is often quite bolshy with the smaller one but generally they just chitter at each other.

Recently I have been finding the bigger one has cuts or scrapes along his lower back or bum. They could be bites or he could be being scratched by the other one. They always heal well with hibiscrub and time.

Any advice about trying to avoid these? Or how I should be treated them when I find them?

Hi and welcome!

Please have your affected boy vet checked to exclude mange mites or a fungal skin infection. They are not always textbook.
Before you address any behaviour problems, you always need to exclude that there could be a medical cause for them.

How old are your boys?
If they are teenagers, then it is highly likely that they are bite and fighting marks. Not all fighting is very overt. It can however also, but much more rarely happen in adult boars.
I would recommend to conduct a trial separation with divider to evaluate whether the bond is still viable or not by watching whether the boy with the bite marks reacts when he is away from his mate. This is the best method for working out the boys' honest opinion as we cannot ask them directly.

Please take the time to read the following links. You will find them very helpful and informative.
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next? (the advice in this guide also works for adults)
New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites

PS: It is unfortunately a long debunked breeder myth that brothers won't fall out. Key for any successful piggy bond is above all is mutual liking and a personalities that mesh, long before age, being related (or not) or gender.

 

[Screamapillar]

I dont know their exact age, but from the size they were when I got them I think they are about 10 months old. I'm not sure they are fighting as I never find any marks on the other piggy. I did try separating them but they didn't like it.

 

[Wiebke]

I dont know their exact age, but from the size they were when I got them I think they are about 10 months old. I'm not sure they are fighting as I never find any marks on the other piggy. I did try separating them but they didn't like it.

I rather suspect a case of bullying (i.e. one way fighting), but please have your boy vet checked first and please read the links.
Here is another one: Moody guinea pigs: Depression, Bullying, Aggression, Stress, Fear and Antisocial Behaviour

 

[Screamapillar]

Excellent guides, thank you.