• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Ear

Saso123

New Born Pup
Joined
Jan 3, 2020
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
25
Hey guys.
My guinea pig has side ear crust and when you touch it he feels pain (squeaks).
Possibilities:
1:he has ear infection
2:his gp roomate has bitten him
Please help!
 
Hey guys.
My guinea pig has side ear crust and when you touch it he feels pain (squeaks).
Possibilities:
1:he has ear infection
2:his gp roomate has bitten him
Please help!

Hi and welcome

Could you please post a picture and if necessary see a vet.
There is also a strong possibility that it could be a contagious fungal infection. But going just on your description we can only guess as much as you do unfortunately.
 
Hi and welcome

Could you please post a picture and if necessary see a vet.
There is also a strong possibility that it could be a contagious fungal infection. But going just on your description we can only guess as much as you do unfortunately.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20200103_143129.webp
    IMG_20200103_143129.webp
    57.3 KB · Views: 8

Thank you for the picture.

This looks more like the result of some dominance ear grooming crossing the line into ear nibbling. it will hopefully settle down once the hierarchy is firmly settled and the group fully established. At the moment, your companion is likely still feeling insecure and a bit stressed.

Ear licking, gentle nibbling (this has gone just a tad further) is the mildest form of dominance and translates roughly as 'I want you to be a member of the group I am leading'.

How large is your cage and how long have you had your boys?

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
 
Thank you for the picture.

This looks more like the result of some dominance ear grooming crossing the line into ear nibbling. it will hopefully settle down once the hierarchy is firmly settled and the group fully established. At the moment, your companion is likely still feeling insecure and a bit stressed.

Ear licking, gentle nibbling (this has gone just a tad further) is the mildest form of dominance and translates roughly as 'I want you to be a member of the group I am leading'.

How large is your cage and how long have you had your boys?

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
You can't imagine how grateful i am for your response. I have them for about 1 year now and they are 1 year and two months old. My cage is 1m by 2 m and i'm looking to buy a bigger one. Btw is it normal to hurt him just by touching.
 
I agree this looks rather like a bite but looking at how red the ear is I wonder if maybe the bite has caused an aural haematoma where blood fills the gap between the cartilage in the ear?
I only say this because we had the exact same thing in our big pig Clover, on a very similar coloured ear, after a bite! Its nothing very serious even if it is that despite the scary sounding technical phrase, the vet can drain off the blood in a 2 minute procedure with a dab of local anaesthetic cream and the ear should be instantly less tender. Our vet said its a very common injury in all animals that bite each others ears but more often seen in dogs and cats and doesnt necessarily need treating unless it is painful, most heal fine on their own. So no need to worry but if the ear is unusually tender or sore still in a few days it might be worth a routine vet check.
 
Back
Top