Exciting news!

Well I have the past hour sobbing my heart out. After leaving them for an hour I come back to pumpkin hurt from a fight which came out of knowwhere. Sudden teeth chattering so they have to be seperated. Pumpkin also has a patch of dry skin on his face which I am now panicking is ringworm. If I am honest I am absolutely devastated and sick of everything going wrong. I don’t know what to do now 😥
 
Pumpkin
 

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Aw sending hugs... I know exactly how you feel, I remember piggy daddy bringing Blodwen pig home and me being all excited then opening the box... to find her playing dead from fear with a huge ringworm lesion on her neck :( then when we introduced our new baby skinny pig Tallulah to the other pigs... and 5 minutes in we were taking her and another pig to the emergency vets to have their battle wounds treated!
Take a deep breath, try to stay calm, piggies will pick up on your stress! Did you say before you already have the vets booked for them tomorrow? The vet will help with the wounds and the skin patch/possible ringworm. In the longer term, unfortunately no-one can make your piggies be friends, but maybe some of the fighting is with the stress of a new home, and maybe after them living as neighbours for a cooling off period of a couple of weeks while they adjust to their new surroundings, you can try reintroduce on neutral territory and see if things are calmer.
Unfortunately breeders who may seem very nice can sometimes unload sick piggies onto good trusting people, or sell bonded pairs who are anything but...
See what the vet says and let things settle down for a couple of weeks, then consider your options x
PS you might want to start a new thread in the health and illness section, or we can ask a moderator to move these posts about wounds and skin patches over there (@sport_billy @VickiA @Lady Kelly ) to make sure they get our full attention!
 
Oh dear this is not good news. So you believed you were buying two sows and the breeder has sent you two boars who aren't bonded and are both ill/injured? I would be back on to the breeder to resolve this as they should not be selling animals in this state. I also think they shouldn't be selling animals if they can't sex them properly. I'm sorry you have fallen foul of such bad practices
 
Aw, this is not right. This is how breeders get their bad reputation, which is often justified. So sorry for you, get back on to them and give them what for, poor little piggies x
 
Hi they are definitely both sows but seem extremely aggressive towards each other. Pumpkins patch on his head looks like ringworm and I have a feeling the cut on peppers chin was caused by a previous fight :(
 
Hi sorry for some reason my phone is auto correcting to him rather than her. They are both girls.
 
Its very true the breeder is very much at fault here, but personally based on our own experience of getting on to Blodwen's previous owner (who lied about being a breeder and concealed lots of other things besides, such as ringworm and serious dental problems) its perhaps worth being a bit cautious- maybe the breeder will be reasonable, but maybe they won't, and the legality is a bit murky with a private unregulated sale, especially as in this case they disclosed that one of the piggies had an injury prior to the sale...
Someone should definitely flag this up, perhaps with the RSPCA, but there could be some unpleasantness if they are confronted directly... that's just my opinion of course based on the Blodwen saga which hopefully isnt typical, but still...
I think it depends on what outcome you want @Emmamarie123 , do you want to keep the piggies or give them back? Or do you want the breeder to pay the vet bills? Or do you just want to keep your piggies and see the vet and go from there? Its an awful situation to find yourself in anyway, do keep us posted on what the vet says and what the breeder says if you contact them x
 
Do you think the picture looks like ringworm? To me it does :(. So far she has been nice so will see how things go tomorrow at the vets.
 
Emmamarie123 said:
Do you think the picture looks like ringworm? To me it does :(. So far she has been nice so will see how things go tomorrow at the vets.
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Its very hard to tell from a photo, only a vet can tell you for sure by doing a skin test and sending it to the lab. I don't know if anyone on the forum has even ever seen how ringworm looks on a skinny pig- usually round patches of hair loss are a symptom which you won't see on a skinny, but the area of the face looks like where you might expect ringworm to occur. Be cautious just in case but please don't panic until you see the vet x
 
So today could have gone better, vet appointment was cancelled due to an electrical problem at the practice... Rebooked for Monday. Pumpkin and Pepper are incredibly confusing. They can eat together fine but randomly pumpkin causes teeth chattering and lunges. Thankfully no fighting though. They are still in a neutral territory as they are definitely not ready for their cage, I think I will use a divider tonight. If they hear a loud noise they both run to a corner and literally squish against each other and there's no bickering. I have no hides on the floor so it looks really bare but I have heat mats and the heating on high so they won't get cold.

I don't think it is a failed bond yet as the wounds on pumpkin are more likes scratches and are already fading and the claws are very sharp. I have even been cut by them. I can't trim them though so have filed them as much as possible. I have seen a failed bond and they don't seem to be acting that way as both seem comfortable eating around each other.
Thank you for all your advice guys it is really helpful ☺️
 
Photos of Pumpkin and Pepper.
Whatever happens these little sweeties are well and truly my babies. So if I have to have separate cages or dividers I will do that. Pumpkin is a little better today so that’s progress. The play pen is how bare their space has been but they seem to be doing okay with the sofa.
 

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So The vets are not sure it is ringworm as it disappears with coconut oil which I assume it shouldn’t do? I have Pumpkin in for the test for it on Wednesday and Pepper for a health check too. Pumpkin and pepper cannot go in the same carrier as Pumpkin just loses it but they seem okay in their big cage. We still get teeth chattering and the odd lunge but Pepper always backs down. Will keep you all updated soon. @PigglePuggle
 
Emmamarie123 said:
So The vets are not sure it is ringworm as it disappears with coconut oil which I assume it shouldn’t do? I have Pumpkin in for the test for it on Wednesday and Pepper for a health check too. Pumpkin and pepper cannot go in the same carrier as Pumpkin just loses it but they seem okay in their big cage. We still get teeth chattering and the odd lunge but Pepper always backs down. Will keep you all updated soon. @PigglePuggle
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Well good news if it isnt ringworm, but best to have the tests to be sure! Gorgeous Guineas do a skinny pig moisturiser which might be a good investment (I bought some but have never needed it yet) that might be easier to apply than coconut oil, especially on the face- Gorgeous Guineas products are generally very good, we use their shampoos and foot creams when needed.
Hope your little hippos settle their differences and sort out their hierarchy soon, its still early days and if they are tolerating each other without any more biting in their big cage, maybe their bond will mellow over time! Some of my piggies that it would have been impossible to put together in a carrier when they were younger are actually quite good pals now the younger herd members are 18 months to 2 years old and all their teenage bickering is behind them :)
 
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