Female Dominance

[VickiLouise]

I have two piggies Scoobie (mum, 2 years) and Doobie (daughter, 11 months). The background is a little complicated and long so won't go into it too much here.
Scoobie has always been the more dominant piggy- getting the first food and first veggies. I noticed some marks on Doobie recently and got her in to see the vet yesterday. The vet said Doobies marks are from being bitten by another piggy. The vet trimmed the fur around the bites to make it easier for me to bathe them, but after having them home for about two hours the worst of the bites have been re-opened and look very sore. I had to separate the two pigs and hate it- they are very close and are pining for each other. I would hate to have to keep them separated, but at the moment I can't see any way around it, as the existing wounds need chance to heal, but I am worried that when I re-introduce them, things will get worse. Has anyone has a similar experience? And any advice on bathing the wounds? The vet came across as very unhelpful, and treated me like an idiot (which has been a regular occurrence with this particular vet.) Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. I have pictures of the wounds, but can't figure out where to post these.

(This is my first time posting on a forum so not entirely sure how these work.)

 

[Goth Mummy]

I think that the vet should not treat you like an idiot! Can you ask to see a different vet? He or she should be polite and respectful as you are a caring owner who has sought help for their piggy.
I do think if wounds are being caused, you do need to keep them separate even if they seem to be upset. But perhaps others here who are more experienced with sows and bonding can give you the answer. Have you seen the fighting or heard any commotion from their cages?

 

[VickiLouise]

They have the occasional scuffle, but never anything big, they seem to get on really well most of the time other than at tea time when mummy gets her food first. When they have playtime they go everywhere together and follow each other round for the whole time. I'm just so concerned as it seems to have come out of nowhere, we have never had any problems like this before, I think it must have only started getting like this about 5 days ago, but even last night after we got them home there were no noises from them, their cage was in front of the sofa so we could keep an eye on them and still the wounds got worse.
I've attached a pic of the worst ones.

 

[Claire W]

Aww, those wounds look very sore

The best way to bathe a wound is by using one pint of cool boiled water mixed with one teaspoon of salt. I am currently using a combination of this and hibi scrub for a wound (not a bite wound). I use cotton wool.

If the wounds get any worse or do not heal, Doobie may benefit from a course of antibiotics to prevent infection but this is something you would need to discuss with your vet.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! You are always free to get another opinion from another vet.

If you are saying that your two girls are both keen to get back together, then I highly doubt that these are bites. If they really had a bloody fight with severe bites to the rump (which frankly is extemely rare in sows), you would have noticed from their behaviour afterwards; the bitten piggy would certainly NOT want to go back with the other one ever again!

If I were you, I'd rather get her seen by a piggy savvy vet and have her checked for a fungal problem or mites. We have a piggy savvy vet locator on the top bar. if it is not working, please contact admin for your closest recommended vet addresses via the inbox or the help desk.

I hope that you can get to the bottom of it all. That looks very sore. Piggies can bite themselves if the pain is bad enough.

 

[VickiA]

Ouch, that does look sore. I would echo the advice to get her seen by another cavy savvy vet if possible. If mealtimes cause a scuffle you could try's feeding at separate ends of the cage - Even the most dominant pig cannot be in 2 places at once.

 

[Poppy'sMum]

That looks horribly like mange mites Please get them both checked & treated as soon as you can by a competent guinea pig savvy vet. Good luck & let us know what happens

 

[VickiLouise]

Just to update everyone, she definitely doesn't have mites. She had a very thorough check by the vet and I regularly check my animals for crawlies.
She is currently on a course of antibiotics prescribed by the vet, and having a daily bathe and scrub with a solution from the vet. The wounds have healed very well now they have been separated, so I am 95% certain that it was caused from her being bitten by her mum.
I just hate to have them separated, they have been together so long it is breaking my heart to see them trying to get back together, but when we sat with them to see how they interacted, straight away mum went to bite her so they were separated before they even touched.
She is healing very well though, and thank you to everyone who has offered advice and support.

 

[madguinealady]

Can you split the cage or put two cages side by side so t hey can still interact

 

[sharonS]

You will see crawling lice or static lice on guinea pigs, but you can't see mites, especially burrowing mites that live under the skin, they are invisible to the human eye.