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Scabs on other piggies😟

Daisylovepiggies

Daisylovepiggies

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 31, 2020
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Location
wellington, new zealand
You might already know, but my eldest piggie - Nigella - is suffering from a limp ( for more detail go to Advice - Limp ) And a few days ago ( In floortime ) I noticed she was teeth chattering and what looked like head butting the other guinea pigs. Just today I noticed SCABS on 2 of my guinea pigs. Ginny pig had 5 on her and robin had one. My main suspect was Nigella. I think she was only biting them to warn them to go away because her leg was sore, but still.MY cage has 2 parts connected by a sliding door, so I put Nigella on one part and the other three on the other. I assure you that they all have enough room on each side ( and water, hay, pellets, veggies and Hideys ) I also thought that it would be good for Nigella to have some time to herself to help heal her leg. For one hour a day, they will see each other in floortime under my VERY close supervision so Nigella gets some sort of social contact with the other pigs. Also, it is only a wall separating the two parts so they can hear each other wheeking. We will try this for 4 - 7 days and see how it goes. I just wanted to ask if this is okay, and won't be really bad for Nigella. I am hoping to put her back in with the others when her leg is more healed. I have included pics of the scabsIMG-1204.webpIMG-1206.webpIMG-1200.webpIMG-1199.webpIMG-1195.webp
 
Not sure about the scabs. But if I were you I wouldn’t be putting them home separately then having them together at play time. It’s stressful for them so either they’re together or not. And if those bites are from Nigella then I’m not sure if there’s an issue with the bond. Warning nips shouldn’t draw blood or cause any skin to break. I’ll tag @VickiA @Wiebke @PigglePuggle
 
I think if you havent yet seen the vet with the limping piggy, biting her friends suggests she is in a lot of pain and really does need to see the vet. But as @Siikibam says, separating then giving playtime together is confusing for piggies and can be stressful. If you have decided to separate, please keep them separate until piggy is better, then reintroduce properly on neutral territory once they are going to live together again permanently!
 
I agree
The limping pig does need to see a vet as it sounds from her behaviour as if she is in pain, that might also explain why she is biting her cage mates. Please speak to a vet.
 
Thank you for the advice! I will keep them separate all the time then. The only thing about the vets though is, in NZ it is only urgent and emergency visits ( COVID-19 ) and they have even put a list out saying what is and what isn't , and limping isn't on there. It's more like if your dog gets run over. On my other post about Nigella limp ( Advice - Limp ) others are saying that if you give her time, she can heal her leg and that it's probably just a sprain after a bad landed popcorn.
 
An animal in enough pain to be biting her friends does sound rather urgent, have you phoned the vet and asked them? Is she getting any pain relief?
All we can advise on is the symptoms you tell us, a bit of a limp could well be a sprain, or just a sore toe nail, but it could also be a broken leg!
The biting suggests she is perhaps in more pain than you, or we, realised from your previous posts- she should be receiving pain relief medicine from the vet, I am sure no vet would leave an animal in pain even if they only prescribe her some metacam after a phone consultation rather than see her in person at this stage.
 
So there has been a change of plan. I separated Nigella last night and thought I would check Ginny in the morning to see is her scabs are better. But when I did, her scabs were worse, and there was a fresh cut. Now Nigella had been in the other cage so she couldn't have don't that. My second thought was Hermione. She is the newest to the group and also the biggest, and I think she was fighting Ginny for Dominance ( Ginny was the previous leader ) and it got to Feisty. Now I know it is rare for guinea pigs to draw blood when fighting for dominance, but it can still happen. Also, I was watching them both in floortime and they do a lot of teeth - chattering and head butting. So I put Nigella back in with the others and put Hermione by herself to see how it goes. If it turns out to be Hermione, there is a place she can go to where there are lots of other piggies ( Like LOTS ) Also, does anyone know any homemade ( Local vets are closed ) disinfectants for Ginnys wound?
Thank you for the advice you guys have given me so far! P.S. Robin has nothing to do with this. She is the peace-keeper 🙏
 
i agree with previous posters,your piggie could be in pain,especially if she is still limping.try to see a vet as urgent case to rule out a sprain/fracture or pain.i wish you all the best.
 
The splitting and changing around is going to be stressful for the piggies. You need to decide your arrangement and stick to it. You say Hermione may have done it. But wasn’t she in the cage with the other piggy before it got the scabs/wounds?

As for cleaning, I think saline solution (salt in water) would work. Have a search.

I think both piggies need to be checked over by the vet now.
 
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