Unclear about separating two boars - one has teeth issues which may be the problem?

[ABuettgen]

Hi there.
I really need advice. A few years ago, I adopted a pair of male guinea pigs. Overall, they’re doing very well together but one (Broc) has started persistently nibbling at the other’s (Cori’s) rear end and pulled out a lot of Cori’s fur. I’m wondering if it is a result of Broc being in pain or discomfort and if I need to temporarily separate them.

Broc recently lost an incisor tooth and received vet treatment for pain and infection but now his 4 incisor teeth are growing back quite improperly. I’m taking him back to the vet next week to get checked out.

In the meantime, I’m wondering about separating them temporarily through the night and bringing them back together during the day while monitoring them closely to prevent any further damage to Cori. Cori does not squeal or run away from the nibbling and he does not appear to have iny skin issues. What do you think? What’s the best way to proceed?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi there.
I really need advice. A few years ago, I adopted a pair of male guinea pigs. Overall, they’re doing very well together but one (Broc) has started persistently nibbling at the other’s (Cori’s) rear end and pulled out a lot of Cori’s fur. I’m wondering if it is a result of Broc being in pain or discomfort and if I need to temporarily separate them.

Broc recently lost an incisor tooth and received vet treatment for pain and infection but now his 4 incisor teeth are growing back quite improperly. I’m taking him back to the vet next week to get checked out.

In the meantime, I’m wondering about separating them temporarily through the night and bringing them back together during the day while monitoring them closely to prevent any further damage to Cori. Cori does not squeal or run away from the nibbling and he does not appear to have iny skin issues. What do you think? What’s the best way to proceed?

Hi and welcome

Sorry about the dental issues; has your vet checked the back teeth for potential overgrowth if the four incisors are not meeting properly? They temporarily have a little uneven edge until the missing incisor is fully grown back. A permanently missing incisor is not a problem but the edges of the other three teeth won't be as even as one tooth has to work against two.

Please switch from the normal once weekly health monitoring weigh-in to weighing daily at the same time on your kitchen scales in order to monitor the food intake. Over 75% percent of what a guinea pig eats in a day is hay. You cannot control that by eye. Step in with feeding support if needed.
The links below tell you all about what to look out for and when to step in:
Weight - Monitoring and Management
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

And check the back for potential mites (mange or hay mites)?
Barbering can have different causes and purposes; it very much depends on the context. It can express worry but also dominance. If you are worried about a bond being dysfunctional, you can try a short term separation to get the answer you need.

Please take the time to read the links below. We cannot tell you what is going on, lacking the context and without direct access to your piggy but we can give you the instrumentarium to do that yourself as long as you know what to do and what to look for:
Barbering ( Eating Hair) (the different roles of barbering)
New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites
Bonds In Trouble (contains info on trial separations and what exactly to look out for)
Moody Guinea Pigs: Depression, Bullying, Aggression, Stress, Fear and Antisocial Behaviour

I hope that this helps?

 

[ABuettgen]

Hi and welcome

Sorry about the dental issues; has your vet checked the back teeth for potential overgrowth if the four incisors are not meeting properly? They temporarily have a little uneven edge until the missing incisor is fully grown back. A permanently missing incisor is not a problem but the edges of the other three teeth won't be as even as one tooth has to work against two.

Please switch from the normal once weekly health monitoring weigh-in to weighing daily at the same time on your kitchen scales in order to monitor the food intake. Over 75% percent of what a guinea pig eats in a day is hay. You cannot control that by eye. Step in with feeding support if needed.
The links below tell you all about what to look out for and when to step in:
Weight - Monitoring and Management
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

And check the back for potential mites (mange or hay mites)?
Barbering can have different causes and purposes; it very much depends on the context. It can express worry but also dominance. If you are worried about a bond being dysfunctional, you can try a short term separation to get the answer you need.

Please take the time to read the links below. We cannot tell you what is going on, lacking the context and without direct access to your piggy but we can give you the instrumentarium to do that yourself as long as you know what to do and what to look for:
Barbering ( Eating Hair) (the different roles of barbering)
New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites
Bonds In Trouble (contains info on trial separations and what exactly to look out for)
Moody Guinea Pigs: Depression, Bullying, Aggression, Stress, Fear and Antisocial Behaviour

I hope that this helps?

This is really helpful. I wasn’t aware of barbering but that’s definitely what’s happening…just not sure why still. I’m going to get both piggies checked out at the vet.

 

[Free Ranger]

Does Cori object to Broc nibbling his rear end or does he just stand there? Do you get the sense he's frightened or more just bewildered?!
When my girl started to get overgrown incisors I noticed she was trying to bite at wooden stems in the garden (like if she was hiding under a bush). It was just biting at them - she wasn't trying to eat the bark or anything. There was other wood about like on furniture but she seemed to want to bite at raw wood if you see what I mean. I usually have one of these in the enclosure:

but at that time we didn't. She actually had her incisors burred and then it stopped.
(This wasn't her by the way - this one was my lovely Zara - she just liked to bite me!)

 

[weepweeps]

Something else to consider is when my Pepper had a jaw abscess and was on weeks of antibiotics which affected his appetite he started chasing his cage mate around collecting his poops. But he was biting at his bottom and testicles. He left bite marks. Poor Percy didn’t seem too bothered.