Wound on neck

[Eeyore&tigger21]

Hi I need some advice please.
We have Jusy got home and got our pigs out and noticed one of them has a wound to their neck ( I will post a picture)

what should we do? We’re in a bit of panic and dunno what to do as we were told not to separate them. Their two boys their 14 weeks old now.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Oh dear, I’m sorry to hear this
Bit tricky to see on the picture, but I would call a vet and have it checked out tonight. From what I can see, it looks nasty

If this is caused by them fighting, then they would sadly need to be separated immediately and permanently as an injury causing fight is bond breaking meaning they aren’t functioning properly and cannot continue living together

Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Bonds In Trouble

 

[Eeyore&tigger21]

Here is better picture after cleaning it up a little.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please do have a vet check that

 

[Siikibam]

That looks to be a gaping hole. Was there anything coming out of it, or was it just blood/nothing? I’d get him booked in for a vet check.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

Please have that vet checked. It could be a burst abscess or cyst but it needs a hands-on examination.

 

[weepweeps]

That does look sore. Hope you manage to get it looked at by a vet.

 

[VickiA]

Oh dear what a shock for you. I hope that you’ve been able to get a vet appointment as that does look nasty.

 

[Tigermoth]

Definitely get it vet checked but keep a close eye on their behaviour rather than assume it is from scrapping. Jenny had a really nasty laceration to her lip that happened overnight. We will never know what happened but we kept a close watch and they were fine. It would have been easy to just assume a fight. Have a low threshold for separation if you see spiralling behaviour over the next few days but it might be a burst abscess, might be getting caught on something (we pondered a bulldog clip on our cage as the culprit in the end) and nothing to do with the cage mate at all.

 

[Eeyore&tigger21]

Hey thanks for thr reply. We separated them
Last night Jusy so he wasn’t outside in case of infection or anytging. There is now a scab over it and looks clean. I have just put them together in thr pen and will keep a close eye on them. But he seems happy enough

 

[Siikibam]

Hope you manage to book a vet appointment for this coming week. I’ve linked to recommended vets in case you don’t have one as yet.

Recommended Guinea Pig Vets

 

[VeeAngel]

I’ve had both an open burst cyst and a fight bite on the neck at different times for two of my boys. I had to bridge some time with the burst cyst before a vet appointment, so I just kept it clean with disinfectant and antibiotic ointment. (I saw Bacitracin antibiotic ointment recommended for GP first aid, but don’t remember what I used exactly...whatever I had on hand in my panic ). I was worried about infection getting in while waiting for the specialist. It worked well to keep things clean while waiting. I trimmed some hair too. I don’t have a “before” photo of the fight bite as I was able to get him as an emergency within an hour of the injury...but here are some photos for reference of both. Second the other advise above. Keep the area clean, get to the vet ASAP and observe behavior. (In my case with the bite, there was no question it was a fight cause because I broke it up and my boys were SUPER intolerant of each other sharing a space by then. I separated right away, but if your buddies seem to be getting along, just keep a close eye for any danger signs). *photos of cyst after rupture, and after eventual surgical removal, and photo of bite wound after stitches...it was bigger than it looked before vet shaved. Looked pea sized with hair but was closer to half a quarter when cleaned up.