Wounds.... are they fighting or do they have mites?

[anam]

Hey guys, this is my first post. I have a couple of pigs that are 6 months old (they are brothers). Their names are Sam and George. A little over a month ago I noticed that they had some wounds above their front legs in the shoulder area. I thought at first that maybe they were fighting and biting each other, but then it was getting worse and I got concerned so I took them to the vet. Now Sam had more serious wounds while George had slight wounds. I told the vet that I assumed they had mites from what I found in my research. I had found similar wounds in pictures of pigs with mites. Now the vet prescribed ivermectin for them. I am to give them a dose every 7 days for 4 weeks. I'm almost at my 4th week and it seems George is all cleaned up. It seemed like Sam was clearing up too cause I noticed his scabs falling off and his skin clearing, but then I noticed it coming back. And I didn't notice it when I took them to the vet, but he had formed some scabs on his back also. I'm not sure how they manage to scratch their backs. Now before I take them back to the vet I wanted to see if any of you know by looking at the wounds if you think they are mites or bite wounds. I only ask cause yesterday as I was cleaning out their cage I noticed Sam and George playing around and at times Sam would jump on top of George and bite him. The thing is though that George doesn't have any wounds. Also, the vet I took them too didn't seem very specialized in guinea pigs so I might have to consider taking them to a different vet. Here are some pics. And thanks in advance.

Sam (Right) George (Left)
http://www.anamcreative.com/pigs/pic.jpg

Before vet pics:
http://www.anamcreative.com/pigs/before1.jpg
http://www.anamcreative.com/pigs/before2.jpg
http://www.anamcreative.com/pigs/before3.jpg

After vet pics (Just Sam since George seems clean):
(Behind the ear) http://www.anamcreative.com/pigs/ear.jpg
(Above the front arm) http://www.anamcreative.com/pigs/shoulder.jpg
(On the back) http://www.anamcreative.com/pigs/back.jpg

The wounds seem to all be on the left side. None on the right. And the back was a lot worse but now is just a couple tiny scabs.

 

[Suzygpr]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

All the after pics look pretty typical for wounds that are healing well, all in areas common to mite infestation - guinea pigs can cause a lot of damage to themselves when they are so very itchy. The reach they have with their back feet/claws and teeth mean that they can cause wounds over a large portion of their body. I would recommend a bath a couple of days after the last treatment to remove all the debris of the now dead mites as their decomposition can cause irritation. If there are further wounds, which are not from the boys fighting but are self inflicted, a skin scrape to determine just what the cause of the irritation is might be wise.

Boars will often mount each other and this can be followed by a telling off from one of them - as long as it doesn't escalate into fighting it should not be a problem. Hormonal young males (3-15 months) can become a bit over zealous and want to hump so much that it annoys their cagemate to the point of fighting, or the aggression levels between the two while going through the teenage stage can lead to a permanent falling out. The majority of males do come through the hormonal months ok, and settle down to a happy life together.

This thread explains a lot of the most typical boar behaviour.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949

This has lots of tips on how to keep boars entertained.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=76162

HTH

Suzy x

 

[anam]

Thanks Suzy for the information. I hope they are healing well. My concern is that he was healing so well and then the wounds came back. I guess I'll keep a close eye the last couple weeks and make sure to give them a bath as you instructed.