Bite Wounds
The best way to avoid bite wounds is to try and avoid the
situations which would lead to aggression.
When it comes to boars, keep adults that are strangers to
one another, apart. I know that sometimes you can get two
adults to settle down together, I have done it myself, but
nine times out of combat is to be expected, if not immediately,
a short time after they have been in together.
If you have a pair of boars who live together contentedly,
keep it that way by not allowing any sows near them. The male
of this, and most species, tend to do the macho bit when the
'girls' are about!. If you have been handling a sow, be careful
to wash your hands to rid it of any of her scent before handling
boars.
Occasionally you will come across a sow who simply will not
live with any other sow. The most likely scenario for this
is in cases where one of a pair of cohabiting sows has died
and the surviving sow refuses to cohabit. However, in the
main you can keep as many sows together as you wish.
More often than not, when you first introduce a sow to a
new pack, there will be a bit of niggling, raised hackles
and teeth chattering but it usually fizzles out after a short
time. If warfare does break out, persevere and arm yourself
with a spray bottle filled with water. You can usually single
out the worst offender and a quick squirt on the snout now
and again usually gets the message home that how ever mighty
she thinks she is in the scheme of things, you are mightier!.
Most bite wounds are minor and occur, more often than not
in the rump or in the neck area. This is because when guinea
pigs fight though they both aim for the head and eyes, they
are usually good at ducking weaving and manage to deflect
them to the neck or very often the rump when one shows a clean
pair of heels to the other.
Many times these wounds won't be noticed, for the damage
could have been done unobserved and unless they become infected,
which they seldom are, heal up on their own. The ones you
do pick up on are those that cause the animals to scratch
at them, usually when they have become inflamed with puss.
Place the guinea on a towel, have paper tissues handy and
holding it firmly squeeze out the puss. Flush the cavity with
some Aserbine Dermisol lotion and cover with antiseptic ointment.
A good tip is to make sure that there is a good ruck of towel
between your thigh and the piggy's incisor teeth if you are
carrying out this work on your lap. I haven't, a couple of
times, and felt the animal's displeasure at what it regarded
as a deliberate assault and reciprocated accordingly!. Take
my word for it, it hurts!
I am against the use antibiotics as a precaution against
infection for these kind of wounds. However their use is recommended
in the more serious cases where lips or nostrils have been
torn and these wounds may also need to be sutured.
