Nikkipig
Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2011
- Messages
- 288
Recently, I've noticed that Nikki is covered in tiny white dots about the size of a grain of salt.
She's been digging and scratching at her fur quite a lot, and will even nip at it with her teeth sometimes.
All you have to do is touch her fur the wrong way and she lets out a horrible little screech.
I told my mom, and asked her to make a vet appointment (I'm not old enough to drive) for us to take her. She told me no, that it's just dandruff.
(There are quite a lot more dots than that, but only a few showed up on my phone's camera.)
I don't think this is dandruff. I gave her a bath, even, and that sort of helped for a few days before the "dots" were back and now they're worse than ever.
Her eyes are bright and clear, her ears are clean, her nose is clear she's a healthy weight and eating / drinking normally. She still does popcorns and zoomies for hours around the house during floortime, but the past day or two she hasn't been wheeking very loud when I bring veggies, if at all. Whether or not that's even related, I don't know.
But. She has been sneezing and rubbing her nose very, very much the past few weeks. No amount of pleading / begging will convince my parents to take her to a vet. They think she just has "allergies" to the dogs or her hay. ...I don't know why they think it's allergies, but it's not, is it? That just seems kind of silly.
So... what do you think? I predict it's either mites or lice. What should I do, especially if I cannot take her to a vet?
Thanks in advance.
She's been digging and scratching at her fur quite a lot, and will even nip at it with her teeth sometimes.
All you have to do is touch her fur the wrong way and she lets out a horrible little screech.
I told my mom, and asked her to make a vet appointment (I'm not old enough to drive) for us to take her. She told me no, that it's just dandruff.
(There are quite a lot more dots than that, but only a few showed up on my phone's camera.)
I don't think this is dandruff. I gave her a bath, even, and that sort of helped for a few days before the "dots" were back and now they're worse than ever.
Her eyes are bright and clear, her ears are clean, her nose is clear she's a healthy weight and eating / drinking normally. She still does popcorns and zoomies for hours around the house during floortime, but the past day or two she hasn't been wheeking very loud when I bring veggies, if at all. Whether or not that's even related, I don't know.
But. She has been sneezing and rubbing her nose very, very much the past few weeks. No amount of pleading / begging will convince my parents to take her to a vet. They think she just has "allergies" to the dogs or her hay. ...I don't know why they think it's allergies, but it's not, is it? That just seems kind of silly.
So... what do you think? I predict it's either mites or lice. What should I do, especially if I cannot take her to a vet?
Thanks in advance.
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I think I have found through my own guinea pig who passed that these little creatures are GREAT at hiding their illness, they are prey animals and that is a natural instinct for them. If they were to show what ailes them then it would be easy for predators to see and notice this, thus becoming number one targets. My mavis was popcorning acting normal and was being so sweet and playful and the next day I found her in her cage passed away. I of course am not implying your nikki is going to pass away!! Just want to say it could be something serious and I wouldn't wait or hesitate to get her into a vet, or at the very least CALL a vet and describe your situation and plead for any help they can give you.
