Scratching Mites?

redleigh15 · Dec 22, 2013

My guinea pig, Vincent, is was purchased in August at about 2 months old. He was sneezing and sick a bit, so I took him to the vet for antibiotics within the first week of having him.
He's been scratching occasionally for about a month or so and had some shedding (normal?), but I didn't think anything of it - I bought all-natural puppy wipes to help clean his skin.
He has been an irate little cavy. He nibbles at everyone and it was worrying me. I was petting him today and he started to whine when I touched the middle of his back. I decided to run a comb through and this is what I found.

I don't know whether it is dander/dandruff or mites or something along those lines. Can anyone help me before the holidays?

BTW - This is his coat.

Princess_Piggie · Dec 22, 2013

First of all - super cute pig!

Secondly, don't use puppy/dog/other animal products on your piggie. All animals have different skin requirements, different PH balances, you get the picture. The wipes may have caused a little irritation in his skin.

https://www.guinealynx.info/parasites.html have a little browse though the parasites section of guinealynx and see if what you're finding in his fur matches any of the descriptions. I would say that's dandruff, but if he's wincing/making it obvious he's in pain, it could be a parasite.

bpatters · Dec 22, 2013

It's definitely not mites. They're invisible since they burrow into the skin. It could be dandruff, or it could be lice nits. Do you see any of those little white things stuck to the hair shafts? And if so, are they stuck to the hair and are hard to pull off?

It wouldn't hurt to treat him with ivermectin, just to be safe. You can do that yourself -- see https://www.guinealynx.info/ivermectin.html for instructions. The easiest kind to use is the .5% pour-on kind, which you can order from www.tlpmarketplace.com.

redleigh15 · Dec 23, 2013

Took him to the vet today, they got him in within one hour of calling (thank God). The vet didn't know whether it was mites or lice, but knew it was one of the two (he was itchy and fidgety, and he mentioned there was no hairloss, but he was shedding and there was a lot of dandruff. He told me that I caught it right before it could become a problem. He had his first shot of Invermectin 1%. Going back in two weeks to get the second injection. Even though he bled a bit, he is doing a bit better. I cleaned out his full cage to make sure all traces were gone and he is doing somewhat better. Now to let him rest.

foggycreekcavy · Dec 23, 2013

I feel that 2 weeks is too long to wait. I always advocate one week to ten days.

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