Scratching Baby Guinea, Excessive Scratching

Sounds like it is most likely either mites or a fungal/bacterial skin infection. Could you take a photo of the area on the neck and post it here?

He probably has mites, and needs to be treated with either ivermectin or Revolution. Since you've put them together, you'll have to treat them both.

This is why a three-week quarantine is recommended before introducing pigs -- it keeps the pigs from sharing any illnesses/parasites with each other, and it's much easier on your pocketbook to treat just one rather than two.

@Soecara ill try to post a picture tonight. Im not home for the day.
@bpatters i completely forgot about that!! Mad at myself for that, oh gosh. When i first got my two pigs i did that until they got their check-ups. Oh well. Ill try to set a vet visit this weekend.

I dont know if you can tell but the fur on his right side neck is thinned and a little patch behind the ear is gone. Also the patch where the fur is thinned, the skin under is dark and has little black spots? From what a could tell. Idk if he has that all over his body, hes a squirmy one but i dont think so. Its under a white patch of fur too so i think thats odd

That hair loss looks like it is caused by mites, you can treat for this at home.

Ivermectin should only be used in guinea pigs that weigh more then 340g (12 ounces). If you choose to use Ivermectin you need to read the label carefully before you purchase it as it comes in different concentrations which require different dosing. The easiest concentration to use is the 0.5% pour on, on the label it will say 5mg/ml. To dose this you will also need a 1ml syringe (without the needle), then you will need to calculate and measure the dosage (don't worry if you can't measure out the exact amount, just roughly will do) and apply behind the ears on their naturally bald patches.

Here is some info about mites https://www.guinealynx.info/mites.html
and the link to the dosage chart for 0.5% pour-on Ivermectin https://www.guinealynx.info/topical_ivermectin_pour-on.html

Let us know if you decide to treat with Revolution or a different concentration of Ivermectin.


Edit to add: Ivermectin treatment need to be repeated 3 times with a week between each treatment.

Thank you so much!! Is ivermectin available otc like petsmart/petco, a vet or some other place? And how long does the treatment have to go on for?

I couldnt figure out how to edit my last reply but is it expensive/how much does it usually cost?

You can get Ivermectin at farm feed stores or amazon. The bottles will contain a whole heap more then you will need because it is normally marketed for use on cows. Treatment is once a week for three weeks. As for price, it depends on where you get it, the average is about $25.

Here is a link to the stuff you want: https://www.amazon.com/Ivermectin-P...TF8&qid=1411705481&sr=8-3&keywords=ivermectin

When I purchased some for my guinea pigs I got a bottle, then used it to fill up a small 10mL glass bottle as that was more then I would need for the shelf life of the product. I kept the small bottle then contacted a local small animal rescue to see if they would like the rest as there was no way I needed it all, they where more then happy to take it.

As for the patch behind the ear--most guinea pigs have bald patches behind their ears. Some are bigger than others.

Yes, treat both for mites. I would separate them, however, since the cage is too small and soon they might injure each other. Once you get an appropriate sized cage you can introduce them to each other again.

If chestnut had minor interaction with my other guinea pig, Derpafluff, should i treat him too? And do i have to take him to the vet? My whole family is trying to push me out of it saying its unnecessary and to just buy some mite powder they used to use on birds we had a while back

No powder for guinea pigs.

Did you read Soecara's post? She told you how to treat the pigs yourself, so no vet visit is necessary.

I read her post but idk i just feel sorta weird about getting info online and not getting a professional opinion but okay, ill just take the advice. I didnt mean to offend or anything! Sorry if it did, it wasnt my intention. But as for my orher question about derpafluff?

Yes you need to treat both.

It is completely understandable that you would feel more comfortable with a vet's advice, just make sure any vet you go to is trained in exotics as normal cat/dog vets are not trained to treat guinea pigs. If you do end up taking them to a vet you should decline a skin scraping, they provide a false negative half the time, are painful for the pig and a good vet will treat for mites regardless of the results. I would also expect the vet to either use revolution (labelled for kittens) or injectable Ivermectin, you should ask them before they treat what they intend to use and ask for the revolution as it only requires one treatment as opposed to the Ivermectin which would still need to be done three times with a week between each treatment (meaning it would end up being three vet visits).

It is also interesting to note that you can use Ivermectin on birds for the treatment of internal and external parasites. My local bird club recommends one drop under one wing for finches, and one drop under both wings for larger birds such as cockatiels. I have successfully used Ivermectin to treat a friends budgies flock (yes I did have to catch up all 40 of them individually) for scaly face mites, and personally feel that it is a safer product - if used correctly - then all commercial powders.

Oh gosh three vet visits would kill us lol i think ill just do it at home, thank you so much for the link and all the help!

I got the overmectin today in the mail but my parents are very against buying a scale to weigh them so i could measure out the right amount. Theyre saying to just put a drop behind their ears with a q-tip. I dont even know if chestnut is close to 12oz. Hes so tiny!

What exactly is the strength of the ivermectin you got? It'll be something like x gm/ y ml. Or if it's a tube, it'll have a percent strength on it. Or you can post a picture of the label.

Do NOT put a dab of ivermectin behind your pigs ear until we know exactly how strong it is. Some of those small tubes of ivermectin will treat a 1200 pound horse or cow, and a dab of that behind your pig's ear could kill it.

Also, you can't treat a pig under 350 grams with ivermectin. You can buy a kitchen scale to weigh him with for less than $15. Is there any way you can borrow money from your parents to get a scale to weigh him with? Walmart and Target sell them, as well as Amazon. You want something that will weigh up to 5 pounds, with a scale in both ounces and grams.

Its the strength of the one you suggested, the 0.5 ivermectin. Its a bottle and the liquid is blue. My mom is just going off the reviews she read on amazon that she ordered it from and they all just say "i just put a drop behind their ears..." And she refuses to believe any one of those people weighed and measured the ivermectin. Im sure they just didnt say "yeah so i measured it and then weighed my pig and THEN i put the drop." Reviews are short.

A drop of that one behind the ear will be ok. Generally the dosage of that strength is .02 ml, or .03 ml, and that's about a drop.

But you do need to get a scale to weigh them with. Guinea pigs should be weighed weekly, preferably at the same time of day, and before breakfast is the best. If you record the weights, that can be your best first clue that something is going wrong with them.

When I treated all of my pigs I found that after measure out the correct dosage it ended up being about 2 drops for an adult and about one drop for younger pigs (as it ends up being 0.1ml per kg, and an average adult in my herd is approximately 1kg). The Ivermectin strength you have is the one that allows the most room for error, while your situation is not ideal you might be able to make it work.