Itching

[Piglet]

Hello. Recently, my pigs have been scratching a lot and Furlong is biting his back a little. I looked through their fur and there is no sign of static lice. I can see nothing moving. However there is a lot of white small flakes. What is this? Would it be mites? Don't direct me to a guinea lynx page! Could someone just tell me what they think it is

 

[pennick]

I noticed white flakes on one of my piggy also about 2 months ago. Since my piggies had lice when I got them I thought maybe the treatment was not sufficient the first time around. Upon the vets examination and $200.00 later which included a fungal test and I had them treated for mites as suggested from this site just as a precautionary, everthing seemed to be fine. It could have been just dry skin and dandruff. My piggies still scratch themselves and there is an occassional biting on their backs but I am going to assume at this point that this is just normal behavior. It has not interfered in their lives at all. I can pet them as usual and they are as happy as they have always been. What one may consider to be alot of scratching and biting may not be to another.

Since you state " Recently your pigs are scratching" then this is something your piggies usually don't do then I would go have it checked out by the vet. Since my piggies have always scratched from the beginning (I dont consider it alot) to me its normal for them.

 

[Piglet]

When I pet them they seem fine. Now that I have time off school, I have time to sit by their cage and they do scratch more than usual. Lately they have been spending a lot of time outside. Perhaps they have ticks or something like that again?

 

[pennick]

Sounds like they may have picked something up. I would have them checked out.

 

[Piglet]

Ok, I'll try to persuade my mum to get them to the vets. I've got ivermectin and Advantage at home...but I just don't know which one to use!

 

[citronsoul]

Would fleas be a possibility? Are you itchy?

Ticks don't cause itching, they're just nasty. Our dog gets them all the time in the summer.

 

[Piglet]

Nope I'm not itchy. Last october, Ascot got ticks. He itched and bit so much that there were scabs on his back. THey were awful...the poor thing. One scab was nearly a cm big

 

[citronsoul]

Ewwwww. Poor Ascot. I hate ticks. But they should be visible if that's what's causing the problem. I got one once while sunbathing in our garden. Luckily we've got one of those tick pliers (the type that twists) & I quickly removed it. Needless to say, I was really grossed out.

Phoebe & Porky scratch every now & then, but not that bad. It's not like the persistent, "die itch, die!" scratching Phoebe did when she had mites.

 

[Katie]

If you don't see running lice, then treat for mites. It will help them if they have it, but not hurt them if they don't.

Guinea pigs rarely get fleas, and fleas are easily noticable.

I AM going to direct you to the guinealynx page, because it is very helpful.

www.guinealynx.info/hairloss.html#mangemite

 

[Plummie]

Have you treated them for fleas? My girls started itching some and I treated them with Revolution. The itching stopped, so it must have been fleas.

 

[Katie]

Have you treated them for fleas? My girls started itching some and I treated them with Revolution. The itching stopped, so it must have been fleas.

Revolution also treats mites.

In my 8 years of owning cavies, I have never seen any cavy with fleas. Even with some of my rescues that have come from flea infested environments. Lice and mites are the most common.

 

[Piglet]

I've read that link Katie, but thank you for posting it anyway!

No, I have not treated for fleas. I'm getting a feeling it is mites again...but how can they get them? Do you think the constant moving from their indoors cage to their outdoor pen has caused them stress? Grrr...*goes away to find the syringe*

 

[Plummie]

Revolution also treats mites.

In my 8 years of owning cavies, I have never seen any cavy with fleas. Even with some of my rescues that have come from flea infested environments. Lice and mites are the most common.

Okay that makes sense! Thanks for the info! It was probably mites then that my girls had, if fleas are that uncommon.

 

[Katie]

I've read that link Katie, but thank you for posting it anyway!

No, I have not treated for fleas. I'm getting a feeling it is mites again...but how can they get them? Do you think the constant moving from their indoors cage to their outdoor pen has caused them stress? Grrr...*goes away to find the syringe*

If you don't see fleas, it's not fleas.
Anything can cause stress.
Loud music, loud people, loud TV's, dogs, cats, people coming and going, too much handling etc... Mites can come at any time. I treat mine cavies every two months as a preventative measure.

 

[Piglet]

Oh ok, I didn't know that stress for them could be caused that easily... I think it may be because we are loud. But then don't websites always say that pigs should be placed somewhere that is busy? Like a living room?

 

[Katie]

Oh ok, I didn't know that stress for them could be caused that easily... I think it may be because we are loud. But then don't websites always say that pigs should be placed somewhere that is busy? Like a living room?

Yes, that's so they become more friendly and people don't forget about them. But just like humans, guinea pigs can get stressed over anything. I know I easily get stressed out over loud noises, I can't stand them. It just depends on you (or in this case, the pig).

 

[*Piglets-Angel*]

Yeah, my pigs are also itching theirselves too, they dont have any bald spots, they just have these little yellowish flakes all over them, I would like to know, whats wrong?

 

[Piglet]

That sounds like mine - yellow/white flakes. They are more concentrated around the bum.