Fur Itchy patch boy is always biting

[chloej]

My boy Sunny has this one patch of fur on his side he frequently bites and scratches at. It gets to the point that his fur sticks up. We asked about this at his last exotic vet checkup and they were as stumped as we are. They did a mite test on him and pulled the fur back and couldn't find anything to be concerned about apart from the fact he is always biting that spot. We gave him a bath a couple of times and for a while that seemed to help, but then he would just go back to biting it again. Has anyone experienced this before? I tried looking it up on google but the results didn't seem to correspond with what is going on with him. The only theory we've come up with is that he has sensitive skin in that one spot under his fur.

 

[bpatters]

You need a new vet. Mites are microscopic and can't be seen with the naked eye. And mite tests are notoriously inaccurate -- they miss the mites 50% of the time. They're painful for the pig, expensive for you, and useless.

Treat him for mites yourself: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/111160-How-to-treat-for-mites-and-lice. Four treatments, each 7 days apart.

 

[chloej]

I will point out that we've had that vet for years, they are very knowledgeable about guinea pigs, and they did a tape test on him to detect if he had mites. They didn't just stare at his fur only.

 

[bpatters]

That's fine, but I myself wouldn't go back to a vet that left me with an itchy pig and an explanation that he had sensitive skin and didn't treat him for mites. Something is causing him problems, and the most likely cause is mites. I'd want that ruled out by something other than a test. There is NO reliable test for mites, whether scraping, tape or other. They all miss about half the time. The general rule of thumb, if a pig is itching/scratching/biting, is to treat for mites.