Have someone hold the guinea pig while you trim to make it easier. These skin lesionsare usually circular areas of alopecia with inflamed and sometimes crusty edges; they are also pruritic (itchy). Also, clean out the cage thoroughly. These mites can travel in by other guinea pigs, food, bedding, or be in the guinea pigs and not causing a problem until one day they come out of dormancy and start to cause your pig pain or itchiness or both. Guinea Pig Health information. Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Chrissie from Gorgeous Guineas is very helpful. Guinea pigs lose patches of fur due to Parasitic or Bacterial Infections(lice, fleas, mites, and fungus), Urinary Tract Infection(UTI), dental problems, and hormonal … There are a number of issues that may be the cause of your guinea pig's dry, itchy, and puffy skin. Ivermectin in any form should NOT be used once a month,it should only be used when the gps actually have mites.Using any drug routinely will build immunity,so when a problem occurs the drug could be inaffective.Ivermectin is a strong pesticide and should only be used when necessary. the pig definately didn't like the injections. Many of my clients are surprised to discover signs of external parasites on their singly-housed guinea, long after they adopted it, without any exposure to other pets.  The owners are usually baffled by how the guinea pig acquired these parasites.  In these cases, the parasites have been living in small numbers on the pet for a long time, but the parasites have eventually multiplied, perhaps due to stress or some other factor that has weakened the guinea pig’s normal defenses. The vet has given it an injection and said it was a form of mite and its seems to have improved but not completely cleared. A lot of pet pigs, especially older ones, have skin that is scurfy and flaky. Under normal conditions fur mites are present in small numbers and exist symbiotically, not bothering their host. Purebred Teddy and Teddy Satin guinea pigs appear to be the most susceptible to fungal infection. The skin becomes very flaky and progresses to having the hair fall out very easily. APPA Encourages Pet Owners to Enjoy the Outdoors With Their Pets, Celebrate Earth Day with Eco-Friendly Pet Products. Dermatophytosis presents with scaly, patchy lesions on the face, feet, and dorsum (back). You can use Xeno 450 pipettes, you usually get 6 in a pack. I think it was a piece of bone and I saw some blood too. Tagged bathing, bathing a guinea pig, baths, cleaning your guinea pig, flaky skin, Freddie, guinea pig baths, keeping your guinea pig clean, scratching Although I’m aware of many who recommend it, I have to admit I don’t bathe my guinea … What could be causes? Just to be aware.....Flaky ears can also just be dry skin resulting from dry conditions/lack of humidity in their living area courtesy of central heating. It’s important to treat not only the affected guinea pig, but any others that they have come into contact with too. Your source on the Central Coast dedicated to the special needs of cats, birds, reptiles and small mammals. I put shallow trays of water near radiators to up the humidity levels for my piggies otherwise they can start shedding hair and get a bit scurfy. Pokoyo came to us at one of our meet and greet days, and had some serious mite issues. Fungal is easily identified by dry and scaly skin on the ears, nose and feet, with or without a combination of dandruff-like skin on the coat. This may in turn become a multiple problem, because of course bacteria are present in the environment which cause no problem to a healthy animal but are opportunistic is it … I think he broke a foot, because he is limping awkwardly and is moving but resting for now Apr 23, 2017 9:06:06 GMT No recent diet changes. We do live in an extremely dry climate (think high desert). Dermatitis (inflammation of the skin) in young guinea pigs is a fairly common condition that we see at my clinic. External parasites (mites, lice and occasionally fleas) are usually the cause, but occasionally ringworm (a fungal infection), nutritional causes (Vitamin C deficiency), barbering by a cage-mate, and even bacterial infection are the culprit. A guinea pig can catch ringworm from another guinea pig or from contaminated objects such as bedding. One of them has a bald patch which looks a bit scabby and has quite flaky skin. This is often simply dry skin where low humidity has dried out the external layers. Theres a large patch around one of the eyes that is quite hard and scabby to touch however the rest is more flaky … How to Keep Your Pup Snoozing During the Winter, Scales and Tails: Why Snakes are the Ultimate Pet, The First-Time Buyers Guide to Getting a Tortoise, The 5 Things You Should Know When Buying a Bird, The 5 Things You Should Know Before Getting a Cat, Scales Beat Fur: Why Exotic Reptiles Rule as Pets. If you don't have another person around, you can distract the guinea pig with a carrot or some other treat while you trim the nails. I have bathed her with anti-parasite shampoo and treated her for mites but she is still in a bad way. Fur mite infestation is a commonly encountered skin problem in guinea pigs. Hopefully, you will never have to deal with mange mites. If you have a veterinary question that you would like to propose for an upcoming edition, please send it to email@catandexoticcare.com with “ask the vet” in the subject line. You can bathe her with Nizoral shampoo if you can find it, or Malaseb or Pharmaseb. no recent bath. My Guinea pig has been scratching his back a lot every single day. Looks like psoriasis or eczema. Agree with Lavender Jade - it's probably mites. Hi, I have a short haired male Guinea pig. Another option is to hold the guinea pig up against your chest with its stomach facing out. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Hi just after some advice, one of my pigs has what looks like flaky skin or chunks of dandruff randomly distributed throughout his fur, however the chunks are still attached to the skin and only come off with small chunks of hair if I scratch them with my nail. My guinea pig just fell like a foot off the ground into a trash can, he was wriggling because I was trying to dry him because he got wet. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this. Her fur is getting really thin now and the skin underneath is really rough and flaky, her back end is the worst as it is mostly bald and … I use rosehip oil and myrrh oil on my own skin, as well as taking flax/borage/fish oil capsules and drinking LOTS of water. Flakey skin and patches of baldness all over body. It is 1 year and about 2 or 3 months old. He is keep on biting his back and his I can see his skin. In my experience the huge majority of skin issues in guinea pigs falls into two categories: mites and fungal. Yes, I think you can help him!  Dermatitis (inflammation of the skin) in young guinea pigs is a fairly common condition that we see at my clinic.  External parasites (mites, lice and occasionally fleas) are usually the cause, but occasionally ringworm (a fungal infection), nutritional causes (Vitamin C deficiency), barbering by a cage-mate, and even bacterial infection are the culprit. Tortoise Born with Deformed Legs Gets Wheels. My guinea pig has patches of dry , flakey skin and hair is falling out. However, their numbers can increase when a guinea pig is stressed, has decreased immunity due to other illnesses, and/or is unable to keep the mites reduced by normal … Active and playful. Max Conn, DVM is the owner of Cat & Exotic Care of the CentralCoast, a full service veterinary hospital dedicated to the special needs of cats, birds, reptiles and small mammals.  Cat & Exotic Care is located in PismoCoastPlaza, 565 Five Cities Drive, 805-773-0228.  More information can be found at www.catandexoticcare.com. About guinea pigs (average info). Symptoms such as thinning of the fur coat, excessive scratching, sores, or dandruff may be an indication of a parasite or fungal condition, in which case, your pig will need to seek treatment. I'm not sure if it’s a fungal infection or not but my 1 year old female guinea pig has a small patch of dry scaly skin behind each ear. Regular inspection of the guinea pig’s hair, skin, ears, nose, mouth, feet and body, together with an awareness of what is normal scratching, will help identify skin problems sooner rather than later. Your veterinarian can tell if your pet is infected with this condition by looking at the red patches on its skin, by shining a special ultraviolet light on its skin, or by a laboratory test. Bathe all of your guinea pigs even if only one of them shows signs of lice or mites. 06-09-15, 07:00 pm #3 ... For mites you will normally notice the guinea pig scratching excessively then their will be hair loss in the areas they are scratching. Skin issues – possible causes. Guinea Pig Life expectancy: 4 – 8 years. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. Diagnosis of the skin problem The guinea pig’s skin problem will be because of lice, mites, bacteria or fungus. I can see the skin like a V shape and today, I think I felt something hard. He does not have mites, fungus, etc, so please do not tell me to treat for those. Body temperature: ~37°C to ~39°C (99°F – 103°F) Ideal Environmental temperature: 19°C – 22°C (68°F – 72°F) *NOTE: more tolerant to lower than higher temperatures Acceptable Environmental temperature 15°C – 18°C (59°F – 64°F) hi, i've just rescued 3 guinea pigs that were being mistreated. Dandruff refers to a specific skin condition, but it may be that your guinea pig has one or more reasons for debris on the skin that appears to flake off. If a pig seems particularly itchy, though, this could mean a more serious problem. This is a male guinea pig about 8 months old, shares cage with female without any of the symptoms. When pulling loose hairs from a guinea pig with fungal, the dandruff-like skin will be visible at the end of the hairs where they were attached to the skin. Guinea pigs suffering from itchy skin may have species-specific lice, a mite infection called sarcoptic mange or the fungal infection known as ringworm, writes veterinarian Jeff Kahler, who notes that ringworm can be transmitted to people from their guinea pig. She is quite old but nothing is wrong with her appetite, she gets so irritated and she appears to have mini fits when she is itching herself. Directions: Degu – 1/3 teaspoon; chinchilla, guinea pig, small and medium rabbits – 1/2-3/4 teaspoon; larger rabbits – 1-1.5 teaspoons 4-5 times a week.When the condition impoves, you can offer this supplement once or twice a week for support. When in pain, a guinea pig will often stop eating and/or drinking. It is REALLY common. What can I use on my pig to treat dry skin? It can even look like it is cracking. hi, i've just rescued 3 guinea pigs that were being mistreated. Mange mites live in a guinea pig's skin and cause them a lot of pain. Disclaimer: The informational handouts and website links above are for informational purposes only, they are not intended to replace veterinary care. JavaScript is disabled. When a guinea pig has “dandruff,” this constitutes a medical condition. In your guinea pig’s case, I strongly suspect he is suffering from a mite infestation.  Contact with another guinea pig may have occurred to introduce the parasites, or, perhaps they were already present in low numbers and have now become a clinical problem (as described above).  As the infestation worsens, the clinical signs become more dramatic.  The itchiness can be so intense that the guinea pig can have virtual seizures.  Although the signs are troubling, your veterinarian can diagnose the condition quite simply by viewing scrapings of skin under a microscope.  The treatment consists of several doses of a prescription insecticide and sometimes additional medications to treat any secondary infection.  Usually the condition quickly resolves with appropriate therapy. My guinea pig has dry flaky skin over his back and he is very itchy.  I was planning to bring him to a vet for this but lately I have noticed that he has seizures.  Do you think I can help him, or is it likely that he will need to be put to sleep? The dry, flaky skin and the hair pulling out easily are both signs of that. Guinea pigs can suffer from fleas and lice and are particularly susceptible to developing mite infestations.These irritating parasites can successfully be treated by your vet. Look for any signs of redness, dry flaky skin, hair coming out in clumps with dead skin on the end, cuts, bites and open sores. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. It's hard enough to find products which work on people! She has had it for a long time but I always thought it was normal. 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