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ihrtyoshi's avatar

Guinea pigs scratching nonstop?

Asked by ihrtyoshi (45points) May 6th, 2014

Sorry if this is a long read but with all my other questions I’ve posted in the past I try and put every detail I can in my question, to ensure that I can get the best answer.

So, I have another problem with my guinea pigs.

I have two guinea pigs.

One is Nibbler and the other is named Mickey.
Nibbler is a English crested piggy. He has a brownish coat with a white face. Mickey is a abyssinian piggy. His body is 95% white and his face and ears are black.
A few weeks ago I posted a question about how to make them stop fighting eachother. Well I’m happy to announce they managed to stop fighting on their own.

But a new problem has occurred, they’ve been scratching nonstop. Another thing that is concerning is that they sleep a lot now. As of right now they’re sleeping instead of playing like they usually do in the afternoon. This really worries me but I think its because they’re always scratching.

Earlier in the day when I woke up I picked up Mickey and checked his body and he had a crusty mouth this concerned me. It wasnt red or anything like that. I started gently scratching the crust off from around his mouth. This set off a panic in me and after I put him away and washed myself I went hunting on the internet to see what it could be. After some time hunting I went back to check them for anything else I could find. This time I started with nibbler because I didn’t check him after I checked mickey the first time. I looked and looked and pushed his hair around and I didn’t find any red patches of skins, or sores, or rough scaly patches anywhere. But I did find small little yellow patches on one of his hind legs. They kind of look like scabs but are healing. That’s it I didn’t find anything else on nibbler. After, I finished checking nibbler I went and checked mickey. I repeated the same steps I did earlier. I also went back and checked on how his mouth was. I pushed his hair around and looked and looked and again I didn’t find anything on him except for a single yellow scab, this time on Mickey’s tummy. The crust around his mouth was gone and his mouth was clean of any sores or yellow scabs.

Neither of them have sores, red irritated skin, rough scaly patches, missing hair, none of that. All they have is the little yellow scabs.

I took them to the vet a couple weeks ago because they both had a cold. I’ve been giving them their medicine (trimethoprim-sulfa) daily twice a day as the doctor prescribed to me. So after searching on the internet I’ve come up with two conclusions: mange or ringworms.

If its mange I need to order Invermectin dewormer horse paste (I know it’s intended for horses but I’ve read reviews online and its great for guinea pigs and other small rodents that have external parasites). If it’s ringworm I just need to keep giving them their medicine and buy an antifungal cream.

So I guess my question is which do you think it could be. I’ve seen pictures online and to me it looks like it could be ringworm. Which can be passed to humans as well. I’ve been careful and always wash my hands after touching them. I’ll try and add some pictures later to show exactly what they have.

I would like to thank you guys in advance for reading my very long story. And my piggys will be grateful too once I find out exactly what is making them so itchy.

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13 Answers

janbb's avatar

Is the vet a possibility? That would be your best bet.

longgone's avatar

Please go see a vet. Sounds like you love these two…small animals are best treated early. Experimenting like this is dangerous.

ihrtyoshi's avatar

@longgone
Oh I do love my babies. Going to a vet would be my first choice to do but my dad told me the last time I went to the vet that he was going to stop me from going since I’m just “wasting” my money.

Here’s the link to the pictures. (I hope it works I’ve never done this before.)
link

syz's avatar

According to this site it’s likely to be either lice, mites, or fungal. They can also get fleas. (More)

Pigs are usually pretty hardy, so whatever the cause of the infestation may be related to a lowered immune system as a result of the stress of their illness.

You might want to educate your dad about the possibility of ringworm (a fungus) being transmittable to humans.

Please don’t decide to wing it as far as medicating them. Call your vet – since they saw them recently, they may be willing to give you advice or prescribe additional medication based on your description.

I would also talk to your vet about their housing environment and their diet. If they’re getting sick, you want to make extra sure that you’re providing everything that they need and not unknowingly contributing to their health issues. Good husbandry is the best prevention.

longgone's avatar

Are you a minor?

ihrtyoshi's avatar

@syz
Well they still have a cold, so since their immune system is low they are susceptible to any other kind of illness.

@longgone
No I’m not. My dad is just super strict

longgone's avatar

If you’re paying with your own money, he has no reason to meddle. Could another adult talk to him? Your link doesn’t work, by the way. Please listen to @syz and talk to your vet about the pigs’ environment.

You mentioned giving them a bath, right? What with?

ihrtyoshi's avatar

@syz
I have fleece as their bedding, and I made little pouches for them so they can crawel in and out of when ever they want to. And they’ll stay nice and warm too. I use to have aspen bedding but mickey would try and eat it, and I was afraid that he would get impacted from eating the bedding. Oh, and trying to educate my dad on something medical. It will never end he thinks he knows everything.

@longgone
Try this link.
link

I’ll have to call them tomorrow

SpatzieLover's avatar

I’ve had dozens of piggies. I strongly suspect mites.

Some breeds of guinea pigs are more susceptible to skin conditions, as well. So this could be more than one thing going on.

No matter what, since one of your piggies is mostly white I strongly suggest you get this situate under control via vet intervention quickly.

longgone's avatar

Nope, still not working for me.

ihrtyoshi's avatar

@longgone
Gggrrr idk why it’s not working.
I’ll try again when i go to my cousins house I’ve been using my tablet, and now I’m on my phone.

gailcalled's avatar

It’s not working because “This album is Private.” More important is having the vet see the animals.

Dan_Lyons's avatar

I have to agree with @gailcalled and everyone else who has suggested the vet.

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