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Can't Shift This Skin Problem

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liquidmelancholy

liquidmelancholy

Junior Guinea Pig
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My piggy Peanut has problems with his skin, isolated to the middle of the back and a little into the rump. There are dark flakes like dandruff (see pictures, sorry not the greatest quality), as well as more like tiny pin head black dots too. The flakes vary in size. Some of these seem to be in areas where he has dark skin pigment areas, but most are to be found in areas on pink skin too.

I've tried the Gorgeous Guineas Lice n Easy shampoo, following all the instructions and doing several baths, a week apart each time. These have no made an improvement. I've tried a course of Xeno spot-on, which again has not worked. The vet's diagnosis has ranged from "just dry skin in that area", to mites, to lice.. No treatments have worked!

Does anyone have a clue what this is? And how I can rid of it? :( He is awfully itchy in that area and hates it being looked at etc. His fur also comes out a lot as I stroke him on the back :(

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It is static lice. Ive had a very difficult case recently which resulted in a very servere hair cut lol. I can honestly say I took months to sort. You need a knit/flee comb. You need to bath the guinea I used gorgeous guineas luce and easy about five times but kept coming back. you just have to keep at it.

in the end I found a combibation of bathing combing through with nit comb afterwards and cuttimg hair very short helpt. Mine was a lunkarya which are very fuzzy so couldnt nit vomb the long hair!
 
It's difficult to tell from the photos. My first thought would have been mites and if it is mange mites then an injection from the vet is more effective than spot on. The black specks could be skin debris. My other thought would be fungal, is the skin fluoresced at all? You said the hair comes out, is it coming out easily when gently tugged? is the hair greasy?

Just seen Bryony's post, it could well be static lice in which case I recommend Lyclear Creme rinse but as the hair is coming out he could well have a combination problem.
 
It does look like static lice but I probably shouldnt have jumped to that conclusion from a photo. It could be something else, however from experience static lice is more difficult to shift than mange mites etc.. Did any of the vets look under microscope at the black bits? Mine took a sample with sellotape and showed it me it was gross!

If one did and they suggested lice they were probably right although they can get more than one issue at once!

I would be tempted to try lyclear as I used that too. I did a course of lyclear and also a course of lice n easy (not at same time) I did one course then started the other when it came back. I think if it is lice the nit comb is essential after bathing
 
I immediately jumped at fungal too. I haven't had that much experience of static mites only saw one case at clinic and they used Lyclear. Not had it in my own pigs yet.

I think the sellotape test is a good idea.
 
Thanks for your replies! I can definitely rule out fungal - I've had prior experience with other pigs, there's no white flakes and the skin isn't sore and flushed or anything like that. The hair coming out when stroking isn't greasy or scurfy or coming out in clumps (like in fungal cases), it's just quite a lot of individual full length loose hairs being stroked out.

I'm taking Peanut to the vet either tomorrow or Friday hopefully, to see what else the vet can suggest. I'll try getting some of that Lyclear shampoo and a nit comb though if nothing else! Peanut has had an injection of Ivermectin in the past, as well as the Xeno spot-ons - nothing is clearing this up!

I read up some information saying Revolution is good for treating both mites and lice, so good if a combination of the two, or unable to diagnosis one or the other? Does anyone have any thoughts on Revolution? I think I'll bring it up with the vet if so.

I'm planning on fully cleaning the cage, as he also has a cagemate with some signs of mild flaking too. I'll give whatever treatment I am given or try using to his cagemate Maggie too. I'm guessing wash everything that can be washed and chuck anything that can't!? :roll:
 
You need a good disinfectant that kills everything. I use F10 which is a vet disinfectant yiu can get of the internet. If you get the concentrate its so cheap. I bought a litre premixed so I had the botyle and a bottle of the concentrate. You only need 4ml of the concentrate per litre sp it lasts forever and you use that instead of your normal cage cleaner to clean cages and plastic and metal stuff in cage.

Any wood must be thrown out but if not possible you will need to get a insecticidal hutch spray to use on the wood. Ive used a johnsons one in past from p@h.

Any toys that cannot be cleaned ie cardnoard etc must be thrown out after every bath with cage being scrubbed before putting them back in.
 
I do have some F10 spray, but thought it was just for fungus? Would it be effective against mites/lice too?

How often do you bathe in the Lyclear shampoo? I was doing courses of Xeno spot-on and weekly baths of Lice n Easy on both Peanut and Maggie. If anything, the flakes on Peanut's back have increased! That's why I'm so confused about what they've got.

I've seen what mites can do if left untreated - sore painful skin, losing big areas of fur etc. Their skin is fine and their fur is shiny and healthy, albeit coming out a little more than usual when stroked.

I'm going to the vet this afternoon, just wondering whether it's worth mentioning Revolution as a new treatment to try.
 
Once a week, for at least 3 weeks, patch test for 48 hours behind the ear first though.

I don't know much about Revolution. I know people on Guinea Lynx use it though.
 
When you go to vets if they dont do the microscope test ask them to do it, this should confirm if you are dealing with lice or whether the flecks are dead skin.

There is often confusion with lice / mites because some people call static lice hay mites which is same thing really. Maybe that was what happened with your previous vet visits?

The mites you generally use xeno for are mange mites which you cannot see with naked eye but you can see the dandruff they cause. they are the ones that cause skin irritation and baldness.

Fungal is the other option but it can be hard to diagnose, if they do not detect any lice it may be worth discussing treatment for fungal as a "just incase" scenario.
 
I used Revolution for my Tobie when first got him as he had mites. I think I used the kitten dose but I can't remember for sure... He didn't have any adverse reactions to it
 
The vet took 2 sellotape samples of skin/hair and looked at them under the microscope. Apparently the flakes looked like flakes of skin or "vegetation" (whatever that means!) He doesn't understand why treatments for both lice and mites have not worked. He hadn't heard of Revolution and had to google it! He went onto the Guinea Lynx website and spotted Malaseb shampoo. He proceeded to get some and suggested I try that? It's meant to be for fungal though! He said "might as well try it, since nothing else has worked". His best thought is that Peanut has a skin infection/reaction (?) and that's the cause of the flakes.

But Maggie has a bit of flaky skin too, but only mild. When she has a fungal patch a couple of months ago, he took a sample and apparently spotted a leg of a mite too. So suggesting there is, or was, mites present. And he suggested Peanut's skin was reacting to that?

None of this makes much sense in my opinion! He told me to give both pigs a Malaseb shampoo once a week for 3-4 weeks, and see how things go. Not optimistic at all.... :(
 
It does sound very strange wish I could see you guinea in real life it would be much easier. I think it is worth trying the fungal route as nothing else has worked. I would be tempted to comb through as well after each bath with nit comb and also make sure cage is fully disinfected as above.

If this doesn't help it may be worth a round of lyclear once you have completed the malaseb course.
 
It is worth a try, I would think any actual static lice would have shown up on the sellotape. Malaseb is good stuff. It is also possible to get a combination of mange mites and fungal. The black specks in that case would be skin debris. If it is mange mites aswell though she should be treated with Ivermectin preferably by injection.
 
Well Peanut has and never has had any signs of fungal. Maggie had a small patch on her rump a couple of months ago, which has now cleared up. But when I took her to the vet initially to get a diagnosis for the patch, that's when he also saw a leg of a mite apparently. But she has barely any flaky skin, compared to Peanut who has had various Ivermectin injections and spot-ons, but his dark flakes in larger amounts persist.

If I do weekly Malaseb shampoos, could I still apply Xeno spot-on at the same time, or is it the usual case of waiting 48 hours? I feel like if I treat as if suspecting mites still then I'm throwing everything possible at this! Lice seem to have pretty much been ruled out I think.
 
You would need to wait 48 hours.

Where abouts in Essex are you? are you near the Herts border? I don't know if I have asked you that before. There is a piggy clinic run by my friend in Broxbourne (literally just over the border from Nazeing) and she is a skin expert. Next one is not until 21 June though.
 
I am having the same issue with 2 of my girls. There are pin prick flakes all over their back, white dots on black fur and black dots on white fur. The fur is also coming out when stroking them but not in clumps nor is it greasy like with a fungal issue.

Would you reccomend the Lyclear or the Malaseb? I will definitely give those a try along with thoroughly scrubbing hutches, bowls, bottles and toys.
 
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You can definitely see static lice with a sellotape test, and there's no mistaking them! They tend to be on the rump rather than the back. Lyclear works well, as does FleaorDie, weekly shampooing, but leave the shampoo on for about 10 minutes before washing it off. Having said all that, it doesn't sound like static lice anyway - pigs tend not to scratch as they don't burrow into the skin. I think Helen's suggestion of going to see the skin specialist is a good one, although June sounds a long way off. My gut feeling is that is it some kind of skin condition, rather than parasitic. It doesn't seem to fit with a fungal infection either, but I wonder if it's bacterial? It may be worth trying something like povidone iodine, which is a general antibacterial/antifungal surgical wash. You vet will probably have some, so it may be worth asking about it. I really hope you can find a solution to this one. x
 
LeahsPiggies said:
I am having the same issue with 2 of my girls. There are pin prick flakes all over their back, white dots on black fur and black dots on white fur. The fur is also coming out when stroking them but not in clumps nor is it greasy like with a fungal issue.

Would you reccomend the Lyclear or the Malaseb? I will definitely give those a try along with thoroughly scrubbing hutches, bowls, bottles and toys.
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I would have a vet check it out to make sure what you are dealing with as @Elwickcavies states lice can be identified with sellotape and microscope.

Malaseb is more for fungal. where as lyclear is a lice treat

I did email chrissie at GG the other day asking about static lice, if it turns out to be then they are notoriously difficult to shift, she recommended try these wipes :

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/p...ea-pig-healthcare/petlife-wipe-out-flea-wipes

the key is diagnosis from vet first as the treatments for skin conditions are completely different dependant on the specific issue.
 
Briony_S said:
I would have a vet check it out to make sure what you are dealing with as @Elwickcavies states lice can be identified with sellotape and microscope.

Malaseb is more for fungal. where as lyclear is a lice treat

I did email chrissie at GG the other day asking about static lice, if it turns out to be then they are notoriously difficult to shift, she recommended try these wipes :

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/p...ea-pig-healthcare/petlife-wipe-out-flea-wipes

the key is diagnosis from vet first as the treatments for skin conditions are completely different dependant on the specific issue.
Click to expand...

Alright thank you, I will mention it when we next go for Pebbles check-up. :)
 
I'm quite a way off from Broxbourne, and would have to rely on someone driving me there unfortunately.

I'm unconvinced by Malaseb for solving this problem, seeing as there's no sign of fungal and the vet claims Peanut's flaky skin is a "skin infection", possibly as a reaction to Maggie having mites (but given no treatment for that!), and the shampoo will help "soothe" this so-called skin infection!? The first thing I'm going to try is another course of spot-on, and then do Malseb shampoos in between each treatment. As well as doing a full water and bleach solution wash of their cage and accessories of course.
 
are usiquidmelancholy said:
I'm quite a way off from Broxbourne, and would have to rely on someone driving me there unfortunately.

I'm unconvinced by Malaseb for solving this problem, seeing as there's no sign of fungal and the vet claims Peanut's flaky skin is a "skin infection", possibly as a reaction to Maggie having mites (but given no treatment for that!), and the shampoo will help "soothe" this so-called skin infection!? The first thing I'm going to try is another course of spot-on, and then do Malseb shampoos in between each treatment. As well as doing a full water and bleach solution wash of their cage and accessories of course.
Click to expand...
If you are using bleech make sure its throughly rinsed after x
 
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