Dandruff

[unkinz]

My sister's guinea pig has quite a lot of dandruff on her back. I've been researching this a bit and sounds like it might be mites. The only thing is she doesn't have any other symptoms, such as bald spots or excessive scratching, just the dandruff. Does anyone have any other ideas of what it could be, or how we can treat this?

 

[eileen]

Hi and to the friendly forum.It is advisable to take your sisters pet to a vet,it could be possibly mites,fungal,dry skin.But it needs to be diagnosed by a vet,and correct treatment given .It is best not to treat on spec.I hope your piggie gets well soon.

 

[unkinz]

Hi and to the friendly forum.It is advisable to take your sisters pet to a vet,it could be possibly mites,fungal,dry skin.But it needs to be diagnosed by a vet,and correct treatment given .It is best not to treat on spec.I hope your piggie gets well soon.

Thanks! We will. Have you ever had this problem with your piggies? It would be nice to know what to expect.

 

[Lady Kelly]

I've dealt with both mites and lice before. With the mites I noticed a lot of scratching but with the lice it was more biting their own backs and causing a v in their hair. I've not had to deal with fungal (touch wood) to compare any scratching etc. Hope you get answers and treatment soon

 

[eileen]

ive had a piggie with ringworm,but I got a vet to confirm this,and used a prescribed shampoo,and a fungal ointment from the vet .Cleaned the cage with F10 cleaning spray,daily.washed all fleeces at 90 degree wash.used fitch bedding whilst this was on going ,it cleared up promptly,ive not had a case since.I must stress you need to go to a vet to get the correct diagnosis.x

 

[Wiebke]

I've had about everything (apart from running lice). Skin issues in the early stages can look very similar and are often not easy to diagnose, but they require different treatments. Always go for good quality treatments and don't use the low-dosed broad spectrum cheap pet shop stuff; it won't do the trick with an acute outbreak. It is also much better not to treat on spec, as you can inadvertently prolong the suffering by treating for the wrong thing.
Dry skin is usually a diagnosis that you come to by eliminating all the other potential problems like mange or fur/hay mites, lice or fungal.