Dandruff

[xRachaelx]

Ever since my guinea pigs have had lice, they always have dandruff well my ginger one does!
Is there any way I could get rid of it!?
Its not causing her any bother but its not really nice!

 

[zarapiggie]

i think dandruff is a fungal infection.

 

[Claire W]

Once 2 of my piggies had dandruff. I took them to the vets as I was worried but thankfully, it was just dry skin.

Are there any cuts, scabs, bald patches or any signs of excessive scratching as this could indicate a fungal infection or mites.

http://www.guinealynx.info/mites.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html

 

[Liane]

My ginger guinea pig has dandruff from time to time - I think it might be a ginger thing. If its bad, I wouldn't worry too much. You could try a special shampoo and get him checked over by the vet if you're concerned.

 

[Pebble]

My guineas often have bouts of scurfy skin/shedding hair. There is no denonstrable scratching issue and certainly nothing to ressemble fungal/mites (I have had both before in piggies)

It usually co-incides with a larger than average temperature variation in their environment (regardless of the time of year) which it seemed to me prompted the growing of their winter/summer coats depending on whether it was colder or hotter than the daily norms. Also as they are indoor pigs, I have found that during winter their coats/skin can dry out with the central heating so I now ensure I leave shallow trays of water in the room to increase the humidity.

On joining the forum, I was slightly worried that maybe I had missed something with my piggies in view of the number of times either fungus or mites was mentioned..so I did get them checked out on several occsions when they were scurfy by both by a specialist exotics vet and CCT. The results were all negative so I am inclined to belive that my piggies are just "moulting" or have "dry skin" when they are a bit scurfy.

When they do have an episode, (and Bandit is having one at the moment) ...I normally just give them a good brush and provide extra vit C...(becasue it could be an indication they are below par and so I also observe them more closely for signs of impending illness). If there is a lot of scurf I will also give them a bath with a mixture of Nizoral (Anti-fungal) and Johnsons insecticidal shampoo as a preventative measure....as it does help settle their skin down again...and keeps any potential mites/lice/fungi that could be introduced from the hay from gaining a foothold.

One other thing to note: It is often the case that piggies can have a dual skin infection...........eg both mites and fungus or lice/mites or lice/fungus but only one is treated as that is the obvious one......it's only once that problem is dealt with that the other one becomes obvious

So if you are at all in doubt then I suggest you go back and get a test done by the vet.

HTH

x

 

[xRachaelx]

Once 2 of my piggies had dandruff. I took them to the vets as I was worried but thankfully, it was just dry skin.

Are there any cuts, scabs, bald patches or any signs of excessive scratching as this could indicate a fungal infection or mites.

http://www.guinealynx.info/mites.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html

Nope, not that I can see!
Her fur is lovely and soft!

 

[xRachaelx]

My guineas often have bouts of scurfy skin/shedding hair. There is no denonstrable scratching issue and certainly nothing to ressemble fungal/mites (I have had both before in piggies)

It usually co-incides with a larger than average temperature variation in their environment (regardless of the time of year) which it seemed to me prompted the growing of their winter/summer coats depending on whether it was colder or hotter than the daily norms. Also as they are indoor pigs, I have found that during winter their coats/skin can dry out with the central heating so I now ensure I leave shallow trays of water in the room to increase the humidity.

On joining the forum, I was slightly worried that maybe I had missed something with my piggies in view of the number of times either fungus or mites was mentioned..so I did get them checked out on several occsions when they were scurfy by both by a specialist exotics vet and CCT. The results were all negative so I am inclined to belive that my piggies are just "moulting" or have "dry skin" when they are a bit scurfy.

When they do have an episode, (and Bandit is having one at the moment) ...I normally just give them a good brush and provide extra vit C...(becasue it could be an indication they are below par and so I also observe them more closely for signs of impending illness). If there is a lot of scurf I will also give them a bath with a mixture of Nizoral (Anti-fungal) and Johnsons insecticidal shampoo as a preventative measure....as it does help settle their skin down again...and keeps any potential mites/lice/fungi that could be introduced from the hay from gaining a foothold.

One other thing to note: It is often the case that piggies can have a dual skin infection...........eg both mites and fungus or lice/mites or lice/fungus but only one is treated as that is the obvious one......it's only once that problem is dealt with that the other one becomes obvious

So if you are at all in doubt then I suggest you go back and get a test done by the vet.

HTH

x

My mum keeps on telling me to take her to the vet! So I will make an appointment this week for her!
Thanks for your advise

 

[Claire W]

I'm pleased she doesn't look like any of the pictures It is probably what my pigs get which is just flakey skin every so often. It is good you are getting her checked over though just for piece of mind