Do fur mites mean something else is wrong?

[Teddy-Boys]

I took my guinea pig Meatball who’s 3 to the vets on Thursday & they said he has quite a few fur mites. However they said fur mites appear naturally on most guinea pigs & often only become an issue if their immune system is low, due to illness or stress etc.

Meatball has always had what looks like dandruff in his fur since he was treated for mites 2.5yrs ago, but the vets couldn’t find a cause for this. It’s only since a bald patch appeared that I took him back again. Also he had a little wet patch under his one eye on & off for a couple of weeks but that seems to have cleared up now. The vet looked at his teeth, said they looked ok but maybe the bottom one was slightly horizontal but wasn’t really sure. He always used to weigh 1.3kg but has lost about 60-80g, however I was on holiday for 2 weeks & I don’t think he was being fed hay that being said I’ve been back for over a week now, so surely he’d have put the weight back on if that was the cause?

Can fur mites cause problems in healthy guinea pigs or does it always mean there’s an underlying problem? Meatball is on xeno 450 & I’ve been told to treat his brother Milkyway with xeno 50 as a precaution. Are there any tips to thoroughly disinfect the cafe to stop any more eggs hatching? Currently I just use vinegar water to clean

 

[Teddy-Boys]

I mean mites not notes lol not sure how to edit the post title!

 

[Wiebke]

I took my guinea pig Meatball who’s 3 to the vets on Thursday & they said he has quite a few fur mites. However they said fur mites appear naturally on most guinea pigs & often only become an issue if their immune system is low, due to illness or stress etc.

Meatball has always had what looks like dandruff in his fur since he was treated for mites 2.5yrs ago, but the vets couldn’t find a cause for this. It’s only since a bald patch appeared that I took him back again. Also he had a little wet patch under his one eye on & off for a couple of weeks but that seems to have cleared up now. The vet looked at his teeth, said they looked ok but maybe the bottom one was slightly horizontal but wasn’t really sure. He always used to weigh 1.3kg but has lost about 60-80g, however I was on holiday for 2 weeks & I don’t think he was being fed hay that being said I’ve been back for over a week now, so surely he’d have put the weight back on if that was the cause?

Can fur mites cause problems in healthy guinea pigs or does it always mean there’s an underlying problem? Meatball is on xeno 450 & I’ve been told to treat his brother Milkyway with xeno 50 as a precaution. Are there any tips to thoroughly disinfect the cafe to stop any more eggs hatching? Currently I just use vinegar water to clean

Hi!

We have seen a steep rise in hay/fur mites (chirodiscoides caviae) with the sale of imported hay in pet shop chains in the last few years whereas in previous years hay/fur mites have been generally only made an appearance in autumn usually in untreated farmers or equine suppliers hay; the latter have been usually very easy to get rid of whereas the first can be much harder to get rid of.

A weak/lower immune system can mean that a guinea pig can be worse affected, more prone to parasites, fungal and infective diseases, but the recent rise in hay mites in healthy and well cared for piggies cannot be explained by this.

For a deep clean disinfection, we strongly recommend F10 disinfectant, which is widely available online. It is not necessary for a regular clean, but unlike normal shop products, it is also effective against ringworm spores as well as bacteria. Vinegar water is fine for a regular clean, but it has its limits.

More helpful information on hay mites and their treatment in this guide here: What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)

PS: I have corrected the title for you.

 

[Teddy-Boys]

Thanks for that, I’ll look into getting some of that disinfectant. I wonder whether they were never cleared up after the last outbreak & maybe just got too much for him. Hopefully I’ll be able to blitz them this time, although Milkyway has the longest fur now so need to give that a good trim!

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for that, I’ll look into getting some of that disinfectant. I wonder whether they were never cleared up after the last outbreak & maybe just got too much for him. Hopefully I’ll be able to blitz them this time, although Milkyway has the longest fur now so need to give that a good trim!

It can also be a new infestation from a recent batch of hay. The more eggs you can remove just by giving yours a haircut (it also grows back quickly in shorthair guinea pigs), the less you have to get rid of with ivermectin and the less mites can hatch.