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Do guinea pigs get dry skin?

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missbrittany

missbrittany

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I was just having some cuddles with Sophie and (trying) to cut her nails when I saw a little tuft of fur that was sticking out on her back. It was a scab that had come off with some fur attached to it. I checked her over to find where the scab had come from and found a little spot on her back where some hair was missing. I have no idea where she got this scab from, could have been a nip from Penny, who knows. I checked her skin for any signs of mites/ringworm but her skin around the scabbed area looks fine apart from some little skin flakes that looked kind of like dandruff. I was just wondering if this could possible be some dry skin? Here's the best picture I could manage, there's still a little bit of a scab left.



I had to bribe her with a treat just so she'd sit still long enough for me to get the camera out :))
 
Could she have cut herself while scratching?

I'm always cautious about any loss of fur as it could be early signs of a fungal infection or something else. If in doubt, it's always best to get them checked out by a vet, even if it's just for your own peace of mind :)
 
Jerrybelly said:
Could she have cut herself while scratching?

I'm always cautious about any loss of fur as it could be early signs of a fungal infection or something else. If in doubt, it's always best to get them checked out by a vet, even if it's just for your own peace of mind :)
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She definitely could have. I'll keep an eye on it over the next two days. She had a scab similar to this one last year that I got checked out by the vet and it turned out to be nothing. I have some anti-fungal cream on hand so I can apply some if I see something pop up since my vet isn't open on Sundays.
 
My Mr Darcy is quite a dry skinned piggy. He seems to get dandruff on his rear end and I have bathed him twice, once in Gorgeous Guineas Lice&Easy and another time in the conditioning one with coconut oil. When it didn't clear up I took him to the vet, she took a sample on some sellotape and after checking under the microscope, assured me it was just dry skin, and that some guinea pigs get it. She also told me not to bathe him because of it. So I haven't. The dandruff is not quite so noticeable at the moment, but he still goes 'loopy' if you 'scratch' his back... poor little man. He's happy otherwise. Mr Darcy's skin looked exactly the same as your piggy missbrittany.
 
Mummylind said:
My Mr Darcy is quite a dry skinned piggy. He seems to get dandruff on his rear end and I have bathed him twice, once in Gorgeous Guineas Lice&Easy and another time in the conditioning one with coconut oil. When it didn't clear up I took him to the vet, she took a sample on some sellotape and after checking under the microscope, assured me it was just dry skin, and that some guinea pigs get it. She also told me not to bathe him because of it. So I haven't. The dandruff is not quite so noticeable at the moment, but he still goes 'loopy' if you 'scratch' his back... poor little man. He's happy otherwise. Mr Darcy's skin looked exactly the same as your piggy missbrittany.
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Thank you, that reassures me a little. Sophie gets a little "loopy" when I scratch a certain place on her back too.
 
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