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Dry Skin Causing Itching?

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mrsw0nka

mrsw0nka

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I noticed my piggie Kiara scratching her side by her back leg quite a lot. I tried to search through her fur to see any signs of anything wrong but the only thing i noticed was maybe some dandruff. There were flakes in her fur and i could maybe see some loose ones on her skin when i parted her fur too. Could this be causing her itching? Maybe i jump to conclusions but as i am sure a lot of you can relate to, i am kind of paranoid for my girls' health.

I can't see any big patches of anything wrong, she has had a fungal infection before and i can see no signs of that. I will add some photos of her eyes and skin on her face, it all looks fine. I was thinking maybe a bath would help? They have not been bathed since i got them, she is 6 months old now. I only have normal small animal shampoo, i checked gorgeous guineas and the only thing i could see for dry skin was a cream? Would a bath with normal shampoo help the situation?

She is fine otherwise, popcorning about, eating etc. She is half Abyssinian and half Rex i think, her fur has gotten pretty thick!


 
It may be the dry skin causing the itching, but we need to establish what is causing the dry skin, what is she bedded on? You could try a bath with a guinea safe shampoo.
 
It could be dry skin or the beginning or a mites/fungal issue; these don't always start nicely in the classic places.
 
Toffeewoffee said:
It may be the dry skin causing the itching, but we need to establish what is causing the dry skin, what is she bedded on? You could try a bath with a guinea safe shampoo.
Click to expand...
They are bedded on fleece thats changed a couple of times a week and they have a toilet tray at one end with safe wood chips.

Wiebke said:
It could be dry skin or the beginning or a mites/fungal issue; these don't always start nicely in the classic places.
Click to expand...
It's definitely not the same as the fungal before, can it come back and seem completely different? Sometimes her ears look a little dry so i put on the anti fungal cream and it seems to do the job but now it's not her ears they seem fine.
 
I would keep it under observation and if necessary have her checked by a vet if the itchiness persists. Dry skin can be an issue in heated rooms, so it may be just that. Keep an open mind.
 
Maybe the shampoo is causing irritation? How often were you bathing them?
 
Thanks i was going to just keep an eye on her. Their cage is in the main open plan living room and kitchen area but it is rather spacious and there is only one radiator in here and it is at one end of the room and the piggies are in the middle really.

And madguinealady i haven't bathed them yet, i was wondering if it might help if i did give them a bath?
 
No problem :)
Should i try giving them their first bath? I was thinking it might relieve a bit of the itchyness by removing some loose skin?
 
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