• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Flakes and scabbies

Status
Not open for further replies.
MrsM

MrsM

Senior Guinea Pig
Joined
Nov 29, 2008
Messages
5,645
Reaction score
10
Points
0
Location
Wirral
Here is the new chapter from Bertie.

He's being treated for an over working cebaceous gland which, according to the vet, is causing the flakes. He had loads last week. Last night I found a scabby between his shoulder baldes, which after some stoking was removed. I doubt it is his cage mate biting him. He's molting but not anymore than usual. He's also scratching less than normally. but his skin is sooooooooo dry and he's covered in flakes - although less than last week. The gland has been washed 3 times with iodine solution, I decided to give him a rest last night and carry on every two nights till the end of the week to give the skin a chance to recover. The shine is coming back into his fur, but I am still sooooooo concerned over the dryness and the flakes on the skin. Is he lacking sommit in his diet? His appetite is dead good and he's drinking oK. He's not a great drinker but I've not noticed any changes.

Any advice much appreciated. thanks guys...
 
Have you checked it isn't fungal? it sounds like it....:{
Have you contacted Chrissie at Gorgeous Guineas? sorry if you have already ruled this out, I haven't seen any other posts about it!
 
no I haven't considered whether it'd be fungal.
What's the address for Gorgeous Guineas?

Thanx
 
are the remedies proposed on Gorgeous Guineas easy to get? PAH? Vets? Pahrmacist? Do you need a witchcraft licence? :(|):(|):(|)
 
I think they are specially formulated by Chrissie. I don't think and I've never seen these products or similar ones available in Pets at Homes. You can order on the website. GG's products don't contain chemicals so they are kinder to the skin. I'm sure someone with more knowledge can advise I have only used the shampoos and Lice N Easy which is a god send! Infact I'm convinced God made it on the 8th Day! :(|)
 
Sunshine (Louise?), thanks for the tip. I have ordered a few potions from the website after we had yet another accident t bath time tonight and I found more scabbies on Bert's little rotund body.
I was rinsing the iodine solution off Bertie's back when he decided he was going home, so he jumped from the sink onto the floor. :o He half landed on my foot but still, what a fright. I put him back to finish rinsing, bent over him to pat him and reassure him and kaboom, he jumps into my arms, but being a little slithery with the water, lands on the floor a second time! :o:o
He seems fine and still has a great apetite, but that decided me to give up with that solution... I washed the whole body instead of just the bum area and most of the flakes have been washed away but as I don't have anything approriate to nourrish the skin, I had to buy magic lotions on Gorgeous Guineas... x>>
 
Yep Louise is my name! :)

Hope the creams work! Oh what is Bert like frightening you like that! Sounds like he is full of fun. x
 
i've had loads from gg! i have foot cream, lice and easy, bugs away, melts,etc etc,etc. but i think the vet should see him as it could be mites. does he have open sores?
 
Is there any chance we could have a pic of the scabs, are they on the rump area? The reason I ask is that when Cuzzy had this he was treated with injections for mites and it cleared it up even though the vet couldn't find any mites on him and there was no hair loss.

Perhaps in Cuzzy's case the problem cleared up on its own or the injections sorted it out. Now 2 of my girls have actual mites I can see now that what Cuzzy had was totally different and was probably more fungal than anything else.
 
stargrrlclaire said:
i've had loads from gg! i have foot cream, lice and easy, bugs away, melts,etc etc,etc. but i think the vet should see him as it could be mites. does he have open sores?
Click to expand...

no just a few scabbies. had 2 last night, but none this morning. Flakes washed away nicely despite stunts.
 
SunshineAndTwinkle said:
Is there any chance we could have a pic of the scabs, are they on the rump area? The reason I ask is that when Cuzzy had this he was treated with injections for mites and it cleared it up even though the vet couldn't find any mites on him and there was no hair loss.

Perhaps in Cuzzy's case the problem cleared up on its own or the injections sorted it out. Now 2 of my girls have actual mites I can see now that what Cuzzy had was totally different and was probably more fungal than anything else.
Click to expand...

They're very difficult to find and I'm not surprised the vet may have missed them because his coat is soooooo thick... They are mainly arounf the mane, one between shoulder blade, one behind ear (defo can't bite himself there!) and one on spine area about half way from nose to tail...

I'll try pics if I can find more tonight - scabbies that is...
 
lavenderjade said:
Have you checked it isn't fungal? it sounds like it....:{
Have you contacted Chrissie at Gorgeous Guineas? sorry if you have already ruled this out, I haven't seen any other posts about it!
Click to expand...

dunno, have order potions from chrissie at GG, waiting for shipping
 
Scabbies

Flakes are much better but found at least 3 scabbies, all on Bertie's tan belt - shoulder to mid back area. I have taken pictures which I am uploading as we speak.

ALso, he [*]bit [/*]me tonight. I had him out and was inspectinh his underbelly, put him back on his legs and he attacked my trousers and seriously bit me... Thankfully skin didn't break but I'll have a nice bruise... Thanks Bert!
 
Photos

Scabby 1
DSC00771.jpg

DSC00773.jpg


Scabby 2
DSC00772.jpg


Scabby 3
DSC00768.jpg


Flakes
DSC00777.jpg


Hope you can help me with this.

and more shots of the piggy himself
DSC00745.jpg

DSC00730.jpg
 
Having a fungal infection makes their skin extemely sensitive and sore, so I am sure he didnt mean to bite!

Glad you got some stuff from GorgeoUs Guineas. Chrissie who makes the creams etc is very good and will answer emails (pref with pics) and advise best course of treatment. Top tip though: follow her instructions to the letter; even if his skin looks better after one or two treatments, it could come back unless you follow the treatment exactly.

What did you get? I have had excellent results with the coco neem melt and neem shampoo and the lavender and myrrh lotion. Check his ears as often fungal spreads to there as well, if they are white and flaky, use a little of the lotion or the coco neem melt as directed :)
 
Hard to say looking at those photos, mites and fungal infection can be easily confused. I would try the stuff you have ordered and if it isn't clearing up, the only other thing it can be is mites which is treatable with xeno 450 available online or from your vet ;)
 
lavenderjade said:
Having a fungal infection makes their skin extemely sensitive and sore, so I am sure he didnt mean to bite!

Glad you got some stuff from GorgeoUs Guineas. Chrissie who makes the creams etc is very good and will answer emails (pref with pics) and advise best course of treatment. Top tip though: follow her instructions to the letter; even if his skin looks better after one or two treatments, it could come back unless you follow the treatment exactly.

What did you get? I have had excellent results with the coco neem melt and neem shampoo and the lavender and myrrh lotion. Check his ears as often fungal spreads to there as well, if they are white and flaky, use a little of the lotion or the coco neem melt as directed :)
Click to expand...

I think I got those 3
 
lavenderjade said:
Hard to say looking at those photos, mites and fungal infection can be easily confused. I would try the stuff you have ordered and if it isn't clearing up, the only other thing it can be is mites which is treatable with xeno 450 available online or from your vet ;)
Click to expand...

Going to vets anyway on Saturday so will ask for Xeno 450 just in case. Nothing is too good for my piggy. ;)

Any tips on how to make bath time less stressful? I suppose i could feed him his fave treat (parsley)... Should I treat Finlay at the same time? he'll poop in the bath but i'd rather that then him going crazy downstairs and stressing Bertie even more.:{
 
Just make sure that you dont use any skin treatments for 48 hours after
treating for mites!

I bath mine like this:
pop an old towel in the bath (no water) and fill the sik or a basin with warm water and have a jug handy. Gently wet the pig, use shampoo etc as directed. It is a good idea to clean his grease gland (located where a tail would be if he had one) first with swarfega.

Rinse well and repeat shampoo. If using a melt, this can be difficult to shampoo off so 2 shampoos is best.

Make sure room he is in is warm and dry him throughly with a towel first, then a hairdryer on a cool setting. If he is wriggly because the hairdryer bothers him, pop him in a box or something similar and dry him in there.

IT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE HE IS DRY BEFORE YOU PUT HIM BACK IN HIS CAGE.

(I learned this the hard way) :(
 
lavenderjade said:
Make sure room he is in is warm and dry him throughly with a towel first, then a hairdryer on a cool setting. If he is wriggly because the hairdryer bothers him, pop him in a box or something similar and dry him in there.

IT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE HE IS DRY BEFORE YOU PUT HIM BACK IN HIS CAGE.

(I learned this the hard way) :(
Click to expand...

Oh, sorry to hear... why is that? I don't and have never had a problem - he'd not had a bath for ages before his troubles started... ?/
I'm so totally stressed about it. mallethead


arrrrrrrgh!:laluot_32::laluot_21::laluot_14: feel the frustration?
 
Last edited:
Ah what lovely guineas! Must admit the Xeno 450 has been fantastic on the girls they are looking so much better! Good luck at the vets! x
 
Deep breath, hon... although I have to admit that the pictures of the rabbit attacking were kind of funny. I sent you some bath tips in the last mail, and hope that Bertie's feeling better soon. They're so cute... I just want to cuddle them... need to invent a machine that I can pet all the cuties through the computer screen.
 
My oldest guinea hated the hair dryer and went bonkers so last time I bathed him, I only partially dried him. He died a week later from pneumonia, I feel it was attributed to him being put back in his cage while still damp, even thougb the heating was on etc..:(:(:(
 
lavenderjade said:
My oldest guinea hated the hair dryer and went bonkers so last time I bathed him, I only partially dried him. He died a week later from pneumonia, I feel it was attributed to him being put back in his cage while still damp, even thougb the heating was on etc..:(:(:(
Click to expand...

I'm sorry... You've put the fear of god into me now, I shall bribe him with a mountain of parsley whilst unde the dryer! :{
 
Pigglywink's Rachel said:
They're so cute... I just want to cuddle them... need to invent a machine that I can pet all the cuties through the computer screen.
Click to expand...

Maybe you should do a tour of Britain and visit all the posters on the thread... achievable if you can get a sabbatical! :))
 
You can also just part dry him with the hairdryer and give him a long cuddle in a warm dry blanket to help dry him off.

The scabs do kind of look like bites to me :{ but like others said it could be fungal or mites.

The flakes could be fungal or mites. But I think some pigs do have dry skin, for example one of my teddies has very dry skin (they are prone to it)
 
Update

Right... went to vet tonight. She's the 5th different one I've seen at that surgery. She had a good look at the scabbies and decided that it probably was mange mites but that
- it wasn't widespread
- it was healing well
- he probably was healing in his own

She's not given him any thing but wants to give him a chance to get better on his own. We have a follow-up appointment in 2 weeks and she didn't even charge me as there's nothing wrong with him! :))

That was good to hear. If it turns out to be a mite infestation, she will not use the injection but the topical treatment instead. I liked the sound of that. Bertie is good in his comfort zone but a bit of a whimp when challenged or stretched. I think injections would make him too nervous he's get sick. :)>>>
 
I used to get a hot water bottle and wrap a towel around it and piggie used to love stretching out on top of it. Helped to dry her belly.
 
If it is mites, it wont get better on its own! Topical ivermectin is good, I use xeno 450 :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top