Ginger & Daffy

[Phoebe_ginger_daffy]

Hello, I am Phoebe I have recently adopted 2 female guinea pigs, ginger & daffy. I have had a fair amount of “pigs” over the years but ginger is the first who is causing me confusion & I need some help and guidance.

Ginger came to me with small bald patches & small sore marks. I have treated her for mites & taken her to the vets and we came to the conclusion she is over grooming. And the vet recommend me talking to a forum to see what people suggest for me to use on her skin. I have massively changed there diet in the past months I’ve had them & there leaving situations but she still seams have issues with her skin. No way near as bad but she is still sore. So I’m reaching out to ask, is there anything people suggest for me to do to help? Or something I can use to help soothe her skin.

I really appreciate the advice.
Thank you

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this.

Can you tell us about the mite treatment you used - Was it a full course (three separate treatments over the course of six weeks) prescribed by a vet and dosed by weight;
Or was it a pet shop product?

This is important in terms of our advice as pet shop products are low dosed and often not strong enough to completely cure mites meaning they come back. They can also lead to resistance due to being too low dosed.

We have also seen cases of ivermectin just not working on some mite infestations due to resistance, and selamectin based treatment has been needed instead.

Was she checked to be sure it isn’t a fungal infection?

I’m mentioning this as we wouldn’t want to give you advice on anything else without being sure there definitely isn’t mites!

New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

Overgrooming - you’ve touched on them not coming from a good background. Stress and neglect can cause overgrooming.

I have added a guide below which details this further

Barbering (Eating Hair)

 

[Merab]

Welcome to the forum.
I can’t add anything to @Piggies&buns advice.
Hope things work out for Ginger

 

[Phoebe_ginger_daffy]

I’m sorry to hear this.

Can you tell us about the mite treatment you used - Was it a full course (three separate treatments over the course of six weeks) prescribed by a vet and dosed by weight;
Or was it a pet shop product?

This is important in terms of our advice as pet shop products are low dosed and often not strong enough to completely cure mites meaning they come back. They can also lead to resistance due to being too low dosed.

We have also seen cases of ivermectin just not working on some mite infestations due to resistance, and selamectin based treatment has been needed instead.

Was she checked to be sure it isn’t a fungal infection?

I’m mentioning this as we wouldn’t want to give you advice on anything else without being sure there definitely isn’t mites!

New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

Overgrooming - you’ve touched on them not coming from a good background. Stress and neglect can cause overgrooming.

I have added a guide below which details this further

Barbering (Eating Hair)

Hello, it was a shop bought product which I showed to the vet and she approved. I’m starting to get the impression the vet was pretty much clueless. Do you have any recommendations for a good product?

I’ll take a look at the guide thank you.

 

[Phoebe_ginger_daffy]

Hello, it was a shop bought product which I showed to the vet and she approved. I’m starting to get the impression the vet was pretty much clueless. Do you have any recommendations for a good product?

I’ll take a look at the guide thank you.

 

[Piggies&buns]

We can’t diagnose anything but it looks like it might be fungal to me.
If she came to you like this and you’ve had them for months then if it is fungal, its probably not ringworm. Untreated and without stringent disinfection, ringworm would spread like wildfire to the other piggy and every human in your house within the incubation period of 10-14 days. Plus the spores live in the environment for up to two years so without being dealt with can cause repeated infections.

I have added our ringworm guide below though just in case.

Mite treatments will not do anything to treat a fungal infection. And equally fungal treatments won’t treat mites.
(For info, the best mite treatment is vet strength xeno 450.)

She will need a knowledgeable vet to diagnose and treat appropriately.

Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures

 

[Phoebe_ginger_daffy]

We can’t diagnose anything but it looks like it might be fungal to me.
If she came to you like this and you’ve had them for months then if it is fungal, its probably not ringworm. Untreated and without stringent disinfection, ringworm would spread like wildfire to the other piggy and every human in your house within the incubation period of 10-14 days. Plus the spores live in the environment for up to two years so without being dealt with can cause repeated infections.

I have added our ringworm guide below though just in case.

Mite treatments will not do anything to treat a fungal infection. And equally fungal treatments won’t treat mites.
(For info, the best mite treatment is vet strength xeno 450.)

She will need a knowledgeable vet to diagnose and treat appropriately.

Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures

Thank you so much for the advice. With it getting better & then coming back I didn’t think it was ringworm either. I’ll have a look into some fungal treatment and see how we get on.

Thank you again!