Guinea pig white powder on fur around bum area

[Neq2434]

Hello so my guinea pig has white dusty looking stuff on her for around her but I want to make sure that this is or somewhat normal or should I take her to the vet

 

[Neq2434]

This is what she looks like:

 

[Wiebke]

Hello so my guinea pig has white dusty looking stuff on her for around her but I want to make sure that this is or somewhat normal or should I take her to the vet

Hi!

Unfortunately your picture is not clear enough to do more than guess.

Here are the two most likely options:
- Please feel the hairs and follow one between your fingers. If you can feel tiny, tiny beads on the hair, then you are most likely dealing with hay mites (chirodiscoides caviae). Beads are egg cases fixed to the hairs; the mites themselves are not visible.
In this case, please see a vet for diagnosis and vet grade parasite treatment. If your piggy is new, then you can reclaim any vet cost from the play you bought your piggies from. If you get a hay mite diagnosis please follow the information in the link the below, which contains further tips as to what you can do additionally.
Here is more information on skin parasites and your customer rights: New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites

- If the white dust is just dust that you can shake off, then your piggy has likely sat in a calcium pee that has dried off. Unless you are seeing milky pees that dry to powdery dust on a near daily basis and unless there are hard gritty bits (crystals) in the pee, you need not worry.
It is the normal way of the body to excrete calcium.
If you are seeing lots of calcium pees, you want to review your diet and if there are gritty crystals in the urine, you want to have the bladder vet checked for potential stones or sludge. Again, review your diet as to whether it is too high in calcium.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets