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Guineapig with "dandruff".....

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rosielx

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I noticed last weekend that one of my smooth coated short hair piggies had minor hair loss on her back. After catching her I found out that she appeared to have a bad case of dandruff. I checked online for pictures and think she may have lice or mites so have bathed her in Lice and Easy shampoo for the last two weekends. Also bathed the other six piggies this morning. None of the other piggies have dandruff or hair loss. Does anyone have any advice? I'm currently 10 weeks pregnant and exhausted so catching and bathing seven piggies is no mean feat ?/
 
Hi Rosie,

If she had lice it would be quite obvious, since these are visible parasites. Mites are possible, as they can lead to small flaky patches. A fungal infection is another possibility. The most time-effective treatment is to deal with both at the same time; especially handy if you and the vet are not sure which it might be. The ideal treatment plan is:

- Day 1 - Ivermectin
- Day 4-7 - Anti-fungal bath
- Day 10 - Ivermectin
- Day 13-16 - Anti-fungal bath

The times of the anti-fungal baths can be any day that is more than 48 hours either side of the Ivermectin. This is especially true if it is 48 hours after an Ivermectin dose, I am unsure if it applies to 48 hours before but I find timing it as such spreads the treatment out more evenly.
The anti-fungal bath could use either a product like Nizoral, or a Gorgeous Guineas treatment of a Melt and the Manuka & Neem shampoo.

If necessary a third round of Ivermectin and anti-fungal baths could be performed, although it sounds like your piggie has a mild case.
 
Thankyou. I'd already bought the manuka shampoo as well as the lice and clear from gorgeous guineas. I've also bought Xeno 450 spot on as it treats lice and mites but have not received this yet. Is it possible for just one guinea pig to have caught it? The abbys and rest of the smooth coats have no hair loss.
 
Yes, it's quite common for only one pig to display the symptoms. Some people treat all the pigs if one in that group has the condition, but given that you have caught it early on you should be just fine to only treat the affected pig. Good luck! :)
 
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