Help - Lots Of Dandruff

[Drezella]

Yesterday I bathed Paddy & Rohan using some Bephar guinea pig shampoo, cleaned their grease glands and gave them a good groom to remove any loose hairs. Today when I held them both I noticed that Rohan in particular shed not just a lot of hair but also dandruff flakes too. I've checked both pigs for lice, scabs, sores and bald patches and they don't have any. They don't seem to be itching any more than normal either, but they are scratching a bit. They did have lice a few months ago but I treated them with Ivermectin which seemed to get rid of them. I've just given them another dose of ivermectin just in case the lice weren't properly killed off.

The dandruff flakes are white and do look like dead skin. I cannot see any lice etc at the ends of the hair or any eggs near the roots. I cannot see anything running around in their coats. It literally just looks like dandruff.

What could be causing this? Could it just be dry skin? Could the bath have caused this? I try not to bathe them too often, but their bums and grease glands do get quite dirty so I have to bathe them every 7-8 weeks or so.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Wiebke]

Please have them seen by a vet for either the beginning of mange mites or fungal. You are not overbathing.

 

[Drezella]

Righty oh, will do. I hope they've not got those. :/

 

[Lady Kelly]

Mites are naked to the human eye so it is quite possible they could have them and you wouldn't be able to see. If you gently tug at a bit of the hair does it come away with skin attached to the end? If so this is a very good indicator of mites. You have done the right thing with ivermectin but sometimes mites can be stubborn and your pigs may need an injection of ivermectin which will work better.

When you go to the vet please tell them what you have used to treat them so far and rough dates that you did this.

 

[Drezella]

Ok, I'll ring them tomorrow after work and see if they can fit us in. Yes the hair is coming away easily, a small chunk of Paddy's hair came away before when my friend held him. They are also shedding a lot of loose hairs, more than they normally do.

Can stress cause them to shed? They did have a stressful day yesterday because we trimmed their nails properly for the first time, cleaned their bums/grease glands and bathed them, and they were very stressed.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Ok, I'll ring them tomorrow after work and see if they can fit us in. Yes the hair is coming away easily, a small chunk of Paddy's hair came away before when my friend held him. They are also shedding a lot of loose hairs, more than they normally do.

Can stress cause them to shed? They did have a stressful day yesterday because we trimmed their nails properly for the first time, cleaned their bums/grease glands and bathed them, and they were very stressed.

Oh bless them, it does sound like mites to me. I *think* (as in I seem to remember reading or being told) that if a guinea pig is prone to mites they can get them when they get stressed. Sure enough, my original two, got an outbreak every time I/they moved house. Mites can also come from their hay. I usually keep some spot on in the house and if I suspect an outbreak I do two doses 7 days apart and that usually sorts it (though you do tend to notice after a couple of days after the first dose if that's going to work).

 

[Drezella]

Would it worth leaving it a day or so to see whether that ivermectin works then? I have just treated them with 2 pipettes each (of a dosage suitable for guinea pigs) about 3 hours ago. I also have some anti mange mite spray which contains ivermectin that I could top them up with in future.

I'm just conscious of money at the moment as I'm a bit skint, so if there's anything that I can do to treat them myself then that would help. But obviously I don't want my boys to suffer in any way.

 

[Lady Kelly]

When was the first dose done? If it was a week or more ago I would be inclined to go to the vets as things haven't improved and unfortunately with mange mites if it gets out of control it can be fatal

 

[Drezella]

I only noticed the dandruff today. So I gave them the first dose 3 hours ago of two pipettes each, the recommended dosage for their weight.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Ahhh sorry I didn't read your post properly and see that the other ivermectin was done a few months ago and I originally didn't see the few months bit lol. Well the vets won't be open til the morning anyway so maybe have a check at how they are in the morning for signs of any improvement

 

[Drezella]

Ok will do I'll hold them before work and brush their fur back see if any more dandruff comes out. If it does then I'll ring the vet.

 

[helen105281]

Do they seem greasy at all? if so it points more to fungal. If the hair looks broken half way down the shaft then it is likely to be mange mites. See what the vet thinks. If it is mange mites a round of injections is more effective than spot on but you will need to tell them what you have already used and they may ask you to carry on with that instead. If the vet diagnosis fungal I would recommend a round of Imaverol dips as it is gentle but effective.

 

[Drezella]

I checked my boys this morning by brushing their hair back and virtually no dandruff came off, and very few hairs. So it looks like the ivermectin that I applied yesterday is working. I've decided to monitor them very closely over the next couple of days and if any dandruff returns or they act out of character I'll take them straight to the vet.

The hairs aren't broken half way down and they aren't greasy. I did give them a bath yesterday though, so I'll have to monitor their coats over the next couple of days and see whether they become greasy. I cannot see any cuts, scratches or unusual marks and they don't seem to be behaving oddly in any way. They were popcorning just before at tea time, so they seem ok at the moment.

 

[Drezella]

I took the boys to vets for a check up today and it's good news. The vet couldn't see any lice or mange mites under the microscope. She thinks that they just got really stressed when I bathed them on Saturday and perhaps also had a bit of dry skin so that's why they probably shed dandruff on the Sunday. They've barely shed any skin since Sunday, just hair, so I'm monitoring them for the time being.