Help please :( Itching/skittish piggies

[Hails&Karolina]

I need help, please someone.
So although it’s been a month my piggies seems to keep running away and they are cooing even if I get close to them without touching them.

lately I noticed the are itching and they make a sound like they are scratching. Of course I am not able to see which one it is or if it’s both doing it because once I move they start running and they are constantly hiding. I thought it might be because they are hiding in the hay sack and I guess that could cause them itching. But I don’t know anymore. I am worrying about fleas, mites, lice. But at the same time I haven’t changed hay brand and I haven’t take them out or bring them in contact to other piggies in order to get any of these..

so today I tried to grab them just to check because I’m so scared and upset. And they started screaming like crazy. I was not able to even keep them in place to check them and I don’t know what to do anymore. Please help me

 

[Swissgreys]

Firstly it is normal for your piggies to still be skittish and nervous after a month, so you re not doing anything wrong.

Guinea pigs kept in the cleanest conditions can develop a mites, particularly when they are stressed or in a new environment.
You can't see these just by looking at the skin, as they burrow into the skin and are microscopic.

The first step would be to take your piggies to the vet for a full heath check. If they do have a skin condition these can usually be easily and quickly treated.

Secondly I am linking to some guides below to help you build your relationship with your piggies.
This is an overall guide to all aspects of guinea pig ownership and a good place to start.
New Owners' Most Helpful How-To Guides and Information

This is an excellent guide on how to pick up a nervous guinea pig
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely

And these guinea pig whispering tips should help your guinea pigs see you less as a big scary monster and more as a fellow friend.
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips

 

[Hails&Karolina]

Firstly it is normal for your piggies to still be skittish and nervous after a month, so you re not doing anything wrong.

Guinea pigs kept in the cleanest conditions can develop a mites, particularly when they are stressed or in a new environment.
You can't see these just by looking at the skin, as they burrow into the skin and are microscopic.

The first step would be to take your piggies to the vet for a full heath check. If they do have a skin condition these can usually be easily and quickly treated.

Secondly I am linking to some guides below to help you build your relationship with your piggies.
This is an overall guide to all aspects of guinea pig ownership and a good place to start.
New Owners' Most Helpful How-To Guides and Information

This is an excellent guide on how to pick up a nervous guinea pig
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely

And these guinea pig whispering tips should help your guinea pigs see you less as a big scary monster and more as a fellow friend.
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips

Hi, how is it possible to develop mites ?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, how is it possible to develop mites ?

Guinea pigs can have two different species specific mites varieties, mange mites which burrow their eggs painfully into the skin and which often already come with eggs in their skin that are usually kept under control by fully working immune system, and hay mites which fix their tiny egg cases to hairs; the mites themselves are so small they are invisible. The second variety often comes with imported industrially mass produced hay, which is harvested in a method that is churning up soil a lot more than traditional methods.

Please do not home treat on spec with cheap pet shop products which cannot cut through an acute case. They should have a hands-on vet examination and treatment with vet grade products to get on top of a problem.

If you have newly bought piggies, you can reclaim any vet cost from the seller as your customer rights for having been sold damanged ware.
More information on guinea pig skin problems and your customer rights in this guide link here. New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites

Please take the time to read our green information links as we cannot explain everything in detail in just a post. Please accept that we are all doing this for free in our own free time.

 

[Hails&Karolina]

Guinea pigs can have two different species specific mites varieties, mange mites which burrow their eggs painfully into the skin and which often already come with eggs in their skin that are usually kept under control by fully working immune system, and hay mites which fix their tiny egg cases to hairs; the mites themselves are so small they are invisible. The second variety often comes with imported industrially mass produced hay, which is harvested in a method that is churning up soil a lot more than traditional methods.

Please do not home treat on spec with cheap pet shop products which cannot cut through an acute case. They should have a hands-on vet examination and treatment with vet grade products to get on top of a problem.

If you have newly bought piggies, you can reclaim any vet cost from the seller as your customer rights for having been sold damanged ware.
More information on guinea pig skin problems and your customer rights in this guide link here. New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites

Please take the time to read our green information links as we cannot explain everything in detail in just a post. Please accept that we are all doing this for free in our own free time.

Hi,
Thank you for your answer. I made an appointment with the vet but yeah I see your point. The hay I bought was 3kg so they haven’t eaten the whole bag yet and I thought it was unlikely that the hay was the problem.

in addition I am not familiar with their sounds so now I’m wondering wether they have been in pain cooing and screaming all along.
They seems to not get on with each other neither but there are no signs of fight like scratches.
Also there is not hair loss or anything else and I was wondering if I am just worrying to much about them. Eversince I got them things have been difficult