Help please- scab on back

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waterbaby

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Now that the piggies are happy to be handled more I decided to give them a bit of a check over last night. As we have now had them a full week :)

I felt a small bump on Pumba's back and when i checked in the fur it was a scab. As a newbie owner I thought it was probably just a healed scratch from before we got him, but then i googled it and have totally freaked myself out. I am worried it could be mites. He definitely only had the one scab, right in the middle of his back. Timone his brother has none.

He seems happy and healthy. Drinking and eatin ggreat. I noticed him having a scrtach the other day but have only witnessed this once, and thought nothing of it at the time. How would I know if it was mites? Should I take him to the vet or treat myself if it is? Should I be panicking?!

I have emailed the lady from the rescue to ask about his history to see if it could be a healed scab she knows about.

Now just waiting from somebody who knows more than me :)

Thank in advance
 
waterbaby said:
Now that the piggies are happy to be handled more I decided to give them a bit of a check over last night. As we have now had them a full week :)

I felt a small bump on Pumba's back and when i checked in the fur it was a scab. As a newbie owner I thought it was probably just a healed scratch from before we got him, but then i googled it and have totally freaked myself out. I am worried it could be mites. He definitely only had the one scab, right in the middle of his back. Timone his brother has none.

He seems happy and healthy. Drinking and eatin ggreat. I noticed him having a scrtach the other day but have only witnessed this once, and thought nothing of it at the time. How would I know if it was mites? Should I take him to the vet or treat myself if it is? Should I be panicking?!

I have emailed the lady from the rescue to ask about his history to see if it could be a healed scab she knows about.

Now just waiting from somebody who knows more than me :)

Thank in advance
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I'm not too sure but I would ring up the vets and see what they say and then you should take it from there :))
 
Did you get your new pigs from a rescue or breeder? Only reason i ask is because any reputable rescue would have treated for mites before rehoming them...

I think the best course of action would be to book your pigs in for a vets check up - the problem with skin conditions is while symptoms look similar the prognosis could be very different and so medications can differ.

Along with mites - fungal infections/ringworm has similar symptoms with regards to scabbed areas and hair loss - so until you can get a definite diagnosis from a qualified vet, i would keep handling to an absolute minimum and practice good hygiene - ringworm can be transferred from pigs to human :(
 
Thanks.

They came from a very good rescue. Well known on here I think :). That is why it seems very odd to me that it could be mites. We have had them for a week and they have been cleaned out 3 times already so not living in a dirty cage or anything.

The boys seem to get on very well. Barely had a scuffle to be honest but they do make quite a lot of noise when we are in the next room at night time while they are checking out the cage. I guess they could of had a scrap over territory while we have not been watching. When i first saw the scab it looked to me just like a little nip that had healed so it was what first crossed my mind.

There is no hair loss at all. Nothing you can see from looking at him. I only noticed it because I felt it and then lifted the hair up to find it. It is the size of a pea at most.

I guess I better start looking for a vet to register with !
 
waterbaby said:
Thanks.

They came from a very good rescue. Well known on here I think :). That is why it seems very odd to me that it could be mites. We have had them for a week and they have been cleaned out 3 times already so not living in a dirty cage or anything.

The boys seem to get on very well. Barely had a scuffle to be honest but they do make quite a lot of noise when we are in the next room at night time while they are checking out the cage. I guess they could of had a scrap over territory while we have not been watching. When i first saw the scab it looked to me just like a little nip that had healed so it was what first crossed my mind.

There is no hair loss at all. Nothing you can see from looking at him. I only noticed it because I felt it and then lifted the hair up to find it. It is the size of a pea at most.

I guess I better start looking for a vet to register with !
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Yeah, I'd ask a vet just to be on the safe side :)
 
Mange mites are no reflection on ownership or rescues, I have just picked mine up from boarding at a reputable place & they have mites :( Unfortunately I felt a small scab & on closer examination noticed the hair on the back was thinning in places & there were definite patches that were balding. Mange mites can emerge when they are stressed so I put mine down to getting them because they were away from home for 2 weeks :(

Really to be certain you need a vet to check, however if there is no hair thinning on either of them (check both) then it could be a small bite wound. Please make sure it is clean though & also there is no redness or swelling which will need antibiotics :)
 
COmpletely agree with Poppy's Mum and also ring the rescue where they came from who know their history and any treatments - I am sure they will be happy to help out.
 
Any reputable rescue would have made sure that any pigs are fit and healthy before rehoming, things like mites/fungal are treated in advance the pigs going to their new homes. If you got them from a rescue center who are active on this forum then i would say the best course of action would be to see what the rescue center advise - if you are worried a vet checkup wouldn't hurt.

For future reference - mites are not down to dirty living conditions, some are caused by stress, some come from hay.

Ive seen a few posts from members on here where their pigs have been diagnosed with mites and they have immaculate cages with piggies residing in spotless living quarters!!
 
Thanks everyone. I'm starting to think as it is only one of them and there is no hair thinning that it may have been a fight. I am definitely going to call a vet tomorrow though to have it checked out.

If it was a fight, what would you suggest? We have seen pumba rumble strutting a couple of times and a couple of nights ago during floor time he seems to be getting a bit bossy with Timone maybe. Most of the time though they are either snuggled up quite nicely, munching away together, or following each other around investigating. We have noticed that they have switched houses in the cage from how they were in the first couple of days. Could this be the result of a fight.
 
I emailed the lady from the rescue earlier today, so just waiting to hear back before I find a vet, so I have any history etc

Thanks so much for all the advice. So useful to be able to chat with people in the know. Although I have to admit I was hoping not to have been needing this sort of advice quite so early on :))

Will keep you all posted.
 
Hi Waterbaby,

Rescue back up is always available for your boys and I'm sure Angie will be in touch once she checks her e-mails.

It's good to know where the boys have gone to, thank you for giving them their forever home - Timon and Pumba have been on the forum http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=92225

If you are concerned a vet check up would be advisable.

Please e-mail - i'm available and happy me to call over to yours to check out the boys with any concerns you have, my e-mail is [email protected]

The boys have been in rescue for quite a few months now and they have had a good realationship, new housing and enviroment will spark off hightened dominance but what you have described - rumblestruting and nose-offs are all normal behaviour
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949

Much regards Paula .... boar foster Mummy for Barc
 
Hi Paula

Thanks, the boys are doing really well. They have settled in great and we are totally in love with them. BARC has been great to deal with. The only trouble we had when picking them up was resisting taking all the rabbits home with us too x) :(|)

Angela says she thinks they had mite treatment on arrival and is just double checking.

I am just doing a bit of research into a vet in Sheffield, so if anybody knows a good one for piggies then please share.
 
Waterbaby, I have just had a message from Angie, she is at the hospital at the minute with possible broken ankle! She has asked me to tell you she will be in contact tomorrow.
 
Always worth checking with vet if you are not certain, but it does sound like a fight injury - even the best guinea pals can fall out from time to time, and I have seen some nasty looking injuries from seemingly innocuous squabbles. Once one of our boars got bitten at the base of the ear, which had cartillidge showing - that REALLY freaked me out!)

Guinea teeth are sharp, as are their claws (Our current one, Jerry, has a technique with his back legs that could win medals at kick boxing - never seen a pig do that before).

Hope all is well and he is back to normal soon!
 
Best not scaremonger, at the end of the day we are spectulating.

When my Bert and Ernie came to me, Bert had a few old scabs on his back, no idea why or how but they are a brilliant pair of well bonded boys, very close.
Also newest foster pig Digby had a bit of red and hair loss on his nose when he came in, straight away we though fungal, turns out to be just a piece of hay scraped him.

The boys have had 3 months of living happily in rescue as a well bonded adult pair, if they were bite wounds I would be expecting the boys to be weary of each other, as it stands the behaviour described is all normal.

Please e-mail me if you would like me to pop over.
 
A very quick one as I am off to work. Just to update, we registered with a vet in Sheffield and we are taking Pumba this evening to get him checked out. We dont have a pet carrier . Would a big cardboard box with lots of hay do or do we need to get one. It isnt very far from our house.

Paula, it is the Sheffield branch of your one in Hoyland :) so I'm hoping they know about piggies.

Do you think his friend will be OK while we take him. I'm hoping he wont be too stressed to be seperated!
 
Why don't you take the boys together? I usually take a pair together even if only 1 is being seen so that they have company whilst travelling and the vets won't mind. Would think it is less stressful so keep them together.

The only issue with a card board box for travelling may be if a big wee made the bottom of the box soggy and weakened it. So lots of newspaper in the bottom or a bit of waterproof tablecloth or similar before the hay? Hope it goes well and let us know what the vet thinks.

Can't believe Angie has broken her ankle - not good when trying to run a resuce:( Hope everyone mends soon.
 
Another thought is to borrow a cat carrier from someone eg at work? Just wash it out thoroughly so that it does not smell of cat as that would not be calming...Newspaper or towel in the bottom and then a pile of hay.
 
Maybe we will take them both then. Think we will go for large box with lots of paper/ waterproof lining on bottom, and ofcourse hay. Feel a bit mean dragging them out when they have just got settled.

Their run arrived today though xx>>> so at least they have got that to look forward to tomorrow. Its ace. With a gorgeous wooden hut to snuggle in too. Cant wait to have them out in it. Fingers crossed for a dry day ;)

Now just have to think positive that all will be OK at vets.
 
Just back from vets. It is mites. We have some Ivermectin stuff to treat him with, and to use for prevention on Timone too.

Poor little thing did not like being handled by the vet one little bit, but I'm really glad for the advice to take both as he seemed much less bothered once he was snuggled back up with his mate.

They are currently munching on greens like nothing happened. I just have to work up courage to put the treatment on now. Better go and do it!
 
Sorry i haven't been on the forum until now.
Wonderful advice as ever from gplearner, always best to take both boys when visiting the vets.

I'll mail you back.
X
 
Sorry to hear it is mites, there seems to be a lot of piggies with them all of a sudden! It's a stress thing I think, especially if they have been rehomed/boarded etc!

I took all three of mine to the vets, even though one wasn't showing any symptoms yet they all live together rolleyes so the vet only charged one consultation that covers all of them as it was for the same problem, they all needed treating. Always worth taking all your piggies if it is something like fungal or mites for the vet to check them all together.
 
Sorry to hear your piggys have mites :( at least you've caught them early by the sounds of things and they haven't been uncomfortable for long :)


Salt n Peppers mum said:
p.s Angie has broken her ankle :(
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SORRY.. I just accidently 'thanked' you for this while meaning to scroll and I felt bad lol, of all the things to thank, what a numpty!
 
Yes often mites raise it ugly head in times of stress or illness.

As the boys were rehomed a week and a half ago it could have been a trigger from stress, coping with new surroundings etc.

I've sent you a e-mail waterbaby with additional info and advice.
 
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