• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

I think Manny has mites

Status
Not open for further replies.
kat04kt

kat04kt

Joined
Sep 26, 2011
Messages
167
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
London
So I'm not yet handling Manny yet. But I have a couple of problems.

One there is deffinite thinning of the hair near the back, I managed to get a better peek and I'm pretty sure it's mites.

He also has the same thinning just above his eye and around his lip.

He has pretty long claws, they need cutting but I was waiting for him to come round to me a bit more before I did this. It's not impairing his walking or anything.

I've noticed he's a bit more sleepy than Floyd too.

I have some 'spot on anti-parasite' from beaphar - it contains ivermectin.

The other issue is, Manny is still frightened of me, and as last reported has got into biting (this could be because his skin is sore).

He's still eating - which is a good sign and does run around. This isn't a terrible case like the pictures I've seen of poor rescue piggies. I've caught this very early. So far Floyd seems uneffected.

So what is best to do? Get him to the vets tomorrow and hopefully she'll be able to handle him better or should I try to treat him myself tonight and put up with the bites?!

Will he need anything else other than a 'spot on' pellet? He weighs just under 600g.

I'm worried that taking him to the vets will stress him further, or me ballsing it up will cause him stress too.

Also what about the eye and mouth area? I can't put it there, but if he's grooming himself will he rub it in himself? With a nervous bitey piggy, how am I best dealing with this and handling him?

HELP!

Thanks
K
 
I would take them both to the vets. It's very important that they get the right treatment and dosage.
It is most likely mites or fungal but they require different treatments. If it is mites, they will need a lower dosage of ivermectin because of their body weight.
I would take both pigs because it will be less stressful if they are together, and then both can be checked. Let the vet worry about handling them if it comes to it.

It's really good that you have noticed a problem early.
 
If you are unsure of what is causing his skin issues, please don't use any treatment without first having taken him to the vets for a proper diagnosis.

It also sounds like you need to get the vet to show you how to apply spot-on correctly for future reference. This should never be put around his face or mouth (I know you said this in your post, but just wanted to re-state it), it should just go on the back of the neck.

Guinea pigs are hardier than people give them credit for and while he may be nervous going to the vets, it won't harm him. Pig used to be terrified when he was there, but he has been so many times now it doesn't phase him at all now!

Good luck.
 
Manny is MUCH worse than first realised :(

Thanks everyone, I'm going to call the vets first thing tomorrow.

It's much worse than I thought. From when he's walking around it doesn't look that bad but I just put him in a large plastic box with some towels, and very carefully used a sterlised toothbrush to check the area and it's much much worse than I realised. Underneath there are big red lumps and the skin is flaking, it looks so sore and painful and there's so much fur missing, it's just hidden by the fur on top. The area is roughly the size of a 50p coin.

I've been in tears tonight. My poor baby, I've had him 3 weeks and he must have been so uncomfortable. I'm surprised he's run around or popcorned at all in that time, but even tonight during his floor time he had the zoomies. Although after a few laps he did go and lay down on his cosy and almost fell asleep which considering I was sat right there was surprising. He must feel so unwell. I feel like the worse person alive for having not noticed it sooner. In the little make-shift hospital I put together he actually seemed relatively calm while I was checking him over. He tried to scrabble underneath the towels a few times, which isn't surprising when someone is trying to get a look at something that must be so painful, but mostly he was a good boy and let me look. No wonder my sweet little boy has been biting, who wouldn't! I'm so awful. I genuinely couldn't see it and with them not being that familiar with me and not wanting to be held, I've had no laptime to investigate. I really hope I haven't left it too late for it to be easily treated.

I've checked Floyd over and he looks fine - but he's going to the vet aswell.

Fingers crossed we get this sorted ASAP.
 
Stop beating yourself up, it's not always easy to spot stuff covered with fur, especially with shy piggies and they're very good at covering up being ill. You've spotted it now and you're calling the vets first thing. (((((hugs))))) for you and healing vibes :laluot_29: for Manny. x
 
I agree, not your fault at all - hope it went well at the vets today.
 
It is often not easy to spot problems with a new piggy that you do not handle much.

Both mites and rigworm are easily transmitted. They can also appear quite quickly during stressful times, as settling into a new life inevitable is, and whenever the immune system is lowered. But you have noticed and are taking the correct measures.
 
Please dont panic too much about the fur loss...

One of my piggies had a bad case of mites and lost alot of the fur on her back.

After a visit to the vets and the appropriate treatment she fully recovered and all her fur grew back.

Once his skin heals he probably will not object as much to being handled. This means you will be able to keep a close eye on his skin in future.

Good Luck for your vets visit ...
 
Thanks so much everyone, I have an appointment this evening and will update as soon as I'm back.

I'm keeping Manny quiet and made a quiet spot for him under some fleece with a blanket and his favourite cosy. I've moved his hay ball, hay cookie and keep replenishing a slice of cucumber - don't want him to get dehydrated and he's not interested in his water bottle. He's tucking in quite nicely (although not as much as Floyd!), bless, Floyd won't leave his side.

I know I should remove Floyd, but at the moment I'm leaving him. Controversial I'm sure, but for a few reasons; firstly Floyd doesn't appear to have caught anything and he's been living with him and sharing a bed for weeks. Secondly Manny needs his buddy and I don't want to stress him out further before I have treatment for him. Thirdly I can't be one hundred percent sure that Floyd doesn't have it, I only think he doesn't. So he's going to the vet aswell. I did, however, put a preventative parasetic treatment on Floyd last night. It's a standard over the counter one, perfectly safe for guinea pigs and I know his weight to ensure the correct dosage and followed the instructions to the letter. Also a few hours before this I gave him a couple of squirts of an evening primrose oil based spray that protects against fungal and parasetic skin conditions, very gentle and very safe - it's not a treatment, just a fine water type spray, you can use as often as you like (obviously don't as this would be mean, but a quick squirt under these conditions I felt couldn't hurt). Apart from Floyd walking around for a few hours like he was Punk Rocker with sticky up hair, he seemed totally unphased by any of this! It was actually the only thing that made me laugh last night. All he needed was a stud jackets and the look would have been complete - he looked like a bother boy guinea pig! hehe.

They will be sharing a pet carrier their and back to the vet, so that's another reason it seemed pointless to seperate because I'd only be putting them both in a pet carrier together a few hours later.

It will be heart breaking but if I need to seperate them once they're back from the vet I will do this. How far do I need to go with seperation? Should they be in entirely different rooms? Or can I split the cage? What's the best way to seperate with these conditions if that's what I have to do?

They are still getting used to me and their new home, so I want to limit the stress as much as I possibly can!

I will be taking with me the spray and the preventative spot-on to the vets with me, so she'll know exactly what Floyd has had already.

Also wondering, the high-sided plastic box I used to get a better look at Manny worked a treat - should I take this with me for the vet to use, or will they have something similar?
 
Little Pig said:
Treating at home has its place, but in my view, not before a visit to the vets! I always recommend vets first! Sorry to sound like a broken record...
Click to expand...

I agree the vets is the best place if our unsure, but in my case my vets and I have been to two different ones haven't a clue about guinea pigs so I would recommend finding a cavy savvy vet or sometimes it does more harm than good for my case anyway.

My vet told me my gp had back teeth problems and needed a GA to file them, he also used the wrong instrument to look in his mouth. and I took him to a rodentologist and she said his back teeth were fine:{
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top