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I think Piglet has mites :(

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piglet_and_rogers_mama

piglet_and_rogers_mama

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I think my baby has mites, but not necessarily a severe case (yet!). He has a couple of scabs on his back, and his skin (even the skin without scabs) seems sore to the touch. I haven't noticed any hairloss. Couple of questions: do you agree that it sounds like mites? I haven't noticed similar symptoms in george or roger; are they at risk? And while I realize vets differ on their prices, in general are Ivermectin treatments expensive? Unfortunately the exotic vet close to me requires payment at time of treatment, so I'm really hoping it's not outrageous. Any advice appreciated :)
 
Are there bits of loose dry skin? That was the first thing I noticed when my two had mites. If it is very flaky then that is another sign that I noticed.
You could try treating them with a mite shampoo first but if it doesn't clear up I would go to your vet.
 
Scabs and hair loss could be mites or it could be fungal. You really need a vet to tell you which by looking at the symptoms and skin samples under the microscope. I have just recently had one piggy with mange mites (very itchy, small scabs on back from scratching) and one with small fungal patch (itchy and white bald patch). The treatments are different (mites = insects / fungal = fungi!) so you need to know which one it is to treat properly.

I don't know what the situation is where you are but in the UK, if it is mites, ivermectin is not that expensive but you will need to treat all your pigs. Hope you can find the right treatment and that Piglet feels better soon.xx
 
I would recommend having your boy seen by a good, piggy savvy vet in order to get a proper diagnosis and the right treatment. Please don't hometreat on spec; you can do more harm than good.
 
Puzzlepigs said:
Are there bits of loose dry skin? That was the first thing I noticed when my two had mites. If it is very flaky then that is another sign that I noticed.
You could try treating them with a mite shampoo first but if it doesn't clear up I would go to your vet.
Click to expand...

I was looking at him a few minutes ago and it does appear that he has dandruff in his black hair. His appointment is tomorrow so hopefully the vet will figure out what is going on. Can fungal infections cause dandruff?
 
Back from the vet. And $250 later we find out that his skin didn't show signs of mites under the microscope but he gave me some topical treatment to use in case he missed them, sent a culture out to see if the fungal is back, and prescribed some antibiotics and probiotics for the existing lesions on his back. I have never heard of this antibiotic before, so I wanted to check with you guys before giving it to him. It's called Orbifloxacin, Orbax for short on the bottle. I checked guinealynx.com and couldn't find it on the safe or dangerous list. Does anyone know about it?
 
I've sent you a PM - it's in the same family as baytril. However it seems to me your vet is throwing everything at something that is as yet undiagnosed.

Can you please post some pictures as we really can;t comment without seeing those.

HTH
x
 
Thanks Pebble I PMed you back too. I'll try to get pics of the scabs, but it might be difficult to see as his fur covers them up. The worst one is on his grease gland, which has black fur on it too, but i shall certainly try my best :). And yes, I agree Pebble I wasn't entirely satisfied with the lack of diagnosis, but it's the only exotic vet I know of. Also it doesn't help that he has a very thick Polish accent and makes it difficult to communicate.
 
My vets give me a 'paper' describing what the illness or problem is.....why don't you ask for one of those, then if you have questions you can ask them directly to either the vet or the vet nurses :) Vet nurses often will go out of their way to help get more info for you :)

WHEEE HOPE PIGLET WILL GET BETTER REALLY SOON XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
Thanks Glynis :) on a side note does anyone have any tips on how to successfully syringe medicine? I just tried to give him the first dose and only accomplished getting half of it down his chin and making both him and OH frustrated. Any tips appreciated!
 
OK - place the guinea on your lap with their head facing to the right. Make sure they have a level surface on your lap and are comfy.

Load the syringe to 1ml

Curl your left arm across/around the piggie's "offside" flank/body with your left hand free to hold the piggies neck/jaw.

As you bring the syringe with your right hand to the piggie's mouth, use your left hand to stabilise the head by cupping it upwards at the jaw line and lifting the head/nouth up slightly.

Apply the syringe to the (off-side) side of the mouth and gently squeeze in 0.2-0.3ml at a time giving the piggie a chance to swallow in between.

Give 5ml then give 2ml water and repeat!

It's not the best description - but hopefully it'll give you an idea! Be confident - it you;re not they will play you up !

HTH
x

Use your left arm to pin the piggie's nearside flank into your body to inhibit movement
 
This is how i syringe feed :)
You get better at it each time you do it!




Also have a paper towel underneath Piglet to catch the 'slipups' i used to use towels but went thru too many that way!
 
An update: thanks Pebble for your syringing meds advice, we were a lot more successful today. Unfortunately I can't get a good picture of his sores because his fur is so dark and the scabs blend in with the fur and it's not showing up on the camera. But looking at it today they seem to look better, so hopefully the antibiotics are kicking in. Quick question though, should I wait for the sores to heal before I apply his mites meds? It's prescription Revolution (selamectin).
 
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