Itchy Guinea

[ribjinns]

Hi everyone, I'm a new member to the forum- and I have a potential problem with my little guinea, Pepi.


I bought Pepi from my local pet shop in November, and in that month I took her to the vets to have her checked out- everything was fine.

Recently however I have been noticing that she tends to itch a bit too much around her sides or reach around to have a little nibble of something in her fur. She is molting a little bit but there is no real hair loss- only little strands of fur here and there.

I've looked for:
Dandruff- nothing
Flaky skin- nothing
Sore skin- zilch

She does turn to nip at me if I try to touch her bottom area, but I assumed that was a normal reaction. She doesn't appear to be in any pain and I gave her her first bath a couple of months ago but the itching didn't stop.

Is it some kind of parasitic/fungal infection or am I simply overreacting and she is just molting and having the occasional itch? I have no other guineas for her to catch a skin condition from and the sawdust/hay I use is all treated [not from farms etc]

Any help is muchly appreciated

 

[jude29]

itchy pig

I'm not an expert and some scratching is normal. I've been having a similar problem with my piggies and just incase they have a bit of a mite problem going on I've used some spot on invermectin. Most people on here recommend xeno 450 or 50 depending on the weight of the pig, but it is quite expensive especially if you get it from a vet, but you can buy it on line. I'm trying invermectin from Vet Medic 1% w/v which you apply once per week for 4wks. They had their 2nd dose on Thursday and their scratching does seem to be subsiding. The bottle from Vet medic was only £8.15 in comparison to Xeno which can be around £20 - however I'm not sure that the invermectin from Vet medic is the same strenght as Xeno.
I'm not an expert so perhaps better to wait until one of the more experienced owners comes on
Jude

 

[biscandmatt]

it could be the sawdust. it is very drying for the skin and not good respiratory wise either. maybe try something else and see how she gets on.

also, it may have been what she was bathed in maybe? was it fully rinsed?

also, could be mites etc...

is that her in your pic? she is so cute! does she have a little friend?

 

[charlotte_alice]

some guinea pigs are more itchy than others, some itch due to nerves etc, if you have checked the skin and there appears to be...like you say no dry/flaky/dandruffy skin then I would just keep an eye on it, she may just have dry skin.

 

[ribjinns]

Hey everyone, thank you for your responses [yes, that is little Pepi in the picture]
I washed her with Johnson's Baby Shampoo as it said in a video it was less harmful to their skin- but it makes sense if some of it wasn't washed off properly she may itch, though she was itching before.
I might buy some products from the Gorgeous Guinea website and indulge her! You may also be right about the sawdust- do you know of any other alternatives that are easy to find in UK shops?

many thanks

 

[Wiebke]

Have you taken her to the vet again?

 

[Laura-CCC4]

Welcome to the forum.

I agree about changing the bedding, sawdust is a bit fine and can dry out the skin, make it feel itchy.

How old is the adorable little Pepi?

 

[ribjinns]

Thanks, Laura =] The vet said she was 2 months old when I got her so she's about 6-7 months, not very old at all. I love her to bits and I can't bear the thought of her being uncomfortable. I'll look for different types of bedding & hopefully she will be happier about it.