Itchy...put no sign of Mites

[Becca_YYC]

Bud the Guinea Pig has been itchy for quite awhile now, probably about a year. He itches and bites in the same areas around his little body. I have taken him to an exotic pet vet clinic 4 times now (they are the best in my Province), there is no sign of mites, no redness, no flakiness, no bald spots and he doesn't have any other symptoms but the itch. He has had a scrape test twice and the doctors have conversed with each other, they don't know what it is. I am saving up money to get blood work ($290 for test and doctor fee). The doctor a couple days ago said why don't we give him the ivermectin and see how he does. I have tried special shampoo and he has his daily dose of Vitamin C (through veggies and his Oxbow cookie). Has any one had something similar with their pig? Is ivermectin ok to have if he doesn't have mites? Has anyone had a guinea pig with allergies?
Bud: 4 years old, lives alone (my other piggie passed away of something unrelated), fleece bedding cleaned daily. Thanks everyone!

 

[sport_billy]

Ivermectin as a spot on treatment is a well tolerated medication that is sometimes used to prevent an outbreak of mites if s pig is going to be ina stressful situation. So a course of some Xeno 450 spot on shouldn’t cause any issues.

What do you bed him on please?

 

[Swissgreys]

I would start with the Ivermectin treatment - just make sure ot do the full course which is usually 3 - 4 treatments, 8 10 days apart.
We had a similar issue with one of our pigs and even the vet admitted that mites often don't show up on skin scrapings.
Eddi had multiple skin samples checked and we never saw any signs of mites, but we treated him with Ivermectin anyway, and 2 weeks later the itching had stopped and he was a much happier boy.