Little White Mites

[kath straw]

Hi, everyone, Yesterday we sadly lost one of our guineas she had a tumour in her neck and we think that may be the cause. Later that day when we went to bury her we noticed small white flakes on the ends of her fur and he were undecided if they were moving but think a couple moved.. She hasn't had skin problems before and up until she died had been eating well, no hair loss and no scratching. They are outdoor piggies but live in our shed in a large run in the winter.

I have decided to bring her sister indoors now as I don't want her on her own, is this a good idea ?. Ive checked her over and cant see anything on her skin, it is silky and soft but I'm worried they could both have an under lying mite problem.... its been a tough day loosing one and now I'm worried about the other, any advice would be appreciated ?

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

So sorry to hear about your loss

It sounds like hay lice to me, my piggies have had them. Mites are invisible to the naked eye I believe. They cause irritation and hairloss so I doubt it would be them.

If it's hay mites Gorgeous Guineas do a great, natural shampoo to get rid of hay lice. I've used it for my girls.

As for bringing your girl in that's a good idea, piggies grieve just like we do. I'm sure she could use the extra love, cuddles and company x

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Hay lice* not hay mites. Sorry I haven't had enough coffee today lol.

I just wanted to add that although hay lice are gross they're not life threatening, just mildly annoying.

If you're worried you could always go to the vets, but they're easy to treat should they be hay lice.

 

[kath straw]

So sorry to hear about your loss

It sounds like hay lice to me, my piggies have had them. Mites are invisible to the naked eye I believe. They cause irritation and hairloss so I doubt it would be them.

If it's hay mites Gorgeous Guineas do a great, natural shampoo to get rid of hay lice. I've used it for my girls.

As for bringing your girl in that's a good idea, piggies grieve just like we do. I'm sure she could use the extra love, cuddles and company x

Thank you for reply, sadly she is the only sister left out of 3 now . We think they are about 5/ 6 year old as we got them from a rescue and were told they were about a year old. The last one is going to get extra love now , shes clearly missing her sister as only coming out of bed when we lift her. I'm hopng its mostly down to strange new cage

 

[Elwickcavies]

I am so sorry for your loss. If it was lice, they would be around the rump. Running lice are visible and move, static (or hay) lice look like little dots stuck on the hairs. For running lice an antiparasitic shampoo or a spot on treatment like Xeno 450 work well, for static lice only the shampoo will be effective. If you are worried get a guinea pig vet to check her over, but I doubt that lice will have been the cause of death of your other piggy (the tumour will most likely be the culprit).

You remaining girl may well be lonely and you should consider getting her a companion. If you don't want to get another pig permanently, some rescues offer a companion lending service for older pigs, so that once your original pet has crossed the bridge, you return the companion to the rescue.

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Thank you for reply, sadly she is the only sister left out of 3 now . We think they are about 5/ 6 year old as we got them from a rescue and were told they were about a year old. The last one is going to get extra love now , shes clearly missing her sister as only coming out of bed when we lift her. I'm hopng its mostly down to strange new cage

Oh bless, it might be a bit of both. There is a great thread on here about how to look after a bereaved piggy Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig it might be worth giving that a read as to what's next for you and your little girlie.

Big hugs for you both!