Mites? Fungal?

[Little Ones]

Okay, for as long as I can remember my Guinea pig, Honey (he's about 2) has shed a lot and had dandruff. Every time we've been to the vet and they said it was fine, nothing to worry about. I suspected he had mites so I'd given him and his brother ivermectin from what I read on the box, every 2 months or so. Then when that hadn't worked, I bought Nizarol Shampoo, suspecting it could be fungal, so I bathed them both in that every 4 months I think. About a month ago, the situation had become considerably worse, his hair was extremely thin around his rump and I noticed that if I moved his fur, he would have small bald spots I suppose. After some research, I realised that the ivermectin treatment should be continued every 10 days to eliminate any mites/lice etc, so I've gave both of them a dose a week, so three times now, the dosage is correct for their weight. However, I see no improvement, infact into gotten worse, Honey has thick dandruff in the middle of his body along the spine(?) and so i believed it may be because he's itching more as the mites are dying and after the third dosage he should be fine. So I've given him a third dosage and now he has a bald spot that look quite sore. I honestly don't know what to do at this point. His brother, Little has no signs of any mites or fungal infection, just Honey. I don't know what the best thing to do is. I can't afford to take him to the vets as I took his brother just a week ago. Also the ivermectin has proven costly. This is the best photo I could get, does any one have any idea what it could be?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! What breed is your guinea pig? Teddies for instance are prone to skin issues that you are describing without suffering from mites or fungal due to their thick and badly ventilated coat.

What ivermectin product are you using? Please be aware that low dosed shop products only serve to allow any mange mite eggs in the skin build up resistence. The eggs are normally kept under check by a working immune system.

 

[Little Ones]

Hi! What breed is your guinea pig? Teddies for instance are prone to skin issues that you are describing without suffering from mites or fungal due to their thick and badly ventilated coat.

What ivermectin product are you using? Please be aware that low dosed shop products only serve to allow any mange mite eggs in the skin build up resistence. The eggs are normally kept under check by a working immune system.

He's a teddy bear, I think it might be a skin problem as his brother hasn't been affected. What do you suggest I do?
I use the beaphar anti parasite spot on for rabbits and Guinea pigs, should I be trying other products or do you think it's okay?

 

[Little Ones]

Oh and I should also mention that on some of the hair he sheds, there is like dead skin stuck on one end

 

[Wiebke]

Beaphar won't do the trick; it is too low dosed to deal with an acute outbreak. With an acute mites outbreak, you should see the companion piggies starting to itch, too, within a couple of weeks or so.

Of my two teddy sisters Nerys and Nia, only Nerys has been affected by skin issues like you describe and that never answered to either a full high dosed mites course of 4 rounds of injections nor to a fungal treatment from a vet. It is not at all uncommon with the teddy breed, but that doesn't mean that all teddies will have issues!

Please go through a vet if you want to treat for mange mites or fungal. if it has got a lot worse, then I would have him assessed and if necessary treat properly with an ivermectin product or a good quality fungal shampoo.

Here a picture of Nerys at her worst:

 

[Little Ones]

Beaphar won't do the trick; it is too low dosed to deal with an acute outbreak. With an acute mites outbreak, you should see the companion piggies starting to itch, too, within a couple of weeks or so.

Of my two teddy sisters Nerys and Nia, only Nerys has been affected by skin issues like you describe and that never answered to either a full high dosed mites course of 4 rounds of injections nor to a fungal treatment from a vet. It is not at all uncommon with the teddy breed, but that doesn't mean that all teddies will have issues!

Please go through a vet if you want to treat for mange mites or fungal. if it has got a lot worse, then I would have him assessed and if necessary treat properly with an ivermectin product or a good quality fungal shampoo.

Here a picture of Nerys at her worst:
View attachment 48177

I thought that giving him 300ug of it would work if there were any mites. His cage mate hasn't itched at all and has shown no signs of mites or fungal, this has been going on for at least a 9 months, would it be completely obvious if they both had mites by now? My previous Guinea pigs never had problems with mites or fungal infections so I don't know all that much about them, just what I've read. Nor have I owned a teddy before.
Nerys' skin looked quite sore, poor baby. Honey looks slightly like that in places. How did it get better? I've read that using a conditioning shampoo from gorgeous Guinea pigs can help the dryness and dandruff. I know Nizarol can stop dandruff but would that dry the skin out more? I've also read they should only be bathed 4-6 months but if the skin is very dry, shouldn't they need to be bathed more frequently? Thank you for all your help, I appreciate it

 

[Wiebke]

I thought that giving him 300ug of it would work if there were any mites. His cage mate hasn't itched at all and has shown no signs of mites or fungal, this has been going on for at least a 9 months, would it be completely obvious if they both had mites by now? My previous Guinea pigs never had problems with mites or fungal infections so I don't know all that much about them, just what I've read. Nor have I owned a teddy before.
Nerys' skin looked quite sore, poor baby. Honey looks slightly like that in places. How did it get better? I've read that using a conditioning shampoo from gorgeous Guinea pigs can help the dryness and dandruff. I know Nizarol can stop dandruff but would that dry the skin out more? I've also read they should only be bathed 4-6 months but if the skin is very dry, shouldn't they need to be bathed more frequently? Thank you for all your help, I appreciate it

Nerys's skin was not sore at all, just rather scaly and bald; she had definitely neither mites or a fungal infection. It passed on its own, but she had minor issues off and on due to her thick teddy coat. At the moment, she has just got a touch of it again.

I would not recommend nizoral; it is very harsh on the skin. Your problem could have been made worse by all the bathing and treatments. Just leave it be and see whether the skin is settling down.

You would certainly have noticed acute mange mites in 9 months - you can't miss the intensity of the itching and painful skin!

 

[Little Ones]

Nerys's skin was not sore at all, just rather scaly and bald; she had definitely neither mites or a fungal infection. It passed on its own, but she had minor issues off and on due to her thick teddy coat. At the moment, she has just got a touch of it again.

I would not recommend nizoral; it is very harsh on the skin. Your problem could have been made worse by all the bathing and treatments. Just leave it be and see whether the skin is settling down.

You would certainly have noticed acute mange mites in 9 months - you can't miss the intensity of the itching and painful skin!

Did she have a lot of dandruff? Honey tends to have a lot of it - it has got worse recently but now I'm thinking about it, it's got a lot hotter recently, we've had about 3 or 4 really warm days where I live in the past 2-3 weeks, if he's sweating more, that means more scratching. As I mentioned before, some hairs he looses have dead skin attached to the end, I know this is can be a sign of a fungal infection, does this happen with Nerys?
I don't think I'll be using Nizarol again then unless I know there is a fungal infection present, thank you. I will leave it for a while then and see if the condition improves in a month or 2.
I didn't think it would be something I could be blissfully unaware of, it was just such a reoccurring issues that I had no idea what else it could be. You have helped so much, so thank you. I think it could really just be skin issues due to him being a sweaty teddy!

 

[Wiebke]

Did she have a lot of dandruff? Honey tends to have a lot of it - it has got worse recently but now I'm thinking about it, it's got a lot hotter recently, we've had about 3 or 4 really warm days where I live in the past 2-3 weeks, if he's sweating more, that means more scratching. As I mentioned before, some hairs he looses have dead skin attached to the end, I know this is can be a sign of a fungal infection, does this happen with Nerys?
I don't think I'll be using Nizarol again then unless I know there is a fungal infection present, thank you. I will leave it for a while then and see if the condition improves in a month or 2.
I didn't think it would be something I could be blissfully unaware of, it was just such a reoccurring issues that I had no idea what else it could be. You have helped so much, so thank you. I think it could really just be skin issues due to him being a sweaty teddy!

Yes, she has got lots of small dandruff from time to time and sometimes there is a hair attached. If you have treated with nizoral without success, then it is not fungal; it should have reacted.

You have addressed the two issues that we recommend our members to see a vet about and have come up negative. Guinea pig skin is very sensitive. Give it time to settle and see how that goes. If it is still continuing to get worse, then I would see your vet again.

Teddy skin issues are usually found the hard way by elimination. You can never diagnose it upfront without making sure that you are not dealing with either mange mites or fungal first.

 

[Little Ones]

Yes, she has got lots of small dandruff from time to time and sometimes there is a hair attached. If you have treated with nizoral without success, then it is not fungal; it should have reacted.

You have addressed the two issues that we recommend our members to see a vet about and have come up negative. Guinea pig skin is very sensitive. Give it time to settle and see how that goes. If it is still continuing to get worse, then I would see your vet again.

Teddy skin issues are usually found the hard way by elimination. You can never diagnose it upfront without making sure that you are not dealing with either mange mites or fungal first.

It's such a relief to know that neither of them are in any harm. I will see how it goes. I wish I had made this thread a long time ago to put my mind at rest. Thank you once more