Mites?

[ladymary86]

Good evening wise people,

I was just doing my fur trims, and spotted this on Leonard’s back? It is bothering him when I touch it, but I can’t see any redness, scabs or lumps? The black dots don’t seem to be moving either? He’s not scratching but has been barbering I think, I assumed it was his brother Sheldon as he’s always done it!

None of the rest of the herd are scratching etc, everyone’s happily eating etc. Leonard has no change in appetite or toileting.

Booked an appointment at my vet tomorrow, but any ideas?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes it could well be mites.
If the black dots you see, don’t come off when you rub them with your finger, then that is pretty conclusive of mites.

If it is mites then you will not see anything moving - mites are invisible to the human eye.
The only part you can see are the dark coloured flecks stuck to the hair shaft which are the egg casings.

 

[Wiebke]

Good evening wise people,

I was just doing my fur trims, and spotted this on Leonard’s back? It is bothering him when I touch it, but I can’t see any redness, scabs or lumps? The black dots don’t seem to be moving either? He’s not scratching but has been barbering I think, I assumed it was his brother Sheldon as he’s always done it!

None of the rest of the herd are scratching etc, everyone’s happily eating etc. Leonard has no change in appetite or toileting.

Booked an appointment at my vet tomorrow, but any ideas?

Hi

It could be the start of a hay mites (chirodiscoides) outbreak. What you see are the tiny egg cases fixed to the hairs,most typically around the bum area. They are the least harmful of the three species specific skin parasites but they can still take over if not treated or treated correctly.
Hay mites have their vernacular name from the medium they come, so you want to throw that bag of hay away and consider switching suppliers.

Please see a vet for a vet grade interval treatment. You will need to perform three rounds of it on all your piggies. Ivermectin is unfortunately very difficult to get hold of but your vet should have a decent alternative available.

Here is some more information: New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

 

[ladymary86]

I thought I’d booked an appointment for tomorrow, but it’s on Friday they have nothing until then. Will it be okay to go then, what can I do in the meantime? Or shall I call tomorrow and beg

 

[ladymary86]

I can get this for tomorrow? I’ve got some F10 spray so could potentially do a deep clean and treat them all?

 

[Wiebke]

I thought I’d booked an appointment for tomorrow, but it’s on Friday they have nothing until then. Will it be okay to go then, what can I do in the meantime? Or shall I call tomorrow and beg

Hi

Hay mites are the mildest of the cavy skin parasites. While your piggies will be itchy and somewhat uncomfortable, you are not dealing with a next day emergency. They can wait until Friday. Please try not to panic.

Please do not home treat on spec because you will have to wait until any DIY treatment has been worked out of the body before you can start with the vet grade one. Your vet will also not thank you for trying to wipe the crime scene and not letting them do their job properly.

As difficult as it may be for you, please just hang on in there. Try not to hover obsessively because all you achieve is stressing yourself and your piggies out unnecessarily. The treatment will work exactly the same irrespective of the number of mites.

Once you have seen the vet for a diagnosis but before you give any spot on treatment, I would recommend to give your piggies a short haircut with some clippers or pet save scissors going down close to the skin. This will remove most of the eggs from the body so the number of future mites you have to treat is greatly reduced. It may be a bit radical, but like the good old handwash during the pandemic, what you can remove from the battlefield physically, you do not have to fight with medication.

Do a thorough deep clean of the cage as soon as your piggies have had their hair cut and their treatment so you remove more eggs. Start with a fresh bag of hay, ideally not from the place you got the old one from but if you wish to, you can complain to the old provider.

 

[ladymary86]

Thank you @Wiebke, I appreciate your advice so much. I think I panicked because my Albert had a sudden black mark, and when the vet took a closer look, it was cancer under the skin and we lost him i have thrown out the hay, i had to buy it from a pet store as my usual box from Hay Shed was delayed. I’ll take Leonard on Friday and then do haircut and deep cleaning afterwards, it’s a good job he’s an Abby as my haircutting skills are less than great! he’s currently pouting under his hidey!

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you @Wiebke, I appreciate your advice so much. I think I panicked because my Albert had a sudden black mark, and when the vet took a closer look, it was cancer under the skin and we lost him i have thrown out the hay, i had to buy it from a pet store as my usual box from Hay Shed was delayed. I’ll take Leonard on Friday and then do haircut and deep cleaning afterwards, it’s a good job he’s an Abby as my haircutting skills are less than great! he’s currently pouting under his hidey!

It is easy to panic when you get the jitters after a bad experience. We all get them. What Albert sadly had was one of the pretty rare 'out there' cosmic bad luck thingies that can hit any of us at random.

However, you can see clearly the classic pepper mill dot in Leonard's light coat (they are a lot less visible in darker piggies and are often only picked up at the hair loss stage, so you are pretty early on here).

The good thing with piggy hair is that it will always grow back to its genetically determined length.