My Guinea Pig Has Scabs Covering His Back

[Davie Rose]

I have four male guinea pigs, and today I noticed one of them, Dovendyr, has lost some fur on his back, so I looked closer and his whole back is covered in little scabs. Some of the scabs look really bad, and some of them aren't that bad. His whole entire back is covered though, and none of my other guinea pigs have any scratches or scabs. All I can think of it that my other guinea pig, Scooby, likes to mount all the other pigs and he could've scratched Dovendyr, but that wouldn't explain why only he has scratches all over his back. I'm really concerned and I don't know whether to separate Dovendyr, or if its been Scooby thats scratching him to separate Scooby. Has this ever happened to anyone else before?

 

[Wiebke]

I have four male guinea pigs, and today I noticed one of them, Dovendyr, has lost some fur on his back, so I looked closer and his whole back is covered in little scabs. Some of the scabs look really bad, and some of them aren't that bad. His whole entire back is covered though, and none of my other guinea pigs have any scratches or scabs. All I can think of it that my other guinea pig, Scooby, likes to mount all the other pigs and he could've scratched Dovendyr, but that wouldn't explain why only he has scratches all over his back. I'm really concerned and I don't know whether to separate Dovendyr, or if its been Scooby thats scratching him to separate Scooby. Has this ever happened to anyone else before?

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Hi and welcome!

Please have both boys vet checked for mange mites or a fungal skin infection. These need different, good quality treatment to get on top of once and for all (mange mites usually take three rounds of ivermectin or selamectin), so please do not home treat on spec and please do not use low dosed broad spectrum pet shop products, which are not strong enough to cut through an acute outbreak - your boys will suffer a lot longer and you end up spending more money on treating an advanced case instead of an early case.

In any case, you will need to treat both boys the same to prevent Scooby from coming down with the same. Only if your vet can exclude either of these can you consider a fall-out and a permanent separation due to biting.

Please do not separate them during medical treatment as they may not go back together; separate for good only if you are sure that it is due to bullying or fighting. We cannot diagnose just from a picture without a hands-on vet diagnosis, but you need in any case close out the medical angle first and foremost. Untreated mange mites can kill and an untreated fungal infection can cause serious suffering.
This guide tells you how to work out whether a boar bond is OK or not.
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

recommended UK vets: Guinea Pig Vet Locator
recommended vets in some other countries: Guinea Lynx :: GL's Vet List

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