oh dear... think its mites

[Lady Kelly]

Well I was doing the big clean of the herds cage today and remembered that it was about time I did a nail clip etc... well I picked up Peter and he seemed fine, health check fine, clipped his nails and he squealed like a girl... nothing out of the ordinary.

Next I picked up Jemima who wriggled and writhed in my hands more than normal, I tried to clip her nails, only partially successful. After a lot of wriggling I noticed she now had copius dandruff and a closer examination showed her skin was a bit flaky rolleyes

Cue bath time for Jemima followed by a dose of Xeno 200 spray on... then out comes all of the piggies one by one and added to their health check was a nice dosage of Xeno... even poor buddy who only went through that when he first came to me a few months back!

All piggies are mostly sulking now and all the fleeces/towels have been washed on a hot wash. Will be doing it all over again this time next week mallethead

What causes mites? I heard that some piggies are prone to them and it could just be stress such as the changes in weather recently, is this the case or is there something more to it?

 

[Niki]

Mites are generally triggered by stress or illness & in my experience rex pigs seem more prone to them.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Thanks, I don't know what's happened though cos there seems to be no other signs of illness and nothing's changed for them recently other than the weather

 

[Dindypig]

Next I picked up Jemima who wriggled and writhed in my hands more than normal, I tried to clip her nails, only partially successful. After a lot of wriggling I noticed she now had copius dandruff and a closer examination showed her skin was a bit flaky rolleyes

Flakey skin is one of the signs of mites but it is also a sign of a fungal infection too, so please don't just treat them for mites only. Whenever you bath them it's always a good idea to use an antifungal shampoo such as vetsect or nizoral as a matter of precaution. Dindy has recuring fungal from her past and one of the more acurate signs that Dindy presents is clumps of hair with a flake of skin near the root holding them together.

 

[Popcorning Poppy]

Hi, here is a link to another site with very good information on mites, you can click on all the differnt mite sections to get a more detailed information of that mite.http://www.guinealynx.info/parasites.html

 

[Poppy'sMum]

This is interesting as one of mine has flaky dandruff in her fur, she has no mites or fungal though, she just has a scurfy type skin apparently! I agree that if the hair comes away in a clump with scurf at the end it could be fungal. Always best to get a vet's opinion before treatment though

Just to add, if it is hay mites, they don't look like scurf, they appear as black dots near the hair root & are very slow moving. A piece of sticky tape close to the rump under the fur then check under a magnifying glass or microscope if you have one will show you them waving back at you lol! If it is hay mites you need to chuck out your hay & get from a different supplier.

 

[sport_billy]

Sorry to hear this, hope they will all be feeling better soon x

 

[Lady Kelly]

Flakey skin is one of the signs of mites but it is also a sign of a fungal infection too, so please don't just treat them for mites only. Whenever you bath them it's always a good idea to use an antifungal shampoo such as vetsect or nizoral as a matter of precaution. Dindy has recuring fungal from her past and one of the more acurate signs that Dindy presents is clumps of hair with a flake of skin near the root holding them together.

Yikes thanks! Think I will get Jemima to the vets as soon as possible to get her checked over to be certain in case it is fungal in which case I'm going to have my work cut out for me :o Thanks for the heads up

 

[Niki]

Thanks, I don't know what's happened though cos there seems to be no other signs of illness and nothing's changed for them recently other than the weather

It could be something as simple as unwanted advances.
My head sow used to chase/mount her cage mates when she was in season which resulted in some exhibiting symptoms of mites.

 

[Max&Ruby]

Sounds like mites to me. I had this problem with my rex pig, Max when I first got him. He had the dry skin, shedding, hair breakage, would move much, wouldn't eat. I took him to vet and within 2 injections he was all better!