• PLEASE NOTE - the TEAS facebook page has been hacked, take extreme care when visiting the page, for further information visit here
  • Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Specialist Pigs Won't Stop Scratching And Biting Themselves

Status
Not open for further replies.

Coco&Luna

Adult Guinea Pig
Joined
Sep 8, 2014
Messages
1,232
Reaction score
1,435
Points
705
Location
Scotland
The pigs had their third Xeno 450 spot on on friday.

They are about to have their 3rd imaverol dip tonight.

They're still both biting their sides, legs and feet alot. Particularly Stan, he's at it constantly and I've noticed no improvement at all. Their fur actually looks really good.
The only thing I've noticed is Stanley's feet and ankles look kind of bald...I think?
Any insight would be really helpful. X
 
Could you post some photos of their hair and the baldness?

Do any of the hairs look broken half way down the shaft?
 
Thanks alot Helen. I'll take photos when they're dry. I've just done the dip.
When I rub certain areas of their skin with my fingers they start doing that thing where they start chewing and nipping at whatever's onfront of them with their teeth. Like if their on my bed they'll start pulling at the covers with their teeth like mad.
I noticed that they both shriek when rub their bums (which might be normal?) and Stanley snapped round and tried to bite me when I started rubbing his back legs and feet to see his reaction.

All this biting and scratching is deffo way too much to be normal

I don't know what you mean? They do have some areas where the hair looks shorter than others, I noticed that a while ago and thought it was because of biting themselves alot?
 
I am thinking it could be mange mites and the Xeno just isn't effective enough, injections usually work better though I am not sure your vet would agree to them as they have already had the Xeno. I have a photo somewhere of what the hair looks like but need to remember where it is saved. You're ok to carry on with the Imaverol though in case it is a combination problem. Am wondering if your vet needs to do a skin scrape and look under the microscope. It's not nice but needs must.
 
I took stan to the vet & she got a bit of sticky tape and tried to separate his fur to get to the skin and stuck it on, and pulled it off and had a look under the microscope. She said she couldn't see anything but that it was a bad sample and prescribed the xeno anyway.

I'll take them back and ask for a skin scrape before I mention injections.

Do you think they could have an allergy to something? I tried changing the washing powder i use and that didn't work.

I also seem to be really good at picking hay for their beds that's crawling with tiny insects these days. The first bag had little brown insects and the other bag had tiny tiny white insects about the size of a pin head.
The stuff I'm using just now seems fine though. I've started just ripping the bags open in the shop to check before i buy it, lol.

One last thing, stans fur is quite coarse/dry but waxy if you know what i mean?
 
It's possible, are they bedded on fleece?

Could it be greasy? if you rub it the wrong way (if he lets you), does it fall back into place nicely or stay upright? If it stays upright then it could be fungal too. The problem too is that it an be difficult to get them out of the itch scratch cycle. A course of steroids can help with that it needed.
 
Yeah it's like greasy. It stays straight up when i rub it the wrong way. The imaverol is making their fur feel much less greasy and more soft and fluffy, but the biting and scratching is constant. He's sitting doing it right now. :hb:
I'll wait then and do the last imaverol dip and give them a chance, if the don't cut it out ill get them to the vets next wednesday for the skin scrapes and injections if they find anything, yeah?
 
Ok sounds like fungal then, so it is whether it is a combination problem.

That sounds like a good plan.
 
@helen105281 I just found an open sore on Stanley's back.
IMG_20150607_175749.jpg IMG_20150607_175803.jpg

I don't know if it's a bite mark from Luna, or from the cause of all this scratching. Does it look like a bite to you? If you need better pics I'll get him out.
 
P.s the skin around it has no fur and the actual fur near it is short, this makes it seem self inflicted doesn't it?
I'm going to book him in to the vets asap, because he's peeing blood now too. It was just orange before but now it's red blood spots. Hes on a role! :(

IMG_20150607_175650.jpg IMG_20150607_175656.jpg

These might be clearer. X
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20150607_175632.jpg
    IMG_20150607_175632.jpg
    71.2 KB · Views: 3
Last edited:
Sorry for the delay, I wasn't about last night. That does look self inflicted, though the shorter hairs could also indicate mange mites. Is there any kind of v appearing in his hair? Is there some scurfy skin too? it is difficult to tell on the photo.
 
Yeah see on the fourth pic down there's like that white crumb above it. That's a clump of skin with fur attached. I was looking for that yesterday, but I can't see a v shape. I don't know if the hair is thinning. Around the area though, it looks like it might be the start of something.

I gave them a fourth xeno last night, clearly whatever it is isn't being touched by it, though the imaveol has improved the quality of their fur alot. Stan doesn't have dandruff anymore and Luna looks great.
But the scratching and biting is getting worse. Everytime I look at them they're at it.
Why isn't the Xeno getting rid of it? Is it not for mange mites?
I can't get an appt at the vets until Friday because I'm refusing to go to anymore idiots while my own vets off.
 
To be honest am not a fan of Spot On and it does tend to not be as effective on mange mites due to it not entering the blood stream like an injection does. Pebble did a thread about it a year or so ago which explained it better. The thing is the vet would most likely be reluctant to give injections now they have had the Xeno. How many dips have they had now?

It could even be that they both need a course of steroids to break the itch scratch cycle once we are certain all issues have been treated. That's something to discuss with the vet.
 
how long would i need to wait before the vet would be willing to try the injections?

I'll have a hunt for the thread, any chance you remember the title of it?

They've had 3 imaverol dips, they're due their fourth tomorrow. I might give a fifth too, because of how close together i did the first two.

I've been giving the xeno 14 days apart which is what the vet told me to do, eccept the fourth one there, which i waited 10 days because i read that due to the life cycle of mites, i should be giving them 7-10 days apart. Could waiting 2 weeks between applications be whats stopped it from working?

He seems to be really focused on biting his back and the insides of his back legs.
& when hes distressed with me rubbing his skin, he starts biting his front paws
I could strangle them! :( lol
 
I wouldn't have thought that would be affecting it no, I am not sure how long the vet would want to wait, you could always call them and ask?

I will try to remember, it was a good while ago, may even be a sticky.
 
No, I'm not, thats a good idea though i dont know if i have enough in the bottle left. . I'm just using washing powder and washing it at 60 degrees.

How much imaverol would i put in the wash?
 
ugh, right, know what I'm gunna do, order a new bottle and the day it comes just wash absolutely everything they own at 90 degrees. and steep all their toys and stuff in the bath in it.
Maybe i do keep reinfecting them somehow & i'm just not disinfecting their stuff well enough. Hopefully.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top