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White waxy clumps in fur

  • Thread starter Thread starter ashleygleed
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ashleygleed

One of our boys, Benjamin, developed a head tilt on Sunday. He's being treated for a middle ear infection and ear mites, and is doing better, but is still pretty under the weather. His fur is overall pretty greasy, but he has these really bizarre white, almost waxy, hard clumps. I noticed the first one on Sunday(I cut it out), and just now noticed another one. It's about the consistency of fresh raw coconut, but slightly waxier. It's like his fur has dissolved into pure keratin or something. What could cause this?
 
Is he in with another male as it could be (as described so lovely in another thread) "Boar Juice". That's just my guess but some of the more medically minded Guinea experts will probably be able to tell you what it is if I'm wrong.
 
Cozmo said:
Is he in with another male as it could be (as described so lovely in another thread) "Boar Juice". That's just my guess but some of the more medically minded Guinea experts will probably be able to tell you what it is if I'm wrong.
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He is in with another boy, but I doubt it's semen, because it's not like a white clump around hair, it's like a white clump in place of hair, like what used to be hair dissolved into it's base elements. It's really one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. And when I cut them, they pull out and leave bald spots.
 
How bizarre! Its not ticks is it? they don't have little legs and grow bigger gradually?

Also they are grey/cream in colour.
 
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loveisdivine said:
It does sound a little like a tick. Are they hard to pull off?
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If it is a tick, please don't pull them off - you'll leave the jaws in the guinea-pigs skin which can cause infection (and the jaws are then really difficult to get out). With people, one method is to apply a lit cigarette tip to the tick's body, as the heat makes them open their jaws and they fall off, but I wouldn't recommend this for guinea-pigs! Plus, you need to be absolutely sure first what it is that you're dealing with.
 
Furries said:
With people, one method is to apply a lit cigarette tip to the tick's body, as the heat makes them open their jaws and they fall off, but I wouldn't recommend this for guinea-pigs!
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With dogs its heat up the tweezer end of some tweezers and twist the tick until it comes off. But don't squeeze the tick otherwise the wound will get infected cuz you'll squeeze all the blood its sucked back into the body and thats just not good!

As Furries said...it needs to be determined if it is ticks first!
 
Where are the clumps, what size are they?
I would be 99.9999% certain they are not ticks.
Some skin conditions are like you describe. You can pull out the hair (gently) and it will come out in clumps together with a top layer of skin, rather like pulling weeds out of a flower bed!
 
alcesterpigs said:
Where are the clumps, what size are they?
I would be 99.9999% certain they are not ticks.
Some skin conditions are like you describe. You can pull out the hair (gently) and it will come out in clumps together with a top layer of skin, rather like pulling weeds out of a flower bed!
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so what do you think it is?
 
alcesterpigs said:
To be continued....
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Yep - agree you need an answer before going further AP :)p

Is it really waxy/slimey/liquid or white with some powdery consistency? Does it leave bald skin/open wound when/where the fur comes out?

xx
 
I have a boar with a similar problem. The condtion seems to affect the the head and neck/shoulders. The skin feels hard, like leather, there are white "bits" around the roots of the hair. Any attempt to remove the hair results in the skin being peeled, almost like rolling up a carpet. I usually cover the exposed area with Aloe Vera ointment. Within a few hours the skin looks normal, however a few more hours later the skin is again inflamed, dry and flaky. The condition does eventually clear after reperated applications of a moistuisring cream.
It is neither a fungal nor a mites problem. I hesitate to give the condition a named diagnosis but I wonder if anyone else has the same thoughts that I have about what it could be?
 
The clumps are about 2 inches wide, and about an inch deep, literally like someone stuck some raw coconut in his fur, it's just bizarre. The outside of them was covered by a small amount of hair, so at first glance they just looked like a regular clump. He hasn't had another one yet, and they only showed up when he got sick. And his brother, who lives with him, has nothing like it. When they were still attached to him, they were firm and solid, and could be picked apart, again like raw coconut, but after they were cut off and sat out for a couple days they went absolutely rock solid. I wish I could do a better job of describing them, and I really wish I'd taken pictures!
 
Put plenty of moisturing cream on the affected area and leave it to soak in for a few hours., it will make it easier to clean the area.
My pig, a boar aged 3 years 4 months, has deteriorated today, I do not expect him to survive the night. The skin condition is coincidental, he has gone into heart failure.
 
alcesterpigs said:
Put plenty of moisturing cream on the affected area and leave it to soak in for a few hours., it will make it easier to clean the area.
My pig, a boar aged 3 years 4 months, has deteriorated today, I do not expect him to survive the night. The skin condition is coincidental, he has gone into heart failure.
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Oh I'm so sorry :(
 
12.05am he is still alive, just about.
 
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Arfur, (that was the name and spelling his previous owner gave him) was the scruffiest pig I have ever owned!
He had long, untidy, curly hair, complete with a fringe. The only way to keep him looking respectable was to trim his hair.

When I fed the pigs, at night, I would gently tap the bowl containing the food, and he would appear at the edge of his box and lean forwards into the bowl and select a piece of apple to eat. That was his treat, only after that would he eat his greens!
He was a character.
 
Bless him, it sounds like he was a lovely character to have known. I am sorry you lost him.
 
Sorry to hear about Arfur.

My pigs used to get waxy lumps in their fur, but it doesn't sound like the same thing. They got them when they ate baby tomatoes; the juice used to set in waxy lumps around their mouths, very strange. I don't think the skin was involved, unlike on Arfur. I haven't given them any baby tomatoes recently, so I may be misremembering the details. The lumps were 2-3mm in length.
 
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