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Worried about Jack

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Lucid

Hi everyone,

My nervous piggie Jack was acting a bit more nervous than usual last night when my partner held him while I cleaned out his cage and gave him his new pigloo house when he stroked him over his back he sort of jumped so I stroked him and tried to feel over his back and I found a little lump.

Its stange looking and growing off his back it looks like and currently over the whole time Ive seen him he has had alot of hairloss that I cant seem to get under control, he has dandruff as well so whether or not he has a lump of it I dont know but its starting to really worry me now.

I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas on what this could be? I'm thinking of taking him to the vets but if anyone can give me any home ideas I can try tonight Id love to hear them.

I have conditioning guinea pig shampoo that I do want to use but I wonder with him being so nervous whether it would do him more harm than good?

Thankx

Violet xx
 
Where on his back is the lump? Could it be a scab? Has your piggy been treated for mites (number 1 cause of hair loss)? What is the shampoo?
 
Hey,

Thankx for your reply..

The lump is in the middle of his back say about 10cm from the back of his neck, I dont know if it could be a mite, he hasnt been scratching very hard, but I'm a new piggie mum so I dont think I'd know.

The shampoo is by johnson and johnson moisturizing type shampoo, I dont have any medicated stuff in the house at present.

He hasn't been treated for mites no..

He is still drinking and eating but I'm worried also because Ive got another guninea pig who yes they dont like each other but they have been on the floor together.

See I stay in a small town in Scotland so my local pet shop doesnt seem to have a wide range of things.
 
Mites you need a microscope to see. I think he really needs a trip to a vet - mites are very, very common and easily treated. You will probably need to get them both treated. The vet can check the lump, too.

Human shampoos can't be used on guinea pigs. www.gorgeousguineas.com do a great range of piggy shampoos and I always have some around. O0
 
Yea, going to buy a piggie carrier tomorrow and take him round, see if they can tell me whats going on, feel so bad when he cant tell me whats wrong..

I will need to get them checked soon as I may have two babies coming home with me in the next 6 weeks once they are ready, so they will need to be protected.

I need to get me a guinea pig friend who knows more about this haha, pet shops are no help at all!

Thankx again for your replys :)
 
Just remember to keep any new piggies away from your existing ones for at least 3 weeks (unless they're from a reputable rescue - NOT the SSPCA - I got a pig from the Ayr branch with vitamin C deficiency being fed on hamster food) as they can carry illnesses but not show symptoms.

Don't really know of anywhere good for piggy shopping down your way, best bet is to buy stuff online. Try not to worry, you've probably spotted something early on and you'll learn things as you go along. O0
 
I'm about 20mins from ayr and seen one on the sspca site, which went within about 30mins, guinea pigs are very popular it seems..

But yes, I'll keep an eye on him as much as I can tonight and feed him some kale and brussle spouts, just not cuddles as it seems to just irritate him.
 
The things we do for piggies huh? thats fantastic you went that far to get her though.

Do you think giving him a bath to try sooth the itching if it is just dry skin, would help?

Not rough rubbing but enough to see if it would help him? Its not nice just watching them be in discomfort at all.
 
to be honest if it's mites (which it sounds like) giving him a bath might cause pain/more irritation. Best bet is get him to a vets and ensure they treat him with ivermectin. Zeno 450 is usually the one to use - it comes in a tube and goes on the back of the neck. If your vet wants to give injections ask if you can have Zeno 450 tubes.
 
how is jack? did he go to the vet? was it mites causing the lump on his back. :-\ :-\ :-\ my OH would love to live in scotland as that is where his ancestors came from. sending you and jack and friend hugs and cuddles :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: and my girls send the boys :-* :-* :-*
 
hope he's got sorted O0 a complementry treatment (shapoo, melt etc.) from GG would be a good idea as well as vet treatment. chrissie could tell you what will help O0 but i think you have to leave it a certain amount of time after ivermectin, but i'm sure it'll say O0
 
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