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Dont know what to do...

JellyBelly

Mama Doe
Of my 7 guinea pigs, the three long hairs have constant skin problems.

I dont know what to do but i am seriously considering whether i am good enough to keep animals :cry:

They have just been bathed in Gorgeous Guinea products but they have scratched themselves and have scabs. I feel totally :censored: about it.

I dont know how to stop them from getting fungal infections, they have their hair kept short, their bedding kept dry (newspaper/hay/fleece) and are fed very well....

Anyone have any suggestions?
Or some reassuring words that i am fit to keep animals?
 
Are they definitely fungal infections - have you treated them for mites?

Please don't blame yourself - one of my rescue piggies, Ruby, had quite persistent skin problems. She was treated with Xeno spot on but it took a good couple of months for her to be 100%.
 
Don't be so hard on yourself :wave: My little mouse has been plagued with skin problems all his life & there have been many times when i have asked myself weather i am doing the best for him.The fact is, some people just wouldn't care - we read about cases of neglect every day, but you care enough to do something.If you're worried, your vet should be able to help.I hope it gets sorted soon :D
 
Hi,

Have you tried another hutch /living quarters perhaps it could be that which is causing the problems?

Are they related could it be hereditry?

Allergy to something?


Process of elimination me thinks:?:?:?

Maureen
 
It's not your fault you are obviously trying really hard to keep the skin problems under control.

I had a 3 texels that were plagued with skin problems and the others in the herd always caught them as well. Once these 3 eventually died the rest of the group never got skin problems again, so I guess some piggies are just born more prone to skin problems however hard you try to stop them.
 
Awww Bless You. I've just this minute been thinking the same thing. Your animals live absolutely lovely lives, and if they could speak - they'd tell you not to be daft & they wouldnt change anything for the world. Chin up chuck, We can only do our best - and animals are such fragile little creatures XX
 
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Yes, I too would recommend trying this (Ivomec) It can take up to 3 lots with a 10 day break in-between. If they have mites it should do the trick.

Someone selling the Beaphar spot on contacted their reps and were told that they'd found Ivermectin to stay in the system for a month, meaning repeat treatments weren't really necessary. I've tried this myself (and so have other people) and just the one treatment has cleared up mites/lice on all my rats that have had them.
 
Someone selling the Beaphar spot on contacted their reps and were told that they'd found Ivermectin to stay in the system for a month, meaning repeat treatments weren't really necessary. I've tried this myself (and so have other people) and just the one treatment has cleared up mites/lice on all my rats that have had them.

That sounds great. It's probably just the vets making a little more money.:(
 
I use the Johnsons Insecticidal spray on all 16 of my piggers and it works a treat. I use it every 6 wks to keep all the crawlies at bay. Every week while its hot i use the Johnsons cage spray and a disinfectant this stops any kind of infestation and i havent had a mite or flea problem for as long as i can remember.( touch wood) Just remember its not your fault these things happen:D
 
I use the Johnsons Insecticidal spray on all 16 of my piggers and it works a treat. I use it every 6 wks to keep all the crawlies at bay. Every week while its hot i use the Johnsons cage spray and a disinfectant this stops any kind of infestation and i havent had a mite or flea problem for as long as i can remember.( touch wood) Just remember its not your fault these things happen:D

Most of the sprays available contain permethrins which aren't really effective a lot of the time as they've been so easily available - sort of how the old headlice treatments stopped working because kids were dosed so often with them, the headlice got immune
 
That sounds great. It's probably just the vets making a little more money.:(

I'm not sure if it's that or just lack of research? Ivermectin is mainly aimed at farm animals I think, not really used for dogs/cats (as it's not safe to use on Collies/Collie-types I think) so it's probably quite different using it on a small critter than a cow/sheep! Like how Panacur used to be given for 7-9 days and now it recommended for 6 weeks or something
 
The other thing to consider is that fungal infections can be pretty hard to get rid of, so it might be that they're almost clear, stop itching, but if there's one stray patch left or there's fungal spores in the environment, they catch it back. My chinchillas had ringworm and it took a strict quarantine, cleaning their cage with Virkon daily, binning (well, burning) everything in the cage that couldn't be cleaned thoroughly in Virkin daily and various topical treatments (as well as an oral treatment) including tea tree oil on the bits they wouldn't be able to groom (so they didn't ingest any), Lamisil powder in their sand baths and the cream on the infected patches, and eventually I had to resort to a shampoo from the vets as they'd just develop patches I couldn't see until they'd spread even further :?
 
I'm sure its fungal. If their skin hasnt improved at all by Friday i will taking them all to the vet. I have used Xeno previously and found it to be very good.

They get stressed out going to the vets though so i may ask if i can get the Xeno or Ivomec without taking them all in :?
 
I'm pretty sure that since you've done everything yo ucan, and are still seeking further solutions, you are the best guinea pig owner anyone could wihs to be. some animals have persistent problems, we are not miracle workers and all we can do is try our hardest to solve them, which you have done.

i dont know anything about piggies im afraid so no useful advice :oops: but i hope they're feeling better soon.
 
I agree that fungal infections are tough to treat. You have to keep on doing follow up treatments, even when it looks like it's gone (like human athletes foot etc). Sometimes it needs something a bit stronger than Gorgeous Guineas stuff. I've had good results from Seleen shampoo. You can buy this online, or get it from the vet.

edit: forgot to say, it's very possible to have mites and fungal problems at the same time. Best to treat for both, I'd say.
 
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