Am I allergic to my guinea pigs?

[Piggiebaby]

Hi guys,

We have 5 lovely, female guinea pigs - 3 short haired and 2 teddy bear.
Over the last month or so I’ve had incredibly itchy skin after (sometimes during) holding the piggies.
My partner has had similar, but no where near as bad as me!
I don’t suffer from eczema either, so I doubt it’s that.
Any ideas?


(Pictures attached)

 

[weepweeps]

Hello. Have you just got them recently and this has started. Or have you had them ages and this has started? I had a really itchy patch that came up on my wrist too and I thought the same thing. It was so itchy and seemed to have tiny blisters on it when I itched it which then bled. So sore. I tried a few different moisturisers and it went away after about 6 weeks. I think I was allergic to my new marigolds. . I hope you get to the bottom of it.

 

[Piggiebaby]

Hello. Have you just got them recently and this has started. Or have you had them ages and this has started? I had a really itchy patch that came up on my wrist too and I thought the same thing. It was so itchy and seemed to have tiny blisters on it when I itched it which then bled. So sore. I tried a few different moisturisers and it went away after about 6 weeks. I think I was allergic to my new marigolds. . I hope you get to the bottom of it.

Hiya
I’ve had my short haired guinea pigs since July this year and my teddies since august this year and I’ve only found it’s been since getting my teddy Guineas.. although holding my short haired ones can sometimes cause me to itch too!

 

[Free Ranger]

It does sound like you have developed an allergy, maybe triggered by those lovely teddies, but I'm not an expert in this. Some members have struggled themselves with allergies so can I ask a couple more questions and this will help them when they come online...

The rash that we are seeing - does that come up immediately or is it sort of always there and the piggies just make it worse. Anything like runny nose/eyes or sneezing? If you are holding them to your chest I can see how that area might have flared up too.

People can be allergic to piggies specifically but also some people can be allergic to any animal fur (which is why my friend's only 'pets' were stick insects!)
Some people have reported hay allergy - although some sorts of hay seem to be worse than others so by shopping around they can find a compromise. Some people have to move them out of a room they are in a lot into a less populated room and then take antihistamine to calm the reaction.

The final thing is are the piggies OK themselves - any over-the-top scratching or hair loss among them? Piggies can get mites, but mainly these are pig specific - I must say we've had mites quite a few times and they've never been transmitted to us people at all. If this was a problem you wouldn't see the rash triggered straight away - it might take hours or days to become noticeable, and it wouldn't calm down like an allergic reaction when you stay away from the pigs. The only reason I'm mentioning this is because both you and partner are affected but it could just be pretty bad luck if you are both allergic

 

[ThatPurpleB]

Hi

Have you been to a doctor or a pharmacist to get it checked out? Normally with skin stuff pharmacists are pretty good so you dont even need to book in at the doctors.

I get loads of different skin allergies to different things, the pictures may not be showing them clearly but it doesnt look like an allergy.

It looks more like where pet nails have scratched the skin and then dirt from the piggies nails and sweat etc has irritated it. I get something similar with our piggies and bearded dragon.

 

[WobblyPiggy]

Hi,

It would be best to see a doctor to rule out anything else...but if it is an allergy please don't be discouraged...I have three piggies myself and I'm allergic to them as well as certain types of hay set my skin off...I personally just take antihistamines as my doctors instructions until I cant keep control of it...but a doctor is best to tell you what could be causing it and which treatments to use...for now it could be worth just making sure to wash the area to get any irritants off...