Excessive grooming in guinea pig?

[yenwd]

Hi,

My 4 month old guinea pig seems to groom a lot these days. While the other 2 guinea pigs are still doing fine, she is just into grooming & scratching herself constantly. Her fur looks all right, no signs of hair loss or weight loss recently. Besides, I noticed a tiny bump on her belly. I'm thinking of mite but not entirely sure. Anybody has the same experience?

 

[Siikibam]

When you say a lot, what do you mean? When you do the health check did you find anything?

I think the beat thing to do is book her an appointment for a health check, and mention the grooming when you go.

Also, maybe try and post a photo of the bump you found. But remember we’re not vets on here.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi,

My 4 month old guinea pig seems to groom a lot these days. While the other 2 guinea pigs are still doing fine, she is just into grooming & scratching herself constantly. Her fur looks all right, no signs of hair loss or weight loss recently. Besides, I noticed a tiny bump on her belly. I'm thinking of mite but not entirely sure. Anybody has the same experience?

Hi!

It can be the start of mange mites or hay mites (check the hairs at the bum for tiny egg cases glued to them in the second case like beads on a string when you feel with your fingers); just keep an eye on it. Hay mite eggs in dark piggies can be hard to spot. In both cases the mites themselves are invisible.
Alternatively if you have started indoors heating, it can be a reaction to the suddenly drier air.

If in doubt, please see a vet. it can be very difficult to decide in the early stages but the next few days should tell. Please don't treat on spec.
New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites

Make sure that the tiny bump is not a nipple or the belly button! Your baby is a bit young for any lumps - and they are definitely not connected to any skin parasites.
Our sexing guides contains a picture that includes nipples (both genders have them) and a belly button:
Illustrated Sexing Guide

Grooming is also a social interactive behaviour, which means 'I want to be friends with you!' - but it all hinges on how often is your 'a lot'.

 

[yenwd]

Maybe there's nothing wrong, but I noticed she would scratch herself a lot recently. I took a bath for her and saw that little bump on her skin (will try to take a photo of it) and just got suspicious.

 

[Siikibam]

Where is the bump? Piggies only really need a bath if their bum (or anywhere else aside from face/head) is really dirty, or for medical reasons.

 

[yenwd]

It's right around 1 inch above her nipples in the middle of her belly. It's in black, the same color of her skin right there, so it's hard to detect right away. Her fur next to the back legs becomes orange instead of white, because she has been lying on the spot she often urinates. Her urine has occasionally turned from milky white to orange during the past week, maybe due to pigment from food like carrot we usually feed her. The vet stated that it's actually normal for young pigs. But since she got dirty lately, I took a bath for her this morning and noticed that bum. While the other 2 guinea pigs lie down or eat their food, she often turn to grooming and scratching herself over and over. It seems to me she's very irritated with something on the skin.

 

[Wiebke]

It's right around 1 inch above her nipples in the middle of her belly. It's in black, the same color of her skin right there, so it's hard to detect right away. Her fur next to the back legs becomes orange instead of white, because she has been lying on the spot she often urinates. Her urine has occasionally turned from milky white to orange during the past week, maybe due to pigment from food like carrot we usually feed her. The vet stated that it's actually normal for young pigs. But since she got dirty lately, I took a bath for her this morning and noticed that bum. While the other 2 guinea pigs lie down or eat their food, she often turn to grooming and scratching herself over and over. It seems to me she's very irritated with something on the skin.

Please have a look at the sexing link in my previous post. It contains a picture right at the start with a nice big arrow pointing toward the belly button, which is most likely what you are feeling.

Without you checking the location and without us seeing the location we can otherwise spend a lot of time working the issue out that only takes one minute for you to have a look and compare the picture with your piggy's 'lump'.

Your youngster is still at the age where the belly button is more noticeable, but you want to make sure for yourself for you own peace of mind!