Fidgety Pig

[kaycdee]

11 month old Muffin has recently bonded with baby Teddy and they are getting on fantastically well
However, over the last week or so Muffin has become very restless when I give him his evening cuddle. He wheeks and wheeks and won't sit still. I don't know if it is just that he is impatient to get back to Teddy or whether he is uncomfortable. I have a sneaky suspicion that he might have mites or something because his hair is very greasy and there are tiny grey bits in it.

What do you think?

 

[sport_billy]

Best to get him checked over at the vets regarding skin. Tagging in @helen105281 She knows lots about skin she may be able to suggest what the grey bits are.

it could be just he is finding his voice and wants to get back into his home to see teddy, Cookie is restless on laps now and wants to be back with her friends so we just have quick cuddles.

 

[helen105281]

Could you post a photo? If it is greasy, my first thought would be fungal but his behaviour fits in more with mange mites. There is the possibility of lice too, can you see anything moving?

He does need to see a vet though for an official diagnosis.

 

[kaycdee]

Could you post a photo? If it is greasy, my first thought would be fungal but his behaviour fits in more with mange mites. There is the possibility of lice too, can you see anything moving?

He does need to see a vet though for an official diagnosis.

Nothing moving as far as I can tell. I'll try and get a photo tomorrow as he is tucked up in bed now

 

[kaycdee]

I am unable to upload the photo as I keep getting an error message saying that file is too big; it's 3.34mb. Basically Muffin's hair looks like it has black dust in it.

 

[helen105281]

The black dust could be skin debris from mange mites which are under the skin but it could also be hay mites or static lice.

 

[kaycdee]

I have some lice 'n' easy shampoo, should I use it?

 

[helen105281]

Yes you could try it, I don't tend to use it myself personally but if you have it then try it. He does need a diagnosis by a vet though. If it is mange mites then Lice and Easy will not be effective as he will need to be treated with Ivermectin preferably by injection.

 

[kaycdee]

I will get him to the vet on Wednesday as I am working all day tomorrow.

 

[hayls<3]

Kaycdee, if you find this is mange mite, I recommend asking the vet for a written recommendation of the treatment and purchasing online. My two guineas had mange and they was prescribed Xeno 450 from the vet, I paid £45 to wait a week for this to be delivered to my vet, where I could purchase online from Vet UK for £16-£20 to come within the next 2 days. I now always buy this online and top my piggles up every few month.

 

[kaycdee]

Kaycdee, if you find this is mange mite, I recommend asking the vet for a written recommendation of the treatment and purchasing online. My two guineas had mange and they was prescribed Xeno 450 from the vet, I paid £45 to wait a week for this to be delivered to my vet, where I could purchase online from Vet UK for £16-£20 to come within the next 2 days. I now always buy this online and top my piggles up every few month.

Thanks for that info. Vet didn't think it was mange mites or lice but said I could shampoo Muffin with the lice n easy if I wanted to. He suspected the black bits were just hay dust etc. I have given Muffin a haircut and he seems a bit more settled now.

 

[guineapig-al]

Hi, "Kaycdee" so little piggy Muffin is fine? That's great news. Did he like his hair cut? How does that look? No photos? My piggy had whorls on his coat, something like the equivalent of human cowlicks, and for several years I kept brushing his coat, sometimes for hours, to get rid of the whorls and never did. You seem to enjoy brushing their coat, why not do brushing daily as part of their lap time or at time? Would you consider filing their nails with an emery board?
Thanks,
Alexis

 

[kaycdee]

I have never tried filing their nails as it is difficult enough just cutting them! Muffin seems fine now thanks but I'm keeping a close eye on him just to make sure. We had a photo session last week so I thought I wouldn't put him through that again as he doesn't like the camera very much. As for the brushing and cutting of hair; I would say that Muffin tolerates it rather than likes it, especially towards his back end; he gets annoyed with me then.

 

[guineapig-al]

Is that Muffin on your avatar? She's adorable! Smitten! Smitten!

 

[kaycdee]

No that's Treacle; he was one of my very first piggies. You can see photos of Muffin and Teddy on another thread of mine called 'Muffin has a new friend'.

 

[guineapig-al]

Can you post some piccies here? Lets look at the piggy babies!