• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Flakey skin?

Status
Not open for further replies.
jnenbnb

jnenbnb

Joined
Jul 30, 2007
Messages
5,866
Reaction score
15
Points
0
Location
Liverpool, UK
Hello everyone! one of my pigs Sephy has really flakey skin. its not scaley or scabby and she's not losing fur or itching a lot so I'm not thinking it's mites but its like dandruff. I'm wondering if anyone knows whats causing it or if there are any GG shampoo's i could use to ease it a bit? Could it just be showing up more because she is a dark chocolate colour? I feel really bad ive just cut one of her nails too short and it bled :'( thats never happened before but i feel awful I'm a bad mummy :( been shoving grass down her to say I'm sorry! Any ideas what the flakey skin is?
Emma
x
 
emma, sending sephy and you lots of hugs and cuddles :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: have no idea about the flakey skin but as for the nail we have all done it. it was accidental O0 just wet her toe and put corn flour on it. O0 and you are NOT a bad piggy mummy don't make me come over there 666) 666) 666) all i can suggest for the skin is to take pictures and send to christine. O0 now give sephy a big cuddle and smooch from us :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :-* :-* :-* and don't balme yourself for her nail they are just little wigglers. please stop shoving grass down her before she explodes ;D ;D ;D come on smile sephy loves you and you love her O0 :smitten: :smitten:
 
Flakey/dandruffy skin usually is caused by mites.Zeno 450 is the only treatment for this.
 
Hi,

My piggies have had something similar and it eventually turned out to be mites. I use a combination of essential oils, which really do the trick! I use two different combinations depending on the problem. I would recommend trying the combination of four to start with. It consists of tea tree oil, lavender, lemongrass and patchouli mixed with a carrier oil, (I use almond oil). It should be mixed on a 1:9 ratio: this means 10ml of essential oil to 100ml of carrier oil, (so 2.5ml of each oil). Massage the combination in to the skin and leave for 24 hours. Then you can shampoo it off. If the problem is really bad, you can repeat the procedure again in three days. It's mainly for fungal infections but they can cause dry skin as well.

Your piggies might look a bit silly once the oil is on them, and it can sometimes take more than one wash to get it all out, but it's safe if they ingest it through grooming and it makes them smell really nice afterwards!

You can also try the neem oil/carrier oil combination but this is for when they have mites which you can see. The ratio is 1:4, (5ml of oil to 50ml of carrier oil) and the procedure is the same as above only you leave it for two days before shampooing it off. It makes them smell a little bit like a Chinese take-away but it's perfectly harmless if the pigs ingest a little bit through grooming because it's a food flavouring as well.

However, it really is only for parasites so you might want to leave this one unless the problem becomes really bad.
 
Ok thanks for the advice. I just didnt think it looked like mites as its nothing like when my other two had them, not scaley and she isnt itching. I'll take her to the vets to be treated then, does her cage mate need treating? she isnt flakey or itching?

Still feel sick when i think of her poor nail :(

x
 
It could just be dandruff if you are bathing them too much. You might try massaging some olive oil into skin if that is the case.
 
Hi Emma,

Sorry missed this post. Cuzzy's was like dandruff he had minor redness but nothing major. Treated with Invectmin (Is that how you spell it?...lol) at the vets. To be honest that is the way I prefer to treat mites but I know it differs from person to person. It cleared Cuzzy's up really quickly!

Hope Sephy is ok!

Louise
x
 
Sounds the same as when Murphy had them it was not sore or red and he hardly itched i noticed as his fur had parted funny on his back and it looked a bit thin in a part and under closer inspection he had some dry dandruff type flakes. Vet treated him with Xeno 450 its really good sorts it out very quick.

No need for the painful ivermec injection anymore. Hope Sephys dandruff clears up as quick as Murphs did. :)
 
Taking her to the vets is absolutely the right thing to do. It is most likely to be mites but could also be fungal.

Can people be very careful when offering DIY healthcare advice. Essential oils are all very well but some of them could end up making a pig seriously ill if a person fails to dilute things properly. They are absolutely not something I would advise people to do at home. Olive oil will do absolutely nothing for a mite or a fungal infection. I would absolutely hate for a child to read this advice, go ahead and pour oils all over their pig and end up killing it when the pig ingests it. Can we please leave the aromatherapy advice to the likes of Gorgeous Guineas whose remedies are tried and tested on hundreds of guinea pigs.
 
How is the Xeno given Lindsay is it like spot on? Clueless me! ;D

Totally agree Lorna, when it comes to essential oils I'm just thinking eucalyptus is harmful and I don't need to say Lemon and Lavander scented woodshavings...we all know what they can do! :tickedoff:
 
Yep my two girls had ivermec spot on. i would always take her to the vets first, just didnt want to over react if it was something less serious :) thanks x
 
Should i treat Maggie? they dont tend to get mites from eachother do they, they just flare up sometimes? or should i treat her just to be safe? x
 
I didn't with Sunshine and Twinkle and they were fine but perhaps you can take Maggie with Sephy and see what the vet says. :)
 
SunshineAndTwinkle said:
How is the Xeno given Lindsay is it like spot on? Clueless me! ;D

Totally agree Lorna, when it comes to essential oils I'm just thinking eucalyptus is harmful and I don't need to say Lemon and Lavander scented woodshavings...we all know what they can do! :tickedoff:
Click to expand...

Yeah thats right Louise you part the fur and put it down the spine from the back of the neck its excellent. A consultation with the vet and two lots of Xeno 450 spot on only cost about 15 quid. :)
 
Thanks for that will ask my vet about it if mine ever get mites again! :)
 
If she has never had a bath it probably is mites. I would ask about the Xeno since it is specifically made for small animals.
 
Out of interest, what are the other symptoms of mites? can you actually see them? How do guinea pigs get them as my girls run is on concrete as the only piece of grass is at the front of the house and I don't feel safe leaving them there 98)
 
NO, mites are not caused from not bathing. Dandruff just results from bathing too much which can make people think something is wrong.
 
mites live on pigs all the time but they can flare up out of control sometimes. symptoms are itching excessively, scabs, fur loss and flakey or scaley skin :) x
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top