gorgeous guineas recommendations

[bxth98]

Carlo has been to the vets today after we found some bald patches and irritated skin on his back legs (see pictures) which is thought to be because of something irritating him more than usual because of him feeling under the weather only recently having dental surgery. He’s got xeno 450 drops to apply every 2 weeks for 6 weeks but I’d like to get him something from gorgeous guineas for between his drops to try and treat/soothe the area a bit more. I’m torn between the products in the screenshot below if anyone has any recommendations or can recommend something else which might help him out?

 

[rp1993]

We use the aloe melt on our boys, I did find it worked well on Pringle when he had itchy dry skin, I think that was caused by the heating rather than a parasite although we also did treats with Xeno to. You will need to shampoo it out as it’s very greasy and if you only do one shampoo he will stay greasy for about a week but it does absorbs eventually and makes their fur lovely and soft!

 

[Swissgreys]

To be honest I would follow the full course of Xeno treatments before adding in shampoos.
This may be enough in itself to solve the problem.
His fur may take time to grow back but I would wait and see what happens.

 

[Wiebke]

Carlo has been to the vets today after we found some bald patches and irritated skin on his back legs (see pictures) which is thought to be because of something irritating him more than usual because of him feeling under the weather only recently having dental surgery. He’s got xeno 450 drops to apply every 2 weeks for 6 weeks but I’d like to get him something from gorgeous guineas for between his drops to try and treat/soothe the area a bit more. I’m torn between the products in the screenshot below if anyone has any recommendations or can recommend something else which might help him out? View attachment 182339View attachment 182340View attachment 182341

Hi!

Please be aware that you have to always wait between one topical (i.e. on the skin) treatment before you can treat with something else in order to allow any product (especially ivermectin/selamectin) to be fully absorbed. Ivermectin takes two days to get up to full speed and to kill all emerging mites. Since it cannot kill the burrowed mange mite eggs, you need to repeat the treatment to make sure that no stragglers can start a new round. Mites treatment is very much a waiting game; it is not fun to sit by and wait while your piggies are in a certain amount of dicomfort, throwing the kitchen sink at them does have its own drawbacks.

Please do not overbathe; it messes around with the protective skin microbiome. Personally, I would recommend to wait until the end of the three rounds of treatment and then give the bath to remove all the dead skin flakes caused by the burrowing mange mites.
Bathing (including cleaning grease glands)

 

[bxth98]

Hi!

Please be aware that you have to always wait between one topical (i.e. on the skin) treatment before you can treat with something else in order to allow any product (especially ivermectin/selamectin) to be fully absorbed. Ivermectin takes two days to get up to full speed and to kill all emerging mites. Since it cannot kill the burrowed mange mite eggs, you need to repeat the treatment to make sure that no stragglers can start a new round. Mites treatment is very much a waiting game; it is not fun to sit by and wait while your piggies are in a certain amount of dicomfort, throwing the kitchen sink at them does have its own drawbacks.

Please do not overbathe; it messes around with the protective skin microbiome. Personally, I would recommend to wait until the end of the three rounds of treatment and then give the bath to remove all the dead skin flakes caused by the burrowing mange mites.
Bathing (including cleaning grease glands)

Hi, thank you for your reply! He’s not got any signs of mites it’s just to treat any irritation after he got himself run down. Would it still be best to wait after the 6 weeks to use any products on his skin? I went with the aloe melt and kwench lotion

 

[weepweeps]

I treated my two boars recently for mites and didn’t have to use any other shampoos or lotions. The medicine sorted them out

 

[bxth98]

I treated my two boars recently for mites and didn’t have to use any other shampoos or lotions. The medicine sorted them out

Hi thank you for your reply! I think you may have misunderstood he doesn’t have any signs of mites the treatment is just for any irritation because he got himself run down after being poorly recently
He’s a teddy too so I thought something else might help with his dry skin

 

[Piggies&buns]

Xeno is a treatment to kill mites.
Mites are usually kept in check by a functioning immune system but mites can make an appearance if their immune system is suppressed due to stress. Has the vet prescribed the xeno as a preventative?
Personally I would not use anything other than the xeno for the time being

 

[bxth98]

Xeno is a treatment to kill mites.
Mites are usually kept in check by a functioning immune system but mites can make an appearance if their immune system is suppressed due to stress. Has the vet prescribed the xeno as a preventative?
Personally I would not use anything other than the xeno for the time being

Yeah it’s more of a preventative because there’s no signs of mites, the vet said it’s probably because he was run down and felt irritated by something else

 

[PigglePuggle]

Just to be clear, Xeno really is a prescription treatment specifically for lice and mites- it is absorbed slowly into the skin and shouldnt be washed off.
I would really hold off using anything else in the skin until you complete the 6 week/3 dose Xeno treatment as otherwise you may wash the treatment off and mask any remaining symptoms.
If the vet has prescribed Xeno they strongly suspect mites- Xeno is an antiparasitic not a skin lotion to sooth irritation, and indeed with mange mites the irritation may worsen before it gets better as the mites live under the skin- no amount of topical soothing creams or shampoos penetrate that deep.
If after 6 weeks of treatment there is no improvement, it wasnt mites, and you may consider other options. As @Wiebke mentioned this does look a bit like self barbering- piggy chewing a place that hurts- my old girl Clover has barbered a whole inner thigh and knee shiny bald because of arthritic pain, which is treated by anti-inflammatory pain relief loxicom/metacam given orally.
Gorgeous guineas products are great but only if there is a genuine need to bathe and soothe- my old girl Jezzy who is floofy haired and prone to wee soaked tummy fur and urine scalded feet due to deteriorating health gets a gorgeous guineas bum and foot bath every weekend now in her old age and the shampoos are very mild on her old lady skin. But, it is important to separate medical issues and cleanliness issues from the human desire for a relaxing bath- baths are not relaxing for piggies and even the best piggy shampoos and lotions are no substitute for the natural smelly skin oils and grease gland secretions that healthy piggies should make themselves to keep their fur and skin healthy and smelling of pig!

 

[Free Ranger]

my old girl Clover has barbered a whole inner thigh and knee shiny bald because of arthritic pain, which is treated by anti-inflammatory pain relief loxicom/metacam given orally.

This is really interesting - George was recently vet checked as I was pondering arthritis and he's getting a blue glaze to his eyes. Vet said yes, his vision probably is starting to go now, but he does have arthritis in his knees and it's more likely to be this which makes him pause at the guinea pig steps before he gallops up. Now George is flipped over every night (impaction check) and I'd noticed more skin underneath than fur recently but just put it down to him being fat and sweaty (close your ears, George). This comment has suddenly made me realise about the third thing she said which was that for some reason he had a lot of hay and hair stuck in his bottom incisors (down in the little gummy pocket) and that I should check his teeth regularly. All that hair could well be from having a go at his knee area and thus explain the balding patches!

To my teen's horror I also asked quite an explicit question about why his boar bits are hidden away inside his anal sack and whether this was a common arrangement and lovely vet hesitated before she said, "well... he is a bit fat..." so who knows what might happen when his meds kick in! She said on the way home, "OMG- why did you even bring me?!" and I told her to make the most of a trip out, but also that the car could get very hot in the back and the pigs couldn't tell me so she was sort of like the canary in the mine because she does go visibly pinker.
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Sorry - just realised I hijacked your thread there! I'd stick with the xeno (I've always found it very reliable and not had any side effects) and see if the hair starts to regrow. I'd also ponder the barbering possibility if he's an older fellow. Finally I'd also think about how piggy lies down and whether he rests on this area of his legs as he lounges. Could there be something he's lying on or in that irritates him? eg if he has fleecy areas could it be irritation from a biological wash powder or fabric softener (I find it best to use non-bio and just white vinegar in the rinse) Or if he's on shavings does he lay in his own pee (and I'm looking at George again) and maybe cause himself a little problem like that?

Good luck Carlos you cutie, and I'm so pleased that you made it through your dental surgery x

 

[bxth98]

This is really interesting - George was recently vet checked as I was pondering arthritis and he's getting a blue glaze to his eyes. Vet said yes, his vision probably is starting to go now, but he does have arthritis in his knees and it's more likely to be this which makes him pause at the guinea pig steps before he gallops up. Now George is flipped over every night (impaction check) and I'd noticed more skin underneath than fur recently but just put it down to him being fat and sweaty (close your ears, George). This comment has suddenly made me realise about the third thing she said which was that for some reason he had a lot of hay and hair stuck in his bottom incisors (down in the little gummy pocket) and that I should check his teeth regularly. All that hair could well be from having a go at his knee area and thus explain the balding patches!

To my teen's horror I also asked quite an explicit question about why his boar bits are hidden away inside his anal sack and whether this was a common arrangement and lovely vet hesitated before she said, "well... he is a bit fat..." so who knows what might happen when his meds kick in! She said on the way home, "OMG- why did you even bring me?!" and I told her to make the most of a trip out, but also that the car could get very hot in the back and the pigs couldn't tell me so she was sort of like the canary in the mine because she does go visibly pinker.
-----------------------------------------------------

Sorry - just realised I hijacked your thread there! I'd stick with the xeno (I've always found it very reliable and not had any side effects) and see if the hair starts to regrow. I'd also ponder the barbering possibility if he's an older fellow. Finally I'd also think about how piggy lies down and whether he rests on this area of his legs as he lounges. Could there be something he's lying on or in that irritates him? eg if he has fleecy areas could it be irritation from a biological wash powder or fabric softener (I find it best to use non-bio and just white vinegar in the rinse) Or if he's on shavings does he lay in his own pee (and I'm looking at George again) and maybe cause himself a little problem like that?

Good luck Carlos you cutie, and I'm so pleased that you made it through your dental surgery x

haha no worries! he’s only a year and a half and still very active and doesn’t seem to be struggling so the vet didn’t think it was due to
pain
he’s on fleece but we only use non-bio to wash it but he does have a habit of laying in the hay so maybe it could be that but i’m not too sure?