Hole/Abscess on guinea pig’s back

[LifeOfMyPetsAndMe]

Hello, I’m very new here and in need of help from this forum, I am well aware that I should go to the vet to get this checked out, but money is tight at the moment and we’re still making decisions, I own six guinea pigs currently, and two of them (my oldest ones, Smores and Callie) have been diagnosed with chewing lice. We’ve been given sprays for the scabs they have on their bodies which we were told are unrelated to their lice, and they’ve been getting injections for the lice, but we’re going to be switching to Advantage soon and giving it to ALL of them to get rid of, even if they don’t have it. Today as we were cleaning them, I picked up smores and felt something sharp on her back only to notice she has some sort of a scab, but upon looking with a flashlight, it looks more like a hole than a scab, there’s some crust next to her hole that appears to be a scab, and right next to it appears to be a hole about the size of a pea, I don’t know if the lice have anything to do with it, which I doubt, I feel like it’s some other sort of bug or possible infection, I wanted to know if anyone has seen this or experienced something similar with their piggies, from what I saw on this website, all other photos I’ve seen attached to their “holes” looks more like scabs for sure to me, this ‘hole’ on Smores looks kind of like an innie belly button on her back. Callie has also had some scabs before, but not like this, and when we sprayed her with what the vet gave us, it eventually went away, my brother claims he sprayed that spot for Smores, I don’t know how often, but it hasn’t gone away obviously by the looks of it. I would also like to add that we haven’t been giving them their Vitamin C tablets as often as we used to because we’ve been forgetful about it, and I have a job as well and I’m there a lot and it causes me to forget about giving them that, so I’ve now just implemented an alarm to help me remember for sure, and they have been eating salad on a daily basis, we clean their cages weekly, and we haven’t given them a bath in a while. Any suggestions or ideas? I will be taking her to the vet as soon as I can get more money, I would love to hear your thoughts, and thank you. Another thing I would also like to add is that smores is a pretty big guinea pig, she’s about 2 pounds and 11 ounces last I weighed her, I don’t know if that has anything to do with it either, but it could, Callie however, is normal sized.

 

[Piggies&buns]

You do need to see a vet for anything like this - it always requires a hands on vet check.

In terms of the other things you mention -

Supplementing guinea pigs with Vitamin c tablets as a matter of routine is not recommended. Guinea pigs should get all their vit c needs from a healthy balanced diet. Most long term owners in this country do not supplement.
If you supplement, Their bodies get used to abnormally high levels of vit c and then if you do suddenly stop giving them, that will cause the level to suddenly drop which can cause scurvy. A piggy who has been given vit c tablets for a long time needs to be weaned off them very slowly so as to not cause health problems.
With that said, for guinea pigs with lice it can be recommended to give a short course of vit c supplementation while the lice are being eradicated. As lice can weaken guinea pigs, that vit c can help boost the immune system.

Bathing should also not be done as routine and instead only done if there is a medical need to do so.

I have added our guide below which details the three types of species specific parasites and how they need to be dealt with along the extra cage hygiene measures and cage disinfection.

New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

 

[weepweeps]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I hope you can get your piggy seen by a vet and they are all on the mend soon.

 

[Lady Kelly]

I would doubt an abscess just on the basis that, if you have ever had the misfortune of smelling the pus that comes from an abscess... Well... It's absolutely vile and unmistakable.

Any open wounds should be seen to asap to prevent infection getting in and causing more problems that are harder to fix in the long run. If the piggies are in discomfort with the scabs then it is worth asking for antiinflammatory pain relief to be given which will hopefully take the edge off their itching and discomfort and allow the scabs to heal better without scratching further.

I also wouldn't bathe while there are sores. A wipe over with a gentle saline solution if you deem it necessary but I wouldn't do it before any vets appointment as you could be cleaning away evidence of the problem which could make it harder for the vet to diagnose

 

[Free Ranger]

Lice don't bite holes into piggies but they do cause itching - which causes them to scratch - and they can scratch wounds into themselves. I think whoever has convinced you the scabs were unrelated to the lice has made a mistake. Not every pig with lice (or mites) gets bald patches or scabbing but as the little critters multiply the itching/scratching gets worse and worse. The early symptoms of mild scratching or shedding hair aren't always noticeable.

Lice can usually be seen with the naked eye but mites cannot be seen. It's possible to have both - but if you know you've definitely got lice the right thing to do is treat the lice (the same product will generally also treat mites). The sooner the better as they do multiply. And you are quite right to treat all the pigs at the same time whether they show symptoms or not because any pig can be a host and they will transmit from pig to pig... they're not choosey. If you only treat itching pigs the lice will simply live on the untreated animals and then spread back to all the others when the treatment wears off. So treat all piggies together and blitz out the housing - then you should notice any scabbing starting to clear up on it's own.

I know some vets use injections but over here in the UK we have a spot-on lotion called Xeno which contains the active ingredient ivermectin. You have to do repeat treatments with this as it kills live lice but not eggs so the repeat treatment is for when the eggs have hatched out. I don't know what treatment you have had and I'm afraid I don't know much about the Advantage but it's worth looking into whether treatments need to be repeated and why. Some do, some don't. The other thing with the xeno is that it is dependent on piggy's weight so it's important not to overdose. Read your instructions carefully. Good luck itchy piggies! And keep us informed - esp if it works cos we love a happy ending

 

[LifeOfMyPetsAndMe]

Hello all, I kindly appreciate the advice and help you have provided me, I will be taking this advice seriously to provide smores and all my piggies with good care and comfort, I have read up on ivermectin and have already ordered some as I’ve read and seen how well it works with all kinds of bugs and parasites as well as internal ones, I might still take her to the vet, but I’m sure if we see some significant changes with smores and the hole she has as well as the bugs, we might not need to take her to the vet.

 

[Piggies&buns]

If they are still under a course of injections for the lice and are starting to use Advantage then do not home treat using ivermectin unless and until
a vet tells you to do so. Do not home treat for anything - ivermectin needs to be dosed according to weight as it can be overdosed and you don’t know if there may be some kind of reaction if they are still undergoing sprays, injections and using Advantage

 

[LifeOfMyPetsAndMe]

If they are still under a course of injections for the lice and are starting to use Advantage then do not home treat using ivermectin unless and until
a vet tells you to do so. Do not home treat for anything - ivermectin needs to be dosed according to weight as it can be overdosed and you don’t know if there may be some kind of reaction if they are still undergoing sprays, injections and using Advantage

You are very right, I should probably consult with a vet about the dosage first, we haven’t gotten advantage at all yet (or used it on them either), only Callie has been administered the injections as of right now, Smores has not, we’re likely going to ask them how much we should give them each as a preventative for some and as a treatment for others. The spray we currently use for their scabs at the moment is very similar to Vetericyn, it’s a topical spray that heals wounds very quickly, I’ll have to read the name of it when I get home, but thank you for telling me this so I can go ask a professional what to do about them. as for the ivermectin, we haven’t gotten it yet, and it might take a while to ship where I live.

 

[Wheekallweek]

Hope your girls are feeling better soon

 

[Free Ranger]

Well done on all your efforts. I know it's a lot to take in and think about to get your plan of action in place. It's the same when I have to deal with something new and I've had piggies for quite a few years. It's always worth having a careful think about things. You sound like such a caring owner!

 

[LifeOfMyPetsAndMe]

Well done on all your efforts. I know it's a lot to take in and think about to get your plan of action in place. It's the same when I have to deal with something new and I've had piggies for quite a few years. It's always worth having a careful think about things. You sound like such a caring owner!

Thank you so much! I’m still currently working on a plan for them right now but you guys sound like you have more experience than I do and I really do appreciate the responses, as of now, all of them have been doing just fine! We’re probably gonna end up taking smores to the vet the next time I get my paycheck!