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Mange mite?

Emmalou46

Emmalou46

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
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Hello,

Can anything else other than Mange mite cause this V shape hair loss? The vet seems to find it strange that he’s not severely itching or causing damage to his skin. This has been going on for about a month now. Should i just ask the vet to treat with invermectin injections anyway?

Thank you
 

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This is interesting as you first posted about the v shape appearing just over a month ago. You would expect the situation to be worsening if he hadnt been treated at all in all that time.
The v shape is classic mange mites though.
 
Piggies&buns said:
This is interesting as you first posted about the v shape appearing just over a month ago. You would expect the situation to be worsening if he hadnt been treated at all in all that time.
The v shape is classic mange mites though.
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It started off as just a stripe on one side and stayed like this for about 3 weeks and has turned in to the V in the last week so it’s definitely showing signs of progression, will ask vet to go ahead with treatment on both piggies tomorrow as although the other piggie seems ok (they are separated but have contact through the bars) they share toys and things now and again too. I think I expected mange mite to be more severe immediately after seeing some of the awful photos online :(
 
Mange mites usually take a while to build up. Piggies often carry a low load of them, kept in check by their immune system, without any clinical signs but periods of stress or illness can cause them to become an issue. Often the awful pictures you see online are of rescue piggies who have also been kept in poor conditions with poor nutrition, further compromising their immune system and allowing the mites to take hold.
 
I was interested to read this as my Biscuit had a similar issue a year or so ago. She developed the V shaped mark/hair loss but the vet the piggies were then registered with didn't think it was anything to worry about and as an inexperienced first time piggy owner I took their word for it. It didn't seem to bother her at all. I never saw her scratching it and she let me touch it without reacting. I had a couple of conversations with the vet nurse later when I took the piggies in to have their nails clipped and she also said that she didn't think it was mites, though after speaking to the vet she said they would give her and Toffee a dose of ivermectin 'just in case'. (Yes, just one dose!)

However as time went on the mark didn't go away and I'd begun to get worried again and wanted a second opinion. After a few phone calls I was lucky enough to find a lovely vet practice with an experienced exotic vet who agreed to see her. The vet immediately said that Biscuit had Hay Mites (not Mange Mites) and treated both her and Toffee with Xeno 450 explaining (as I already knew) that they would need two further doses 7-10 days apart. Sure enough this did the trick and Biscuit's fur grew back beautifully. At no time did her cage mate Toffee seem to be affected.

I still feel stunned that the original vets, while very nice, seemed totally clueless when it came to guinea pigs.
 
LondonLady said:
I was interested to read this as my Biscuit had a similar issue a year or so ago. She developed the V shaped mark/hair loss but the vet the piggies were then registered with didn't think it was anything to worry about and as an inexperienced first time piggy owner I took their word for it. It didn't seem to bother her at all. I never saw her scratching it and she let me touch it without reacting. I had a couple of conversations with the vet nurse later when I took the piggies in to have their nails clipped and she also said that she didn't think it was mites, though after speaking to the vet she said they would give her and Toffee a dose of ivermectin 'just in case'. (Yes, just one dose!)

However as time went on the mark didn't go away and I'd begun to get worried again and wanted a second opinion. After a few phone calls I was lucky enough to find a lovely vet practice with an experienced exotic vet who agreed to see her. The vet immediately said that Biscuit had Hay Mites (not Mange Mites) and treated both her and Toffee with Xeno 450 explaining (as I already knew) that they would need two further doses 7-10 days apart. Sure enough this did the trick and Biscuit's fur grew back beautifully. At no time did her cage mate Toffee seem to be affected.

I still feel stunned that the original vets, while very nice, seemed totally clueless when it came to guinea pigs.
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Thank you for taking the time to tell me this. It sounds very similar! The vet ended up doing a spot on treatment of ivermectin and I should follow this up 7 days after (today) and then one final dose in another 7 days. Coco lives side by side with Oreo and although they aren’t in the same cage they still interact by the bars and I would also swap and change their toys between them and Oreo doesn’t show any signs either. We have treated them both as a pre-caution but I’m wondering if it could be hay mite then rather than mange mite? My only worry is I’m using the same hay as I hadn’t even considered this. Could I just be re-infecting him if it is hay mite. I can’t wait for healthy herby to start trading again 🙈
 
With hay mites you tend to find the egg casings stuck on the hair shaft usually around the back end. You can usually feel them by running your finger down the hair.

Treatment for both mange and hay mites is the same though - ivermectin and disinfection of the cage.
If there are eggs present in the body then they will continue to hatch (no matter what type of mite).
The difference is that hay mites are not actually in the skin (mange mites are burrowing into the skin).
Treatment does not kill the eggs though, it only kills the live mite which is why treatment has to be repeated at the correct interval to catch the life cycle correctly.

New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights
 
Is the ivermectin injection stronger than the spot on? My boys have had 2 doses of the spot on now which is 1% (2 drops) and will have their last today. There is still a lot of dandruff and the hair hasn’t grown back much yet. Is this normal or should I be seeing more of an improvement by now? The vet said they didn’t have the injection in and that it was an old fashioned way to treat them, so gave me the Pharmaq ivermectin drops to use instead. Thank you
 
Hello there! New member from the USA here! I am worried about my girls as one has a very pronounced V on her back where hair is missing and her cage mate has a small V shape forming. We are taking them to our local vet this week to be looked at but would love to get some input
 
Hi, I’m no expert but my boar above had the V and it did turn out to be mange mite. We took him and his friend (who wasn’t showing any symptoms other than dandruff) to the vets and were prescribed ivermectin spot on. They required 3 doses each spread out over 3 weeks, 1 a week (dosage can depend on medicine, so do as your vet advises) and now they are mite free! It took a little longer than expected for his hair to grow back but it’s pretty much completely back now. Hope you get your piggies sorted. There are lots of helpful files on this forum to help out with all different types of health issues. You should be able to search for them :)
 
guineapigmomma84 said:
Hello there! New member from the USA here! I am worried about my girls as one has a very pronounced V on her back where hair is missing and her cage mate has a small V shape forming. We are taking them to our local vet this week to be looked at but would love to get some input
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Hi and welcome

Here is our information on skin parasites: New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

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Thank you.
 
We took our girls to the vet yesterday and the V shape is NOT mites, they have a bacteria infection and are now on antibiotics for 10 days. The vet believes that it is from scratching and then the natural bacteria on their skin getting into a laceration causing the irritation. He didnt see any signs of mites on the hair or skin samples he took.
 
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