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Mange mites or fungal?

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wooloo

New Born Pup
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May 14, 2018
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Hey guys,
So for the past several weeks, one of my pigs has been super itchy, to the point where there are open wounds on his back and he has ‘seizures’ out of the itching. He now has white dandruff-like residue in his fur and there are little chunks of hair pulled out from the follicle in his shavings. When he first began scratching abnormally, I bought the kitten revolution, and gave him 3 doses of that, 10 days apart. I saw no improvement in the itching, and with the advice from another forum, I purchased ivermectin. I’ve so far given 2 dosages (calculated with the guinealynx site), but there has been no improvement. Could this be fungal instead? I have spoken to the vet, but being in quite a rural part of Australia, she wasn’t the most knowledgeable and gave me some pesticide type spray to apply directly to the pig and surrounds, which will almost certainly be injested when the pig bites at his sores. Sorry the pictures aren’t the best, he won’t even let me touch him let alone moving him to a spot for better lighting :( I am so at a loss of what to do, and it is the absolute most awful thing to watch him writhing around on his back B7D3499F-04B9-4FCA-8930-C13C76D86571.webp521924D4-9112-4716-9517-D81B22EE4C07.webp
 
HI,this needs to be seen by a cavy savvy vet if possible.i am not able to diagnose over the internet,nor am i allowed to.it may be fungal/or mites.if your guinea pig is fitting it is urgent.if it affects the heart it can ultimately lead to the guinea pig passing.I'm sorry you are dealing with this. are there any reputable rescues near you,if so they maybe able to advise.intrafungal orally is best for fungal issues ,.pain relief is needed as well.good luck and i hope you are able to find support you need in Australia.:hug:
 
Thank you for your help! There are no rescues nearby, and no other vets within my area but I will try to contact a couple that are further away.
 
Does you vet know of any others that they can consult over the phone or email? If they can get in touch with someone knowledgeable who might be able to suggest treatments or other tests to run to be able to diagnose accurately
 
I will recontact them tomorrow and ask for any recommendations. Thanks for the reply
 
wooloo said:
Hey guys,
So for the past several weeks, one of my pigs has been super itchy, to the point where there are open wounds on his back and he has ‘seizures’ out of the itching. He now has white dandruff-like residue in his fur and there are little chunks of hair pulled out from the follicle in his shavings. When he first began scratching abnormally, I bought the kitten revolution, and gave him 3 doses of that, 10 days apart. I saw no improvement in the itching, and with the advice from another forum, I purchased ivermectin. I’ve so far given 2 dosages (calculated with the guinealynx site), but there has been no improvement. Could this be fungal instead? I have spoken to the vet, but being in quite a rural part of Australia, she wasn’t the most knowledgeable and gave me some pesticide type spray to apply directly to the pig and surrounds, which will almost certainly be injested when the pig bites at his sores. Sorry the pictures aren’t the best, he won’t even let me touch him let alone moving him to a spot for better lighting :( I am so at a loss of what to do, and it is the absolute most awful thing to watch him writhing around on his back View attachment 96146View attachment 96147
Click to expand...

Hi! It is most likely mites (either mange or hay mites), but please see a vet for a diagnosis because we cannot replace a hands-on examination by a trained vet. Unfortunately vet cost do make the largest budget post in any pet's life, so you need to save up from the start as a regular part of their maintenance (feeding, bedding and health care) cost.
With serious illnesses and emergencies you cannot wait weeks or even days until you see a vet. Even untreated mange mites can kill, agonisingly slowly. :(
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)
 
Update - I got the pig to another vet and she said it’s mange mites. Her advice was simply to keep treating with ivermectin, and even when I told her about the seizuring, she didn’t offer any itch or pain relief 😕
 
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