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Neck abscess the cause

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Sheppey_GuineaPigs

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Hi all

There has been a few of these poping up on the forum just lately.

It is often thought that these are caused by some sharp piece hay or a seed getting stuck down the side of a tooth.

When I did my dental course at the CCT dental abscess were discussed. do you know what the number one reason for these abscess was.

The vast majority of Neck or Throat Abscess that are looked at the CCT were caused by Mites. Yes you read that right, Mites.

What happens is that some mites do not lust live on the skin or in the hair, but they burrow into the skin and enter the blood supply, these are then filtered out through the lymph nodes where their boddies start to decay and it is this decaying mass that is the cause of most abscess's.

This is another reasion it is so important to keep your piggies in a mite free environment, rather than just saying its ok if they get mites I can treat them for it.

Regards

SGP
 
Ooh thats quite gruesome. Thanks for the info though. I'll be checking my pigs regularly. I haven't found a mite yet , so fingers crossed :)
 
Interesting information, thanks for sharing.

I was aware of oedema (fluid retention) particularly in the neck being caused by mites but not heard of abscesses being caused by a systemic invasion of mites.

There are other causes too of course, but so many seem to pop up out of nowhere, it's worth bearing all this in mind.

Personally the more I learn, the more I am glad my guys are routinely wormed/bathed and are given the environment they are.

Shellza, mites are microscopic so can't be seen without taking samples and examining them under a microscope. Lice are the parasites that you can see and they don't burrow or feed off the blood. :)
 
Mites are the main reason we should all own a Microscope, they are not that expensive, one sutable would cost about £20 on eBay.

You can see so much with the old selotape test, Mites, Lice, & Fugal Spores are all Visible the a basic 10x microscope.

Regards

SGP
 
Oh ok, learn something new everyday! lol. How do you know if they have them? Is it just the scratching or are there more signs?
Thanks for all the info. :)
 
Hi

Some times there is very little sign but more often it is assosiated with frantic cratching, just like you are subconsciously doing now at the thought of mites and fleas rolleyes , in a bad case there might be hair loss from the scratching and in bad casses there could be a bald V at the top of the back which is the area most scratched by both legs.

As with most thing prevention is better than the cure, clean Hay & Bedding from a known clean source. and monthly checks to catch them early before thay have a chance to do any harm is the best options.

Regards

SGP
 
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