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So confused!

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2CutePiggies

Hi everyone! I am new to this forum and was hoping someone might help me with this....I got my first two GPs two months ago and completely fell in love with them. Their names are Duncan and Carter. I bought them from a petstore but will never do that again. I will definitely adopt the next time around. They are very spoiled piggies! They have a huge cage from cavycages, they get floor time all the time, and constantly get fresh veggies and hay. They've started reacting in a happy way when I come up to their cage and popcorn when I get more hay out. :)

Since the beginning, Carter has been somewhat of a biter. I quickly learned to hold him with a towel so he couldn't bite me. Duncan will only give slight nips sometimes. (He's defintitely more gentle!) I took them to the vet shortly after I got them to get a checkup and mentioned to the vet that they might have mites because I heard biting is sometimes a result of that. Here's what made me a bit uncertain about the vet--He looked the piggies over with the naked eye and combed through their fur and then told me that he did not believe they had mites. I was thinking, "Aren't they microscopic!?" So I'm not sure about him now.... Anyway, recently Carter has been getting worse with the biting. The other day he bit me so bad on my arm and I now have a little black and blue mark. He also freaks out when I hold him and won't let me touch his head. I know it helps to hold them everyday to get them used to it, but I don't want to stress him out too bad. I honestly wonder if they have mites? Also, yesterday I noticed that the top of Duncan's back foot was missing a patch of hair. I have no idea what to think about all this. If someone could let me know, I'd appreciate it:)
Thanks!
 
My boar bites too... He was from a pet shop. I may be wrong but I haven't heard that a guinea would bite a person if they had mites, I think it's more likely that they would bite themselves and scratch a lot more than usual.

I may also be wrong but I was told that all guineas have mites but circumstances can often mean they flare up.

I'm sure someone on here has much more experience than me but my little one is 6 months now and his biting is just part of his personality (unfortunately for me!). I think for him it's a dominance thing/hates being picked up but happy once settled on my lap.
 
Welcome to the forum : )

Didn't your vet give them any treatment regardless?

As for the biting/nipping. I have a couple who do that too :) Most will throw your hand of their head too.

Do you hand feed them?
 
I doubt he has mites as there would be more signs. I would treat both of them regardless just to be sure, however, some guineas are like this. Some settle in time others don't. Keep handling them everyday and try to bond with them as much as possible. Good luck let us know what happens. Welcome to the forum. :)
 
Thank you everyone for responding!

No, my vet did not give me anything. Should I take them in to have him treat them or can I do it myself with that Ivormec stuff I heard about? Since it can't hurt even if they don't have mites, it's worth a try. I do hand feed them sometimes and they've gotten comfortable enough where they'll sit there and completely eat out of my hand. Does anyone have any ideas about Duncan's foot with the patch of missing hair on top? It looks like a little rough spot now. That's what made me think mites.

I'll have to put some pictures of them on here soon. They're so cute :smitten:
 
Yea you can treat for mites yourself. Beaphar do an anti-parasite spot on that contains ivermectin. You can get it in pets at home and quite a few little pet shops stock it too. This is what I use and it comes in little pipettes that you squeeze onto the skin behind their ears. It sounds like you might need a different vet if he didn't know that mites are microscopic. Have a look at the recommended vets list at the top of the health and illness section.It might have a vet close to you listed.
If they had mites though you should have seen some other symptoms such as hair loss by now I would think. One of my boys Jack is an abyssinian and he doesn't like to be stroked. I think it's because his hair sticks all over the place.He butts your hand way and, as my boyfriend found out, if you ignore his rumbles and head butts then you're going to get bitten. He just gets cuddles instead of strokes.
I have no idea on the bald spot on the top of his foot, maybe if you can take a picture of it and post it that might help.
 
kellyandpiggies♥ said:
Welcome to the forum : )

Didn't your vet give them any treatment regardless?

As for the biting/nipping. I have a couple who do that too :) Most will throw your hand of their head too.

Do you hand feed them?
Click to expand...

Our guinea pigs bumble and hamish do that, say if I'm stroking them and i stroke over their heads their head will go up and my hand will be off their head (I never realised a guinea pigs head was so powerful :|)
 
It my be worth giving them a bath with medicated shampoo for guinea pigs as well, just to make sure they haven't got any other health issues such as fungal. It will also help you bond with your guineas. O0
 
Hi and welcome to the forum, your piggies sound gorgeous :smitten: :smitten:
Mmm i'd get some treatment no matter what, it can't hurt them.
LOL our piggies have always head butted my hand once i've finished feeding them, even when Duke was really ill he'd do it, that's when i knew i just had to fight to keep him going :)
Hopefully the nipping might calm down a bit, i hope so for you :o :o
 
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