Guinea Pig Dandruff- Help Please!
Hello everyone! I'm new to the forum (long time reader, first time poster), but I had a question that I thought I could try asking here.
Our guinea pig, Juniper, has dandruff-like flakes along her backside. She doesn't have any patches of hair missing, and she doesn't seem irritated when touched there. When we first saw them, we immediately separated her and our other pig, Astro, then took them both to the vet. They were separated for six weeks while the vet got the results and determined it was some type of parasite. She gave us an antibiotic, which we gave to Juniper for the entire course. They seemed to go away, but after about a week, we started to notice the dandruff flakes again. We haven't separated the two pigs again, but Astro is still showing no signs of any infection or irritation, so we're fairly sure it's not contagious.
If you've heard of anything like this, please let us know what we should do. Again, she isn't showing any signs of distress other than occasional scratching. She isn't missing any patches of hair and doesn't bite at any one particular area repeatedly. We're sort of lost at what to do because the vet doesn't seem to be very helpful at curing it, and it doesn't seem to be bothering Juniper.
I don't know how to attach a picture, but if someone could let me know, I'd like to share one as well.
Thanks,
Zoë
Our guinea pig, Juniper, has dandruff-like flakes along her backside. She doesn't have any patches of hair missing, and she doesn't seem irritated when touched there. When we first saw them, we immediately separated her and our other pig, Astro, then took them both to the vet. They were separated for six weeks while the vet got the results and determined it was some type of parasite. She gave us an antibiotic, which we gave to Juniper for the entire course. They seemed to go away, but after about a week, we started to notice the dandruff flakes again. We haven't separated the two pigs again, but Astro is still showing no signs of any infection or irritation, so we're fairly sure it's not contagious.
If you've heard of anything like this, please let us know what we should do. Again, she isn't showing any signs of distress other than occasional scratching. She isn't missing any patches of hair and doesn't bite at any one particular area repeatedly. We're sort of lost at what to do because the vet doesn't seem to be very helpful at curing it, and it doesn't seem to be bothering Juniper.
I don't know how to attach a picture, but if someone could let me know, I'd like to share one as well.
Thanks,
Zoë
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- And got the T-shirt
First, you need a better vet. An antibiotic is NOT an appropriate treatment for any parasite or any dandruff. Antibiotics have their own problems in guinea pigs, and should never be given unless there's a bacterial infection to be treated.
Second, separating them isn't necessary. They've both been thoroughly exposed at this point, and you'll have to treat them both anyway. All it will do is stress them out, which may make the infestation worse.
Third, the possibilities are fungus, mites, or lice. Lice are the easiest to diagnose or rule out. Can you brush the fur and those flakes fall off? If so, they're not lice nits, which would be thoroughly stuck to the hair shaft and you'd have to slide them off.
Fungus and mites can be harder to distinguish. Generally, but not always, if you tug on hair in the affected area, it will come out in small clumps if the problem is a fungus. Not so with mites.
One indication can be how much they're scratching. Mites generally cause very insistent scratching. Fungus, although it itches, doesn't itch quite as much.
Another can be the hair loss pattern. A pig with a bad infestation of mites will often have an upside down "V" shape on its back that marks the area where the pig can reach with its teeth while trying to bite the mites. But again, that's not always the case.
You can email pictures to Lynx to display -- she'll see this and post a gif of her email address. She doesn't put in plain text so it can't get harvested by scammers.
In the meantime, you can read about fungus and mites here: https://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html and https://www.guinealynx.info/mites.html.
Second, separating them isn't necessary. They've both been thoroughly exposed at this point, and you'll have to treat them both anyway. All it will do is stress them out, which may make the infestation worse.
Third, the possibilities are fungus, mites, or lice. Lice are the easiest to diagnose or rule out. Can you brush the fur and those flakes fall off? If so, they're not lice nits, which would be thoroughly stuck to the hair shaft and you'd have to slide them off.
Fungus and mites can be harder to distinguish. Generally, but not always, if you tug on hair in the affected area, it will come out in small clumps if the problem is a fungus. Not so with mites.
One indication can be how much they're scratching. Mites generally cause very insistent scratching. Fungus, although it itches, doesn't itch quite as much.
Another can be the hair loss pattern. A pig with a bad infestation of mites will often have an upside down "V" shape on its back that marks the area where the pig can reach with its teeth while trying to bite the mites. But again, that's not always the case.
You can email pictures to Lynx to display -- she'll see this and post a gif of her email address. She doesn't put in plain text so it can't get harvested by scammers.
In the meantime, you can read about fungus and mites here: https://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html and https://www.guinealynx.info/mites.html.
Hi! Thank you both for your speedy replies. I've sent a picture in, but in the meantime, I'll reply to the questions.
Yes, when I brush the fur, the flakes fall off. If I tug on her back, tiny clumps of hair do come out. However, she doesn't have any hair loss or any hair loss patterns that I can see. There are no patches that seem especially irritated or hairless. Because of your answers, I feel fairly confident it's fungal and am going to purchase a Nizoral shampoo!
Thanks again for all your help!
Yes, when I brush the fur, the flakes fall off. If I tug on her back, tiny clumps of hair do come out. However, she doesn't have any hair loss or any hair loss patterns that I can see. There are no patches that seem especially irritated or hairless. Because of your answers, I feel fairly confident it's fungal and am going to purchase a Nizoral shampoo!
Thanks again for all your help!
It seems to be classical case of dandruff caused by Malassezia sp. yeast, most often Malassezia furfur, different than in most infections in guinea pigs. It is not related to dermatophytes which cause typical fungal dermatosis, the so called ringworm. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3380954/
The infection is less itchy and rarely causes lesions or loss of hair, therefore it is harder to notice, unless it becomes severe.
The infection is less itchy and rarely causes lesions or loss of hair, therefore it is harder to notice, unless it becomes severe.
And with that type of infection, would you still recommend trying the Nizoral shampoo?
Hi all,
Thank you so much for all of your help thus far! I got the Nizoral, and we gave her a bath two days ago. The flakes seem much much less prevalent, but she still has a patch of fur that is a bit sensitive. When I gently tug, a lot of hair seems to come out, and those hairs still have tiny dead skin flecks. Is this normal/ something that will go away over time, or should I look into more solutions? Thank you!
Thank you so much for all of your help thus far! I got the Nizoral, and we gave her a bath two days ago. The flakes seem much much less prevalent, but she still has a patch of fur that is a bit sensitive. When I gently tug, a lot of hair seems to come out, and those hairs still have tiny dead skin flecks. Is this normal/ something that will go away over time, or should I look into more solutions? Thank you!
Hi all,
New member, long time piggy mum here.
Having researched every part of the internet I am fairly certain that my cheeky chap, Fatbutt Finn has a fungal infection. He has no scabs, the skin isn't red or sore looking but he WILL NOT let me part the fur to look at it without a succession of sharp nips on my arm. He is scratching more than usual but not excessively. He has a lot of flaky white and in some places light brown, skin. He is tricolour so I assume the flakes will be coloured according to his fur colour like ear colour with ear wax?
My question is, when bathing and shampooing with Nizoral, how often should this be done? bpatters mentions it take a long time to clear up so should I be doing this weekly, monthly? I will also be bathing his cagemate - 3 month old himi, Ollie. He itches a little but barely noticeable.
New member, long time piggy mum here.
Having researched every part of the internet I am fairly certain that my cheeky chap, Fatbutt Finn has a fungal infection. He has no scabs, the skin isn't red or sore looking but he WILL NOT let me part the fur to look at it without a succession of sharp nips on my arm. He is scratching more than usual but not excessively. He has a lot of flaky white and in some places light brown, skin. He is tricolour so I assume the flakes will be coloured according to his fur colour like ear colour with ear wax?
My question is, when bathing and shampooing with Nizoral, how often should this be done? bpatters mentions it take a long time to clear up so should I be doing this weekly, monthly? I will also be bathing his cagemate - 3 month old himi, Ollie. He itches a little but barely noticeable.