I have two guinea pigs. Both of them had white flakes...one of my guinea pigs does not have it anymore, but my other one has it, and it has gotten worse-it has white and grey flakes. I always feed them alfalfa, fruits, veggies, and hay. They also scratch a lot. What's wrong with my guinea pig?
Answers:
its just dandruff, let them play in some chinchilla sand once or twice a week, it will help a little.
no
They have dandruff. This is ok. If they lick themselves, they usually get white flakes. It just means they are keeping themselves clean but not quite. I would buy a special pet shampoo at petsmart or petco and wash your guinea pigs. If you allready do this, keep it up. There is really nothing wrong with them. :) Hope I helped you!
i'm not sure but u need to take him to a vet quick and d't listen to that second person
OH yes, I had that same problem with my pet rabbit. When we took him to the vet, she said he was infested with mites from the bagged wood chips we used at the bottom of his cage. The cedar kind was too strong but she said, the pet chips do contain mites and if they lay in it they can get it.
It was stressing him out and all he did was scratch. She treated him with a shot that when it got into the bloodstream would kill the mites as they fed off him. Bathed and combed him. We liked to never get rid of them.
Are they scratching? Do you see any scabs or patches of skin where hair used to be? If you don't see any of these things, then you're probably safe from mites, mange, and lice. If you start seeing these signs, though, take them to the vet, pronto.
Generally, flakes mean dandruff, which happens in every species with hair. How old are your piggies? Pigs older than a year should be fed timothy hay instead of alfalfa, as well as timothy hay-based pellets. What kind of veggies do they get? It could be a kind of vitamin deficiency which is causing their skin to dry out. What kind of bedding are you using? It's possible they're having an allergic reaction to the bedding as well. Stay away from anything that's dusty, like sawdust, and anything with high odors, like Cedar (BIG no-no). I use a combination Aspen and Carefresh bedding.
Check out Guinea Lynx's nutrition page for ideas of where to start. They also have great info on parasites like mites, lice, and mange. Good luck!
Take em to the vet.
Its probably just dandruff %26 scratching due to dry skin. I had two pigs that had dandruff during the winter due to the heater running in the house, thus drying out their skin.
This dry skin can be remedied by shampooing your piggies with specialized shampoo. There is a company in the UK that sells these types of shampoos. Visit http://www.gorgeousguineas.com/... to view their products.
However, I want to urge you to to re-look at the flakes. Part the fur %26 look VERY closely at the flakes. If any of them appear to be moving, those flakes could actually be lice. If this is the case, then your piggies should be seen by a vet for lice treatment. Both piggies would need to be seen for parasite treatment, even if one is no longer showing symptoms. Parasites are very contagious.
If your piggies are scratching and have any areas of hair loss, scabs, or open sores, this could be mites %26 they would need treatment with Ivermectin. Mites cannot be seen with the naked eye and are painful for piggies.
Sorry, I don't mean to scare you half to death because its probably just dandruff, but I want you to cover all your bases to make sure its not something else since I can't physically *see* your piggies.
Best of luck!
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