Sick Piggy! Need help!!

[Hsayshi]

I’m so scared for my guinea pig.

I have two piggies, both males. I’ve had them for almost a year now, and just last weekend I noticed one was missing patches of fur on his side. He looked so sad and painful. When I touched him, he would shiver as if he was cold. The other pig is perfectly fine. Very happy and his usually self.

I’m a vet tech and was pretty sure this was a case of mites. I told myself I should treat them monthly as a precaution, but never got around to it. Now I’m paying the price I guess. No crusty skin, no signs of fleas or anything I could see with my eyes. Just very itchy and painful, so I bought ivermectin and read the proper dosage on many different sites and checked with docs just to make sure I dosed correctly. Gave him and his pig mate the proper amount behind the ear. It’s been 3 days and I noticed he has some questionable skin patches that looked as if it was growing fungi, so I gave him an anti-fungal bath yesterday.

He’s still so itchy and is hurting himself. He has a bunch of scabs, so I made him a sock sweater so that he can’t itch anymore. I’m so worried that he won’t get better. He’s still eating, drinking, and seems in okay spirits. He doesn’t popcorn when I go to feed them anymore, which I think is because he’s mad at me for manhandling him so much, but he still loves his hay and comes out after a sec. He chatters his teeth at me for a sec when I go to get him out to check on him and fix his sock sweater which makes me sad, but he doesn’t bite me or anything, and let’s me pick him up as usual.

Am I overreacting? Is it too soon to tell if it’s working? Should I wait it out? The vet is so expensive, should I wait it out before I take him?

This pic is after a bath so his hair is fluffy
https://ibb.co/0KRPJdr



https://ibb.co/z6dTCmJ

[Sef]

That looks extremely painful. Read what I posted here:
viewtopic.php?p=2306187#p2306187

Ivermectin should be dosed at least 3 separate times, 7 days apart. Stubborn cases may require an additional round.

What type of Ivermectin do you have? What is his weight, and what dose did you give? It may take some time to see improvement, as severe as that looks. Do you have any Metacam on hand for pain?

You will also want to treat his cagemate.

[Sef]

As an additional note, the teeth chattering and reluctance to be picked up are most likely due to pain and extreme skin sensitivity caused by the mites themselves and that fairly significant wound on his side from scratching and biting at the itch--not due to him being mad at you.

[Hsayshi]

I unfortunately don’t have any Metacam, and would need to take him to a vet to get a prescription. I heard somewhere you can give children’s ibuprofen, but don’t want to risk anything at this point. I have a liquid ivermectin that is strictly for topical use at 5mg per mL. Made sure there weren’t any other added ingredients. He’s around 2.1lbs or about a kilo (when I dosed him, but I can tell he is losing a small bit of weight now) and I was instructed that 0.5mg/kilo would suffice. So I needed about 0.1mL. This ended up being about a drop when I used a syringe to measure. Placed this behind the ears and rubbed it in. Also treated his cage mate. They both took it very well. No side effects. Seemed to make the sick one a bit happier if anything, but still extremely itchy.

I will continue to dose them for another 3 weeks. Anything I can do to help? Or should he see a professional sooner?

[Hsayshi]

Also, I’ve been applying antibacterial ointment to the wounds.

[Lynx]

Do you give the guinea pigs a weekly health check? It is never good to let mites progress to this point. More about treating mites on this page:
http://www.guinealynx.info/mites.html

Weigh all your guinea pigs once a week at least. Use antibacterial creams sparingly. If ingested, they can cause serious digestive problems.

[Sef]

I would ask for Metacam for pain, if he is not eating and is losing weight. If the condition is severe enough, a corticosteriod such as Prednisone can also be given but NOT concurrently with an NSAID.

Ditto the precautions with an antibacterial cream.

[Hsayshi]

I usually regularly check the piggies. I clean their ears when needed and trim their nails. Also I clean them (yuck) because boy piggies need special maintenance, and check their skin for signs of anything, but this week I just moved homes and didn’t take a good look at them until it was too late.

Thanks for the warning about the antibiotic ointment. Luckily it’s in a spot he can’t reach while wrapped, but I will keep an eye on it.

He seems to be doing better today actually, his appetite has been pretty steady. He loves treats, his food, and hay still. He doesn’t shiver when I touch him anymore, but I may call my vet again and see what we can do about pain and schedule something. Will keep you updated.

Thanks for all of the help!

[Hsayshi]

Called my vet, and they don’t have any openings for another couple of days :( since he is stable they want me to wait 2 more days until they can see me.

Good news! His scabs are healed!!

https://ibb.co/YZ5VT3g



https://ibb.co/f4mNLXS

[Lynx]

It sounds like the ivermectin is starting to help. If the scabs are healed, are you seeing much less scratching?

Let me know if you'd like your pictures added permanently to your topic for future readers.

[Sef]

Looks much less raw. You'll want to continue with the full 3-4 treatments, though, to ensure that the mites are gone. It looks like he also has some hair thinning/loss back towards his rear and on his front leg up towards his torso.

He's very handsome!

[Hsayshi]

Sure! You can attach the pics!

I think he is very handsome too!

https://ibb.co/TKCWw34

Went to the vet today. She said she thinks what I’m doing is working. I told her about how itchy he was and how I think he’s uncomfortable, but she didn’t want to give him any meds for it :( She gave me revolution because she recommended it over the ivermectin and wants me to do 3 doses. Once every 14 days.

The itchiness still seems to bother him though. Once I got back, I took him out of the makeshift wrap I made to apply the new medicine. In that time, he bit a new wound on his back :( Vet gave me vet wrap so I’ve wrapped him with that so he can’t bite himself.

His one side is healing very nicely though.

https://ibb.co/B6S3VZv

[Lynx]

I will try to remember to add your pics later. It is also handy to have them displayed on the page.

Here are some bandaging techniques too:
http://www.guinealynx.info/bandaging.html

The revolution should help. I hope he gets relief soon, if she is not going to prescribe anything for the painful itching
http://www.guinealynx.info/mites.html

[Sef]

I would have insisted on some Metacam, but hopefully he won't need it. Keep us posted!

[Hsayshi]

Hi! So it’s been a slow recovery, but I think we are finally seeing real improvement!

He did bite that new wound in his back last I posted, but the scab has healed and already come off. He is definitely less itchy, but still in some places in particular. That spot on his back really bothered him. More than his side did, he’d even cry a bit if I touched it, but now it’s only slightly bothersome! I have been weaning him off of the wraps, but I still think he needs it while I’m asleep/at work. We’re getting there...

The fur on his arm is almost completely back, and fur is growing in other places again! I can see baby hairs if I look closely. You can also see the spot on his back that is missing some hair.

https://ibb.co/QcXTKbQ



In this pic you can see his progress! He’s on my lap right now and warming up from an anti-fungal bath (as prescribed by the vet)

https://ibb.co/dWfjR6g

Hopefully next update he’ll have a full coat again :)

Also, meet his buddy, Henry!

https://ibb.co/wKRzhP7

If you’re wondering, I have two attached Midwest guinea pig habitats! But they like being nearby each other :)

[Lynx]

I am so happy to hear he is doing so well! I bet he will be thrilled to be cured of mites.

[Sef]

That's good news! Was the vet sure there was a fungal element to it? I ask because a water-based bath can make mites flare up. Unless the vet is sure there is a fungal infection along with the mites, I think I'd be inclined to hold off until he has improved even more. Others might want to weigh-in on it, though.

Are you still giving him Ivermectin treatments? Remind me...did we double-check the dosage on it for you? As severe as this was, he may need more than 3 treatments.

[Hsayshi]

Yeah there was a spot on his back where he had chewed that had a white-ish powdery texture. The vet told me to bathe him with miconazole shampoo once a week for 2 weeks (or if I notice new spots) and let him soak so I could get it out. Also said he shouldn’t have live mites anymore so it shouldn’t bother him as much if anything but she gave me 3 full treatments of revolution to be sure we kill them all/their hatched eggs. I may do another round of my ivermectin after that. Will use the ivermectin I bought as a preventative from now on.

Thanks for all of the help!

[Sef]

I see. Hopefully he will continue to heal up. It's a huge improvement over those earlier photos!

It's not necessary to use the Ivermectin as a preventive, and could in theory cause mites to become immune to it. You could certainly do an extra round of it if he still show signs of itching/scratching, though.

[Hsayshi]

Thanks, I didn’t know that. I’ll keep it on me just in case