Guineapig skin problem

Question

Guinea pig   QUESTION: Hi, I was wondering if you can help me. My guineapig has a skin problem and I'm not sure what it is or what i should do to help her. Ive attached a photo. Thank you for your help.

ANSWER: This is unusual to get two pictures at the same time of the same problem. I need to ask the same question that I did of the other reader and that's: where exactly is this on the body? It appears to be on the rear end of the pig, is that correct?  

Without meaning to sound evasive I have to ask a couple of other questions first. 1. How long has this been there. 2. Have you used anything on it? 3. This is going to sound like a silly question but are you sure this is a female?

The reason for the question is that males have a gland on their bum that excretes a greasy substance apparently attractive to females. The young boars don't seem to develop it until around a year old. The grease builds up and the hair over and around it pulls out very easily.

If you would bear with me and send me a picture of the whole pig I can get a better idea. I apologize for not having an instant answer for you, but with your help we can hopefully figure this out.

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2   QUESTION: Thank you for getting back to me. I got my guinea pig from a rescue centre 2 years ago and they told me she is a girl. i am quite sure she is because i had a neutered boy before and i got her so he had some company and they got on well but he died a few months ago. yes the skin problem is on her back, i have attached some more photos. it started off as a tiny red scab like thing about a week ago which came off. i gave her a bath with some guinea pig anti bacterial shampoo and put some cream called 'johnsons tea tree skin cream to sooth and calm itchy skin'. i noticed she had this before, i did the same thing and it went away and the hair grew back. this time it has got worse, more hair has come off and the patch is quite big now. although it has not got worse from yesterday but has not got better either. She also has a large round lump underneath on her belly that has been there for a long time, i dont know if that has anything to do with it. the vet said its probably a tumour but i decided not to risk remove it as it stopped growing and it was not affecting her.

Answer
Thank you so much for the new pictures. That helps a great deal. Because of the position on the back I think what she has are mites. They tend to gravitate to the top of the back as that's the hardest place for the pig to reach to scratch them.

I would suggest that you get some Adams Spray or dip from your pet store. It says on the bottle that it's for puppies and kittens, but it's also good for treating mites. If you're using the dip you just mix it according to the instructions on the bottle. It doesn't take very much. The secret is to dip the pig completely except of course for her head and face.

I very often use the bathroom sink, as it's small enough for the job. You can also use a shoe box shaped container made of plastic to mix the solution in. Use warm water,just be careful it's not too warm. If you can put your wrist in the water and barely feel it then it's the right temperature.

Sit her in the water solution and using your hand just gently pour it over her entire bag. You want her soaked completely. Here's the most important part: do not dry her off. Don't use a hair dryer or even a towel. Just put a towel down and let her drip dry.

One treatment should be enough. All pigs get mites, so it's nothing you've done or not done. It's just part of piggy life and is not a problem unless it gets so out of control that they begin losing all their hair and scratching incessantly. If you have any other pigs you can use the same bowl of water and treat them all at the same time.

As for the tumor on her belly, she very likely has an ovarian tumor. It's fairly common in sows, especially those who've never been bred. They are rarely malignant and should not cause her any problem. The expense and risk of anesthesia and surgery is not worth the risk of losing her to the surgery. So don't feel any guilt for not trying to have it removed. She will be fine and still live out her life with it.