Guinea pig mites

Question
My guinea pig has some hair loss and has dandruff bad and has dry skin and maybe scabs all over. Also today he might have had a seizure on my lap. I saw that all of these might be from mites. On the internet it says to take them to a vet but I cant afford that. Is there any in-home treatment or anything I can do. I read to put vaseline or bag balm on the skin. Does this work. Thanks


Answer
Hi Lauren,

It's a mixed yes and no.

Yes, there are plenty of at-home treatments you can do for mites. I'd recommend www.gorgeousguineas.com and their Lice n Easy shampoo. It's much kinder to your piggy's skin than the insecticidal shampoos you can buy from vets, and I think it does a better job, too.

However, if your piggy's case has advanced to scabs and fitting, then he has probably had the mites for a long time and it has developed into mange. Mange is fatal, and you will not be able to treat it with shampoo alone. He will need a course of injections at the vet; usually only one, but sometimes two.

Usually I don't recommend injections as they are very painful for piggies, but yours seems to be suffering, so I think the best thing to do will be to take him to a specialist small animal or exotic pet vet. If you really can't afford it, try bathing him twice in Lice n Easy but if the fitting doesn't stop within 24 hours you'll need to take him to the vets anyway.

Hope this helps and good luck!
If you have any other questions, just ask.

Jenny.