scab on guinea pig below nose

Question
My  5 month old silky has suddenly developed small scabs on both sides immediately below his nose.  He look s like he has a small hitler mustache. I put a brick in his cage to keep him cool and wonder if he scratched himself. it suddenly appeared 2 nights ago. Did I give him too much fennel or other food and he has an allergy?  He is running and eating and wheeking and tormenting his brother as usual and shows no sign of pain. I cleaned it with a sterile gauze pad and he didn't flinch. It looks about the same today - he's had it for about 2 1/2 days now. At first I thought it was green residue from his herbs.but the next day I could see it is scabbed . He is separated from his brother because they fight but can stick his little snout through the white wire cage separator -  ( the 14 inch white wire cubes that you can get from Target.) Any ideas?  thank you very much,
Elizabeth, Mocha and Timmy

Answer
Hi Elizabeth,

I think you need a little experimentation.  I don't think it's anything serious because you say he is otherwise acting normally.

First try two things - remove the brick because it is a new element and check the cage "holes" for newly developed sharp places.  Piggies can chew the plastic off of the wire and the plastic can actually have little sharp edges.  If you find some places where the plastic is sharp; use an emery board to file it smooth.  Check for sharp edges on other things he might chew too, like the igloos for guinea pigs, if he has one.  You can use soda bottles filled with water and frozen when it gets hot.  I use fans too - but I point them away from the cages to draw the heat out instead of blowing the air on them.

Second thing to try - remove one kind of fresh treat for a week or so and see if there's any improvement.  This is sort of trial and error... you simply try one food at a time.  Some piggies can even be allergic to some component of the pellets, buts this is very, very rare.  I have never heard of giving a guinea pig fennel, but because of its "medicinal" value in herbal remedies I would start with it.  Be careful with herbs, many can double as legitimate medicines and have strong essential oils. A little bit might do a lot of harm when combined with the small size of a guinea pig.  Same goes for apple seeds, which contain cyanide (a poison) - it would take a cup of apple seeds to kill a human, but takes only a few to kill a guinea pig.

Third - watch for infection.  It is safe to smear a very thin coat of triple antibiotic ointment on the area, but don't let him eat any.  If the area becomes red or tender or otherwise looks infected, call a vet who specializes in guinea pigs (or a breeder).

One other thing - make sure he doesn't have a runny nose.  Sometimes discharge will dry under the nose and either brake off and cause scabbing or look like scabbing.  If he's got a runny nose but is breathing okay he may be breathing in too much dust or have an allergy to his bedding (or hay).  If he has any sign of difficulty breathing (rattling, wheezing, coughing, etc.) take him to a vet right away.  And no penicillin family antibiotics.

I hope this helps some.  I don't think that you have a serious problem right now and I'm glad you are taking steps to see that it doesn't become serious.

Annie