my pot belly pig has a rash on his underbelly

Question
Hi

Our 1 1/2 month old pot belly pig recently developed a rash on his belly and legs.  What could cause that?  Any help would be great.

Many thanks

Tracy

Answer
I am not a veterinarian, and nobody can safely make an accurate medical diagnosis over the internet.

Rashes in pigs are usually caused by skin contact with an irritant, mange, or shedding. After a pig sheds, or blows his coat, the new coat coming in can make a bumpy rash on the softer skin on the lower sides, belly, inside legs and sometimes under the chin. This sort of "rash" is normal and will disappear in a day or two as the new coat comes in.

Mange can cause a dirty or greasy rash. Mange is caused by a tiny mite. There's several kinds of mite, the kind that causes mange on pigs affects pigs only. Unlike fleas, they can not survive long off the pig, and must lay their eggs on the pig. The first dose of medicine kills all the living mites. The second dose two weeks later kills any mites that hatched from eggs after the first dose. Your vet can identify mange by examining the rash, and looking at a skin scraping under a microscope. There's a list of vets that see pot-bellied pigs at www.farec.org.

Pig skin is very much like human skin. Exposure to something irritating, like a chemical, can cause a rash. Stinging or biting insects like red ants, fire ants, or ground wasps leave tiny bites. A lot of bites close together looks like a rash. Examine the pigs area for anything that could be a skin irritant, or stinging or biting insects. Old, moldy straw can sometimes cause a skin infection. Find and remove the offending irritant, and the rash (or bites) should heal in a few days. If they linger longer than a week, they may be infected and piggy will need to see a vet.