Guinea pig scratches herself constantly
QI have a 2-year-old guinea pig who has started scratching herself quite a bit. I have an appointment to see the vet in two weeks but wonder if you can recommend something I can give her to make her more comfortable. I do not see any obvious things crawling on her. She has not lost any hair or gotten to the point of having any reddened skin, but she seems to be driving herself crazy. All of this seems to have developed out of thin air. I don’t want to succumb to being a diagnostician on my own and be led by what I can look up on the internet, but I can’t get her in earlier due to my schedule.
Any suggestions?
AThere are a few basic causes for itching in guinea pigs, and if things aren’t too bad, I would either wait until your veterinarian sees the animal or get in sooner. None of the typical causes are too detrimental. Be sure that the veterinarian you are seeing has familiarity with guinea pigs, and if not, find one who does.
The basic causes of itching in this species are mites, lice, ringworm (fungal infections) or allergic reactions to the bedding or wood shavings. Ringworm might be transmissible to people, so be wise in handling your animal until the diagnosis and wash your hands after doing so. Are you using anything new for shavings? If so, change that.
If you do not do the diagnostics first, you may end up treating for the wrong thing. While there are products you could use to treat specific causes, doing so wrongly would not help your pet. The products we veterinarians use after diagnostics to treat these common ailments include ivermectin, selamectin, antifungal products and corticosteroids, in a few cases.
The good news is that all of these conditions can be cured, and hopefully your guinea pig will be just fine.