Guniea pig scratching

[what..the?]

I have a blonde guinea pig which runs round squeeling and scratching himself. I have looked an his fur and skin and there nothing there. I have treated him anyway with one of the spot-on treatments for guinea pigs and he is still behaving the same.

Does any one have anyone had any experience of this, what might it be????

[cyberfraggle]

maybe mites? When I worked in the pet shop the 2 biggest causes of guinea pigs doing this was mites and ringworm, but I doubt it's ringworm if there's nothing there.

Have you changed anything recently he might be allergic to, cage cleaning disinfectant? new hay? different finer sawdust?

How old is he? have you had him long? I love guinea pigs so much I've kept them for years :) They are just the cutest little animals.

[TIGGERLIT]

hi guinea pigs are very prone to skin probs due to lack of vitamin c. like what the other person has said you need to check all this. also sometimes a batch of hay can have mites in it. i rescue g.p`s and i do get alot with skin probs. what i do is use hibbi scrub or cradle cap shampoo to bath them in. if you can tell me how old he is and how long you have had him i might be able to help more.
what can also happen is if he did have a case of mites before you got him then he may just think hes still got them but hasnt. let me know
thanks becki

[what..the?]

Thanks for the responses cyber and trigger. You both sound like big Guinea pig fans like me. I have 7 in all and they are a huge part of my life, they all live indoors.

The prevously mentioned Butterbean lives indoors I have had him since last october when I bought him from a breeder at a guinea pig show. He was just a baby I believe due to his small but not too small size. However he has not grown much since. He eats and drinks very well and his had no other health problems. I have checked his fur and his skin which all seem fine. My other guinea pigs all have dark fur and so it is hard to see any thing but butterbeans blonde fur is easy to check. His teeth seem fine too. The only odd thing is that he has lose skin on his stomach area so when he is stood I felt his stomach and either side there was a little lose skin drooping? He was sucking his belly in a little because it was tickish though???? I worried about him eating enough and I am now feeding him more but he has always eaten everything and still is, so maybe not problem.

Thanks for help

[cyberfraggle]

He sounds so cute! I hope he's feeling better soon. If he's eating plenty and there's no obvious probs on his skin I wouldn't worry too much. Just a lot of TLC which he sounds like he's getting a lot of, and a few of his favourite fruit and veg, Carotts and Broccoli seem to by squiffys faves, with a little bit of whole tomato as a treat now and then. (called squiffy cos I rescued her and she'd had an ear infection as a baby so her head was at a 45 degree angle and it stayed like that, lovely just gotta make sure she's upright all the time, otherwise steps or drops she just rolls on her back and can't get up)

And butterbean is the cutest name too :) keep us informed.

[TIGGERLIT]

hi have you checked his gland just above his bum that could be blocked too, give it a wipe with some warm water and cotton wool.
yes you could say im a fan of the guineas i have just over 30 of them. i run a small rescue for rabbits and guineas, but when they come to me they stay for life.
if you are worried about his weight what you could do is weigh him every 3rd day and write it down.

[what..the?]

Thank you for advice, I will keep you updated

You can see butter bean at :

https://www.youtube.com/profile?user=CornwallKa te

xx

[pmjblue]

i always seem to be recommending this, but it is really good - camrosa ointment
http://www.camrosa.co.uk/other_animals.htm