Callie - Scratching/Head Shaking

IssaG

Post   » Fri Jul 27, 2018 12:16 am


2.5 month old Callie is doing a fair amount of scratching at her ears and shaking her head. If she was a cat I'd say she had ear mites. It's not all the time and she's eating well and running around. She does have a fair amount of hair missing behind her ears but from what I read on this site is that hair loss there can be normal. The area is smooth, not crusty or flaky and Callie didn't shake me off when I touched the area. So it doesn't look like the descriptions of fungus or mites I've read about but I'm not sure.

I looked her over tonight and didn't see any other patches of hair loss. What could this be, or what else should I look for?

Erinspigs

Post   » Fri Jul 27, 2018 12:27 am


Others will be able to post with more experience but I would treat for mites. It sure sounds like mites to me

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri Jul 27, 2018 12:34 am


The normal bald spot behind a pig's ear is usually small and well defined. If there's thinning hair, it may be a fungus.

I'd treat her for mites. You can't see them, but the itching is a good indication.

See https://www.guinealynx.info/ivermectin.html. There are several links at the bottom of the page you also need to read.

However, just to make it short, you need a .5% or 1% ivermectin solution. That's applied behind the ears. Don't get the horse/cattle paste -- it's too hard to adequately dilute. But you should be able to find either the pour-on or the injectable (it gets poured on too), and they're much easier to dose accurately.

IssaG

Post   » Fri Jul 27, 2018 12:52 am


Alright, I'll start with mites and see what happens. I've got a farm store close that I think will have what I need.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri Jul 27, 2018 1:06 am


If not, I know you can order either kind of ivermectin from Amazon.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Jul 27, 2018 10:30 am


Are the ears dirty? They can be cleaned with a product like Otoclens. Dirty ears can hide mites.

IssaG

Post   » Fri Jul 27, 2018 2:08 pm


Not sure if her ears are dirty since her ears are black and I didn't look at the inside much. But I'll check tonight.

I called the farm store and they have ivermectin. So all I need to do is figure out if I can find the right kind of syringe around here. I know I can order them online but I'm hoping I can find something I can buy today so I can start treating this evening.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri Jul 27, 2018 3:22 pm


You can get a free syringe from any pharmacy. You need a 1 cc syringe without a needle, but NOT an insulin syringe.

rjespicer

Post   » Fri Jul 27, 2018 3:28 pm


One of our girls does this and still does. It got so bad she started falling over whenever she shook her head so we took her to the vet. They checked here ears but said they were clear and no sign of mites so suspected an inner ear infection.

She was on Baytril for 10 days and that seemed to fix her balance issues but she still scratches and shakes her head a lot but she has been in to the vet twice since then and they didn't spot anything in the ear or mites. She seems happy and healthy enough at the moment but we are keeping a close eye on her

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri Jul 27, 2018 4:06 pm


There is no definitive test for mites. If she's scratching and shaking her head, I'd treat her for mites.

IssaG

Post   » Fri Jul 27, 2018 4:13 pm


You can get the syringes at a pharmacy? Sweet. I feel more confident about this whole thing now.

Husband called and said Nibbles, Callie's cage mate, was scratching at her ears this morning, something she has never done before. So looks like I'll be treating both of them. Where do I apply the Ivermectin? Just around the ears where she seems to be scratching?

rjespicer

Post   » Fri Jul 27, 2018 4:29 pm


Thanks for the heads up bpatters. Will keep an eye on her and see if we need to get her treated.

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