Hard lump under chin, soft poop as well?
Seems like forever since I've been on here! Nickel, penny, and shammy all have nits and a few lice in their fur (I've only seen live ones in nickel, nits in the rest). What should I do about the fleece bedding? Do I just wash it in hot water and it'll be fine? Do I buy new fleece? Also, how do they get lice?
Is it alright to feed my pigs (theyre all over 6 months) oxbow's young guinea pig food? A friend of mine gave me a bag of it after her foster pig got adopted... if not I can buy a bag of adult pellets, I just feel bad wasting food :)
All of them are over a year old. I don't know of any shelters or people with young guinea pigs around me; that's why I was wondering if I could use it so it wouldn't go to waste.
I think it's best to go to the vet, but I don't want to waste a lot of money if it's nothing so I'm just making sure you agree that I should go...
Nickel sheds a LOT (there are times when chunks of fur come out, or if I pet her my hand is covered in fur). She also has dandruff looking flakes on her fur... on her stomach there's a bump (it reminds me of a mole, not an abscess) above her nipples, and the skin on her nipples comes off. Her poop is really soft and smells of dog poop, and it gets stuck on her nails and there is residue left on her butt hole (is that what you call it?).
Should I go to the vet?
Nickel sheds a LOT (there are times when chunks of fur come out, or if I pet her my hand is covered in fur). She also has dandruff looking flakes on her fur... on her stomach there's a bump (it reminds me of a mole, not an abscess) above her nipples, and the skin on her nipples comes off. Her poop is really soft and smells of dog poop, and it gets stuck on her nails and there is residue left on her butt hole (is that what you call it?).
Should I go to the vet?
I probably seem like the worst guinea pig owner ever (I promise I'm not I'm just really paranoid!!) right now with the amount of times I come on here with questions, but my intuition is making me a bit unsettled. Penny has dry skin all over her body (she's had it for a long time) and when I brush her backwards - yes they don't like it but I wanted to see her skin - she cries out. She has a decent amount of hair being shed but not to the point where there's bald spots... I brushed her for a few minutes just now and the brush is packed with fur... she's also been a lot more roudy lately; she's mounting and chasing the other pigs a lot which she usually doesn't do often at all. Is this something vet worthy or am I just being paranoid? Should I give her a bath to get rid of the dry skin?