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My guinea pig is scratching after sitter. Could it be mites?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Small Animal | Unknown - Small Animal | Male

Hi, my guniea pig has been scratching himself alot for 2 days now, ever since I've gotten him back from my guniea pig sitter. Now, he has been scratching himself more often, sometimes all over.

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Claudia Fioravanti

Veterinarian

Published on September 4th, 2018

Hi, he could have mites. I would suggest your ring your local vets to have him checked over and if anything else is excluded you could treat him with drops on the back of the neck for mites. Hope this helps !

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    Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 13th, 2019

    This is likely to be caused by a severe mites infestation. An immediate check up is required to give specific treatment and avoid further spreading of the infection. Ivermectin and antibiotics may be needed.

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    Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

    Veterinarian

    Published on December 16th, 2017

    If all three are scratching then I think you are either dealing with lice, mites or fleas most likely. I would recommend to use a product called Revolution on them. This product must be carefully calculated based on the weights of each G pig. I would also recommend to take them to the vet to see if the doctor can identify the cause of the problem. Different parasites require different treatment regiments. I hope this helps!

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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Related Questions

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Hello, pls can you help my Guinea pig? I'm worried
This is likely to be caused by a severe mites infestation. An immediate check up is required to give specific treatment and avoid further spreading of the infection. Ivermectin and antibiotics may be needed.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Alright, my guinea pig has been scratching a lot, and I think he might have fleas, or something of the sort. He nibbles on parts of him, usually on the back side, and and scratches, but when I check his fur I can’t really see anything, it might be be
It's not likely to be fleas (not common in guinea pigs and you would usually see them) , it's more likely to be mites, which are tiny creatures that you cannot see with the naked eye. you will need to buy a treatment against mites, you can find those at pet shops and veterinary clinics.
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My guinea pig is itching a place on his neck and I don't know what it is. Also he won't allow me to touch/look it with out growling
This is likely to be caused by a skin infection, possibly due to a bacterial or mites infestation. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!
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My guinea pig is itching his back a lot and there's no sign of missing hair but there's a rough small patch. My local vet said everything's fine but I disagree. Please help I feel so bad
This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.
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my guinea pig has scabs on his sides and under his elbows, i wasnt sure if it could be from his nails when he scratches or if it could be an illness or a bug? i sadly dont have any pictures, as i am away from them for a few days. i dont have a lot of
What a hard situation to try to handle while you are away from Frodo! The reason for the scratching may be any of the things you mentioned - an infection caused by bacteria or fungus, parasites, allergies, or another cause. Until you get home, you can recommend to the person who is watching him for you to make sure there is nothing in the environment that he could be reacting to - pine and cedar shavings can be irritating to the skin, and should be removed if present. Otherwise, it will be supportive care until you get back and can take him in to see a vet and get treatment. His appetite and activity should be monitored closely - getting a digital gram scale (found in the kitchen section on many department stores) is a good idea so he can be weighed daily to make sure he is not losing weight. Make sure his fecal pellets (poops) also continue to be normal in size, shape, and moisture content. If anything changes about any of these parameters, he needs to go to the vet before you get hom
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i have 3 guinea pigs and all 3 are scratching on their backs,i cant see any thing there no hairloss or redness, did feel a bit scabby though, used a pour on for mites earlier and seemed a bit better , but have started to scrat again,
If all three are scratching then I think you are either dealing with lice, mites or fleas most likely. I would recommend to use a product called Revolution on them. This product must be carefully calculated based on the weights of each G pig. I would also recommend to take them to the vet to see if the doctor can identify the cause of the problem. Different parasites require different treatment regiments. I hope this helps!
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My guinea pig is constantly itchy and being very anti social . What could it be ? He's just scratching and biting himself .
Hi, Guinea pigs commonly get mites and lice. Other things could be ringworm, vitamin C deficiency, or other infection of the skin. The treatments for these must come from m a veterinarian for proper dosing given Mozzy’s small size. therefore, I’d recommend taking Mozzy to a veterinarian for an exam soon. Good luck.
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Hello, I have two new guinea pigs (females), they are three months old and I got them at the store. I have them on fleece. I don't know when this started, but they are scratching and biting themselves quite a lot. I tried to check them and I think I
Congratulations on your new guinea pigs! The most common cause of itching and dried skin in a new guinea pig would be mites (more common) or lice of the skin. Unfortunately you usually will not be able to see these with the naked eye and a vet will need to check your guinea pigs over and do a skin scrape to check for the parasites. In the US we most commonly use a product called Revolution to treat these parasites, but it is prescription only and also requires the guinea pigs to be accurately weighed to determine the safe dose. For these reasons, unfortunately, I would not recommend rubbing coconut oil on their skin. It could cause further irritation and delaying treatment could result in more expense if skin lesions appear and become infected.
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Can bedding make a guinea pig itch?
Hello, and thank you for your question. It is possible for bedding to cause itchiness if the pet is allergic to the material, or if the bag of litter carried parasites such as mites. I would suggest using a paper-based bedding such as Care Fresh: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/carefresh-natural-pet-bedding It may also be a good idea to swap out the bag of bedding altogether for a new one, and thoroughly disinfect the cage with soap and water in case of parasites. Of course, the itchiness could also be unrelated to the bedding, so if the itchiness does not improve after making these changes, I would recommend visiting your veterinarian for a further workup. They may perform a skin scraping and provide medication if they suspect a bacterial infection. I hope this helps, and that Robert feels better soon!
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