[Gpdd] [HEALTH] <add your subject here>scratching

[ROYCE LARSON]

Hi,

     I just discovered gpdd two weeks ago so I am a very recent reader. I am very interested in any answers to Marge and her concerns about the scratching. It sounds a little bit like what Bud and I are going through. I got Bud, a darling short-haired tortoiseshell and white male in mid May when he was eight weeks old. I bought him from a good pet store and I specifically asked the owner about the problem of guinea pigs having mites when they come home from the pet store. She assured me that they only used one breeder just so that they wouldn't have that problem.
     When I was 13 I had guinea pigs but that was a looooong time ago and Bud is my first pig since my kids left home. He's my new baby and I didn't remember a lot about piggie behavior. He seemed to scratch a lot and I called the pet store to find out if this was normal. She said it was probably just normal grooming behavior.
     Time passed and I checked and checked for lice, mites, hair loss, anything! There was no sign of anything, but a month ago I finally took him to the vet when he started biting at his sides and got very, very grumpy, biting me for no reason. The vet didn't take any scrapings but, after a thorough exam, said it seemed most likely to be mites. She also told me to take him off dried pine shaving and bed him on shredded paper. Bud immediately began getting better and, after the course of three shots, he's much better. 
     The problem is that I am so sensitive to every scratch he makes and I don't know how much and what is normal. It is fall. Do piggies scratch more at this time of year? Is it the shedding season? The vet told me to come back if this didn't take care of it but I don't have any idea if a few scratches is normal or not. Does anybody have any guidelines or do different pigs scratch different amounts? I'm sure they must.

     By the way, how do I post pictures? Do I need to set up a website?

Thanks,
Carla and Bud