[Gpdd] HEALTH: Black things in Phylo's fur

[Megan Gladney]

Hi everyone! I just had a question regarding something I've been finding in 
Phylo's fur. The Ivermectin is working great for his lice - haven't seen any 
of the live little wrigglers for a while and his bum fur isn't flaky or full 
of eggs anymore. However, he has a white band of fur around his middle, and 
I noticed since he's gotten a little bigger, he's been getting black flakes 
there. Now, these things aren't moving and when I did the "flea dirt" test 
with the water and paper towel, they don't dissolve and they don't leave a 
red-brown mark.  (Plus the fact that the flakes are flat and irregular in 
shape - I heard that flea dirt is comma shaped?) They're usually found at 
the ends of his fur, on top - never close to the skin. I've squat a couple 
in between my fingernails and it looks like black dander flakes. (My Chewie 
had dark fur and skin and she shed dark flakes whenever I found dander on 
her.) Is thinking that these flakes are possible dark dander from his 
patches of dark fur a plausible explanation? He's not itching or scratching 
at himself and I haven't seen any fleas or any other bugs.  Dr. DeZeeuw 
ruled out mites the last time he was there to get diagnosed. Also, he's my 
only pig and hasn't been in contact with any other animals - piggies or 
otherwise. Any advice anyone has would be great!

Phylo and his worried mom.