There are several mites that affect gerbils, rats, and guinea pigs, the most common of which are fur mites, demodex mites, ear mites, and cheyletiella.
- Fur mites often cause intense itching, hair loss, and self-inflicted trauma.
- Demodectic mites cause demodicosis or demodectic mange. The mites live within the animal’s hair follicles. They don’t really cause any symptoms but when there is something wrong the animal’s immune system, that is the time when they multiply and cause signs. Affected pets have hair loss and crusts on their skin.
- Ear mites (Notoedres sp) are mainly see on rats and hamsters. They cause itching and formation of crusts on the edges of the ears. There may also be sores on the nose and face of the animal, and scabs can form anywhere on the animal’s body.
- Cheyletiella causes cheyletiellosis or walking dandruff. The mites are very small and may appear as excessive dandruff on the animal’s hair coat, usually between the shoulder blades and on their back.
Any signs of parasite infestation should be brought to the attention of your vet care North Phoenix, AZ.
