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About Nicole Bury
Expertise
I can answer every question anyone has! I am always willing to hit the books for other owners! I and my husband between me have 6 guinea pigs and one expecting, that we intend to keep 2 of. I can help with idle questions, everyday problems to serious health problems but I always sugget seeing a vet!

Experience
I have had 14 guinea pigs in my life with more to come. I have volunteered at the local shelter just to work with the small animals on a weekly basis and I have been to countless vets to soak up there advice, as well as looking in my 50 something books on guinea pigs. I know almost everything I can wrap my head around about guinea pigs! Sometimes my husband, who is an exotic bird vet/guinea pig fanatic helps me with the questions to!

Organizations
I belong to S.A.R.S. BC. It stands for Small Animal Rescue Shelter.

Publications
The Vancouver sun.

Education/Credentials
I have taken community courses for pet care, including small animals, but I have not been to school formal education (I am not a vet). Currently I am in the process of becoming a published author and I have my degree in creative writing. Someday I will have my masters. I teach local classes for advanced creative writing and literature for teens.

Awards and Honors
I have had my writing published in the paper for the fourtenth time about animal pet care facts. Nothing big, just me and a few other writers.

You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Exotic Pets > Guinea Pigs > purplish ears and painful itching

Guinea Pigs - purplish ears and painful itching

Expert: Nicole Bury - 11/8/2009

Question
My 11 year old daughter has a female guniea pig we have kept now for almost a year. It periodically develops itching almost to the point of making it uncomfortably madd. It even squeals in pain at timeswhen scratching. Most recently it is developing purplish or even blue/black rims around the outside of both ears. I do not know why this is happening and am concerned that the flesh is actually dying. Could this be true? What can be done? Does it have some kind of mite on the outer ear? And why all the painful itching?

Answer
Hello Margo!
Simply put, mange mites. I suspect an infestation or perhaps something like them. I will give you a link to a GREAT site and directly to the page about mites. I suggest bookmarking this page. I suggest that whether you to think it is mites or perhaps something else on the 'hair loss' page then you MUST see a vet ASAP. This could determine the life or death of the piggy.

http://www.guinealynx.info/hairloss.html

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