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skin colored bumps ?

sally28

Active member
Hi my cavy Pumpkin is 8 years old and last years was diagnosed with SM.
Since then i look out for any excessive itching or symptoms. The last month she has been itching alot more than normal all over her body and chewing her feet.
I thought the chewing of her feet may be related to the SM so i took her along to the vet who suspected it could be and gave me a topical steroid spray to see if that would
Help. She now seems to have stopped biting her feet, but she is still itching her body.
I actually don't think this is the SM as apart from this she is doing great with her medication.
I regularly use frontline on her and haven't seen any fleas but i did notice she has doted about her body about 5 or 6 little skin colored bumps they are very small not much
bigger than a pin head but they hard. I have never seen what a tick looks like but i believe they burrow under the skin so was wondering if it could be ticks. Or could it be just nothing as i know dogs can get lumping and bumpy as they get older. I just don't like seeing her itching so any suggestions anyone and does there cavy have these little
lumps.

Thanks sally
 
I don't think the ordinary ticks burrow under the skin - they just stay latched on to the surface drinking blood and growing disgustingly fat! And they are round and grey and very easy to see (though tricky to remove). The little bumps could be harmless warts - my Oliver has a few of them round his neck but they don't seem to itch or cause any problems. I know what you mean about itching that doesn't seem SM related - Oliver is the same and my vet suggested that one of the side effects of gabapentin can be a dry skin. You could probably find a shampoo that would help (a baby shampoo might do, because babies with thin downy hair can get dry scalps) - or a friend rubs baby oil into her Cavaliers' coats and skin.

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
Thanks Kate for your response and explaining what ticks look like, im pleased to say she doesn't have them.
They are probably warts like you said, and i will get her some baby shampoo and give that a try as she is on gabapentin also and i didn't realise it causes dry skin.
Thanks sally
 
My Millie, now 7, has developed itchy skin, she's been going to the vet since Feb, and it's definitely not beasties. She did have a tic once but they are very obvious, especially when they get big and start to look like a stale rice krispie (apologies to cereal lovers).
She's currently using Virbac allerderm, a skin lipid complex, which seems to work for her, she's less itchy, her skin isn't as pink and inflammed and her coat is lovely and soft and thicker now she's not scratching herself bald.

Millie and Mandie (age5) have both had little spots, but they have gone away by themselves, a bit like human spots.

Hope this helps a bit.
 
The last month she has been itching alot more than normal all over her body and chewing her feet. I thought the chewing of her feet may be related to the SM so i took her along to the vet who suspected it could be and gave me a topical steroid spray to see if that would Help. She now seems to have stopped biting her feet, but she is still itching her body.

I don't know very much about SM symptoms or something that is Cavalier specific in terms of itching, but in general, my parents have golden retrievers and both used to chew their feet and itch and it was a food allergy (cats also get bumps on their necks that appear like flea bites, but are often symptoms of food allergies). Once they switched to homemade food both dogs stopped chewing their feet and scratching excessively.
 
Please get your vet to check out these bumps, it could be just old age lumps but it's always worth ruling out things in case it may be something more sinister going on.
 
Another thing that can cause itching - especially of feet and tummy at this time of year - are harvest mites. These are very tiny orange mites that get in-between the toes. Eventually they drop off but leave the skin intensely itchy. A friend says calendula ointment (which you can get from a chemist's) is good for the itchiness. So plenty of options to choose from - dry skin, food allergy, harvest mites...!!

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
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