Black specs on my guinea pig's fur?

Question

i have a white Abyssinian guinea pig and i have noticed some black specs on his fur. he has had mites in the past but it was nothing like this. when he had mites before, there were no black specs but bald spots and cuts from scratching himself. now, he is very lethargic but he has been eating and drinking normally and i haven't seen him scratch a lot. i have two other guinea pigs so could this spread to them? Is it mites or just dirt? I REALLY need to know because my family is going on a week long vacation tonight and we are leaving them at our house. We are having the neighbors come and just make sure they have food and water.

I really need my baby to make it through this. My other guinea pig died giving birth to four lovely babies, however, one of the babies died as soon as it was born, and the other three did not have the mother's milk to survive. they eventually died, too.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!

*******10 POINTS FOR THE BEST ANSWER********

Answer 1

I would treat for fleas. www.guinealynx.com can help you with figuring out what to use, and dosage.

Or you can take him to the vet, which is what I would do if I felt uncertain.

Answer 2

you might want to take it to the vet.

if no one's there to keep a close eye on it for a week, it could die.

Answer 3

You need to go to the vet with him.  No so much because of the black specks, although those need treatment too, but because he is lethargic.  Lethargy is not normal and can be a sign of serious illness.  Has he lost any weight?  Just thinking that he is eating and drinking normally does not guarantee that he is, you need to know if there has been any weight loss.

http://www.guinealynx.info/emergency.htm...

The black specks are likely a parasite and can easily be cleared up by a treatment available at the vet such as ivermecting or Revolution.  Please, never use home remedies or shampoos or powders without consulting with your vet.  Many of the things sold in pet stores are not safe and are not as effective as veterinary treatments.

Look at this:

http://www.guinealynx.info/parasites.htm...

Answer 4

Im sorry to hear that. Is there a chance you may have fleas? Black droppings sound to me like it may be flea p**p. You dont have to have any other animals to have fleas.You could have brought them in after being outside. It only takes one flea to become hundreds of fleas. Take your baby to the vet .Until then you can use a flea comb to see if you can catch any.Take some Dawn,put it in a cup of warm water and place any fleas you may get in the cup. They will die from the dawn. This is easier then trying to kill them by hand.Hope all goes well.