Scabs and some hair loss

[Jamie New]

His, recently my two guinea pigs were separated as they kept fighting. Squirt was the one who got hurt, a lost part of his ear and received a few cuts. I have noticed that he still has two scabs on his back and when I comb his hair, it seems to be some dandruff but some hair clumps come out as well. The hair clumps aren't large just about 6 hairs with a sort of scab looking skin flake attached. Sometimes there are about 20 hairs stuck to it but that is just occasionally. I was going to bath them both tomorrow, should I buy some special shampoo or should I seek medical advice? I am unsure and need help.

Is any shampoo ok? Do I need special skin care guinea pig shampoo? Do I need to see a vet? Is it normal?

please help.

[kathlaaron]

It sounds like a fungal infection to me, but if you would like, I could post up a link for you to check out the information to see if you think, that might be what she has. Here is the link below:

http://www.guinealynx.info/grooming.html#bathing

I would think you would need to take her in to see your vet, to properly determine the cause and get treated with the proper medicine.

[kathlaaron]

It sounds like it might be mange mites to me, but if you would like, I could post up a link for you to check out the information to see if you think, that might be what she has. Here is the link below:

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

And here is a link to a possible fungal infection as well, below:

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

I would think you would need to take her in to see your vet, to properly determine the cause and get her treated with the proper medicine. Hopefully the above links will help you a little bit !

P.S. Piggies generally don't need to be bathed. However long haired piggies do unless you give their hair enough of a trim so that their genitals stay hair free and so that their hair doesn't drag all over the cage and get all icky from poops and peeps. However, if ones needs to bathe their piggie, no more than twice a year I would think. ( Some people do "butt baths" instead) Here is another link on bathing, below:

http://www.guinealynx.info/grooming.html#bathing

Good luck, and keep us posted !

[kathlaaron]

So sorry for the accidental double post Ly and Paula !

[foggycreekcavy]

I wouldn't bathe them until you find out what the problem is. Are the hair clumps from wounds? Sometimes there is hair that's still attached to the skin that comes off with wounds.

Is there scratching going on?

[OverunByPiggies]

I had this problem with one of my male piggys. He had two scabs on his side and apparently they itched because he kept chewing at them and scratching them open. Along with the scabs, his hair would come off in a chunk of about 5 or 6 hairs with a little flake/scab of skin. When I took him to the vet they did a bunch of skin tests and determined it wasnt mange/mites or a fungal infection. They ended up saying it might be scurvy. Scurvy is caused by not giving them enough vitamin C. They gave me a list of a bunch of vegetables/fruits that pigs can have. After a couple weeks all of his hair came back and his scabs healed and went away. Hope this helps!

[Jamie New]

Thank You everyone. It sounds exactly like what OverrunByPiggies said except the scabs are where his back leg meets his back. Sometimes larger clumps of hair come off as well and they seem to have a scab like skin flake attached.