Guinea Pig losing hair, already tried several vets/treatments...any ideas?

alm_nin · Jun 2, 2008

One of my piggies, Hope, has had issues with losing hair ever since I adopted her four years ago. I have been to four different vets (including a vet for exotics) and spent hundreds of dollars, but nothing seems to help and in the end the vets say they don't really know what is wrong. She has had several rounds of treatment with ivermectin, treatment for ringworm, treatment with a medicated shampoo, and some kind of spot-on treatment for cats (I don't remember which one, this was several years ago). She doen't have any bald patches, she just looses a lot of hair, mostly from her back and rear end. The hair falls out with what looks like little scabs attached at the base. She doesn't act itchy at all, she just loses a lot of hair like this when I brush her every week. My other two piggies are healthy and don't have any of these symptoms. One vet thought it could be something he called sebhorrea and told me to bath her often in a medicated shampoo. The baths seemed to help a little, but she hates them so much that I try not to do them very often. I'm pretty sure she is a rex/teddy breed pig, and I've heard that they can be prone to skin problems, do you think this could be it? I have tried different types of bedding over the years incase there was an allergy there, but none of them seemed to make any difference. I currently use a layer of Yesterday's News covered with a layer of Aspen, but I have also tried Carefresh, Yesterday's News alone, and Woody Pet. She eats unlimited Timothy hay with Oxbow timothy pellets and veggies every day. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Chin Lover · Jun 3, 2008

Would it be vitamin C deficiency? It wouldn't hurt check. You can supplement her with some vitamin C tablets, I know oxbow has them, and there's other organic stuff that you can give her to boost her vitamin C intake. The extra vitamin C just gets peed out of her body.
(broken link removed)

Ly&Pigs · Jun 3, 2008

Read Guinea Lynx :: Hair Loss.

alm_nin · Jun 3, 2008

I'm pretty sure she gets enough vitamin c, but maybe I'll try the vitamin c tablets and see if there is any difference. It won't hurt anything to give her extra vitamin c, right? Also, I have read the "guinea lynx: hair loss", but it doesn't look like any of these because there are no bald patches, and she has already been treated for parasites and ringworm, and also it doen't seem to be contagious because my other two pigs are fine.

Ly&Pigs · Jun 3, 2008

Too much C can end up being a bad thing. They need about 10-30mg/kg a day.

Could it be just normal shedding with some skin issues? Have you ever tried Nizoral shampoo?

alm_nin · Jun 3, 2008

I've never heard of Nizoral shampoo, what is it and where can I find it?

Has anyone else ever heard of rex/teddy breeds having more skin issues than other pigs?

Ly&Pigs · Jun 3, 2008

You can find nizoral shampoo at about any store that carries shampoos. Even Wal-Mart carries it. It's usually listed as an anti-dandruff shampoo but works well on pigs with unknown fungal infections as the main ingredient is ketoconazole which is an anti-fungal medication.

Teddies are prone to skin conditions. I used to have a teddy boar and he had a fungal infection when I first took him in. A few spot baths with Nizoral cleared it up.

rabbitsncavyluv · Jun 3, 2008

Have you tried using Revolution? It sometimes works better on stubborn mites cases.

Do you have any other guinea pigs?

alm_nin · Jun 3, 2008

Ly&Pigs - Thanks for the info, I'll go get some Nizoral shampoo and try it on her! How often do you think I should bath her with it? If she does have a fungal problem, is it possible for just her to have it and not my other two pigs?

rabbitsncavyluv - Yes, I have two other guinea pigs, but they don't have hair loss aside from the usual shedding. A few years ago one vet had me try some kind of spot-on flea product for cats in case it was mites or lice, but it didn't help at all. I don't remember if it was Revolution or something else.

Ly&Pigs · Jun 3, 2008

Fungal infections can appear in one pig only. I would just bathe the affected area about once a week for 2-3 weeks and see if it helps. I'd also talk to your vet again about the possibility of a fungal infection.

rabbitsncavyluv · Jun 4, 2008

If you have other guinea pigs, you need to treat them all for mites at the same time. They can carry mites and not show symptoms. They can be reinfecting your other pig routinely with mites if they are not being treated at the same time.

HowietheGreat · Jun 4, 2008

Do I ever know what you are taking about. I have teddy named Teddy that has the same problems. The "scab" you are seeing is the serum that the skin produces and is what is attached to the hair. Clumpy right but when it falls off, the skin is smooth underneath? Your vet can prescribe Kerasolv gel. It loosens the serum and helps it fall off with the hair in that area. Once placed on the area the hair will fall off and within a few weeks re grow. It is the only thing that has helped Teddy. Feel free to pm me with any questions!

HowietheGreat · Jun 4, 2008

By the way, I know what you mean about vet after vet appointment. Teddy doesn't have mites or a fungal infection or ring worm. You can thank the bloody breeders for creating the teddy-and their skin problems. My Teddy was adopted & I wouldn't trade him for the world, but his skin has been a challenge to get healthy.

alm_nin · Jun 4, 2008

rabbitsncavyluv - When we treated for mites/lice, we did treat all of them at the same time. I guess I forgot to say that in my original post, sorry.

HowietheGreat - Did your vet give this condition a name? It kind of sounds like the Sebhorrea that one of the vets I saw diagnosed Hope with...he gave me a medicated shampoo to use on her which does help a little bit, but like I said in my original post, she hates the baths so much that I don't like to bath her in it too often.

nonamian_girl · Jul 2, 2008

Hi Alm_nin,
I'm wondering how your piggie is doing now and if you have tried any of the suggestions. I'm having a very similar issue with my Francie and I think she's a texel/rex mix too. She seems to be very prone to mites and hair loss, and the vet just told me to treat with Ivermectin again. I've treated her and her cagemate three times since getting her three years ago.

Recently I did it again, three times, and her fur grew back nicer and better than ever before, but now it seems to have fallen out again! I thought maybe because I use fleece blankets that they mites have somehow stayed on them, but I do always wash them in hot water with vinegar, and also the pigs don't seem to be itching, but there is significant hair loss only on France.

So I'd love to hear how your problem is going

alm_nin · Jul 2, 2008

Last week I noticed a small bald patch on Hope's back thigh, and also Jesper and Anders seem to be shedding more than normal and have small black pieces of dandruff throughout their hair, so I decided to try treating them all for mites and lice again. My vet prescribed two doses of Revolution two weeks apart for them, and I gave them their first dose today. I'll let you know if it works! I really hope I can get this problem cleared up, because I want to adopt a couple more piggies once my three are all healthy!

Ly&Pigs · Jul 3, 2008

Small black pieces of dandruffy looking stuff would normally indicate flea droppings.

Mites can't survive without a living host, so there's no way they can survive alone in the fleece. Nonamian, have you ever had your pig tested for a fungal condition?

alm_nin · Jul 3, 2008

There's no way they can have fleas because my dogs and cats don't have fleas. My dogs are my only pets that ever go outside, and I treat them with Frontline every month. I was thinking that maybe the black dandruff looking stuff could be dandruff from the darker areas of skin on them?

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Guinea Pig losing hair, already tried several vets/treatments...any ideas?

alm_nin

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Chin Lover

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Ly&Pigs

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alm_nin

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Ly&Pigs

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alm_nin

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Ly&Pigs

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rabbitsncavyluv

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alm_nin

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Ly&Pigs

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rabbitsncavyluv

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HowietheGreat

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HowietheGreat

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alm_nin

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nonamian_girl

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alm_nin

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Ly&Pigs

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alm_nin

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