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Hi! I'm new here.. I have 8 piggies but 4 need help... Any advice?

chyniwyni

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4 of my guinea pigs started losing hair last week. See the pic? I don't know if it's fungal or mites because I don't see any pics on any guinea pig sites that look like that.
dun.jpg
Big bald patch of hair missing in ONE day. That's day 2. Her skin is pink now but when I pull her hair some still falls out. I was applying canesten ( 3x daily for 2 days) but the vet said it was too big to control with canesten. He prescribed povidone iodine to spray on the area 2x daily. I did that for about 3 days, but then, another vet said this wouldn't work. He suspected that it's mites. So, a few days ago, I weighed them and applied 0.03cc-0.04cc to each of them topically. I've bathed them twice (3 days apart) with nizoral. The skin is less spotty now but some of them have lost more hair. One is almost completely bald now. I'm not sure what I did that has helped. It seems to be getting better since the skin is now pink , but is it the ivomec, the nizoral, the canesten, or the betadine? :( Help, please.

P.S: I've called like 5 vets and they seem like they don't really know much about guinea pigs, won't answer the phone, or are really far away. I live in the country, so it's a problem to go to a vet. I've also visited various guinea pigs sites and read through the info so please don't send other website links. In Jamaica.
 

MrWhistles

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This screams mites to me.
I'd honestly be afraid to spray iodine on a guinea pig. Maybe someone with more experience can speak on this.

If it really is mites. I wouldn't bath them at all. Water drives the mites crazy. Which in turn drives the guinea pig crazy.
 

Inle_Rabbit

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Are they getting enough vitamin c?
 

couchon

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You need to take them to a vet specializing in guinea pigs as soon as possible. This looks very advanced.
 

Cavylier

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It does look a lot like mites to me because of the spotting.
What do your pigs weigh? What form of Ivermectin did you use topically? (Pour-on or injectable)

It will take a while for the hair to grow back especially if your pigs keep scratching away at the patch.

I would keep dosing the ivermectin (every 7 to 10 days). Bathing them makes the mites worse so if you want to treat for a fungal I would try a topical cream. Most fungal creams also have moisturizing agents in them so it should help with the irritated skin. You might want to wrap up the sore pink area in a bandage or something after applying the cream so that they don't ingest the cream while self-grooming and they don't cause further damage by scratching at it.

Also, how is their nutrition i.e. what are you feeding them, how much Vit C do they get from their fresh veggies?

ETA: Any open wounds would benefit from the Betadine. Betadine is a safe antiseptic for pigs but it has to be a very dilute solution. The iodine also helps with fungal infections but I would go for a specific antifungal cream over an antiseptic. The spray seems to be a Betadine spray... it should help a bit with the fungal but like I said, I'd go with a topical cream.
 
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Nibbs

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You need to take them to a vet specializing in guinea pigs as soon as possible. This looks very advanced.

I totally agree with [MENTION=12371]couchon[/MENTION]!!! a few years ago i had a mite breakout in my small herd of what once was 8 pigs i lost 3 of them because of what looks identical to your pic. I believe no matter how far the vet is your piggies health is far more important than how far away the vets office is IMHO..
 

chyniwyni

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-I give them carrots and other vegetables regularly for vit C.

-Thanks for the tip on no bathing.

-I used injectable ivomec. They weigh between 1.5 to 2 lbs.

-I don't drive that's why it would be hard for me to go to the vet. And nobody here is really concerned.. they're like "buying another guinea would be cheaper -_-"

-The one in the pic, her skin has cleared up and it doesn't seem to be spreading. The canesten did dry it up a bit. Would the canesten be ok to treat for fungal?

-They're not scratching btw... just 1 of them scratches and she's the 1 almost bald now.
 

RodentCuddles

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Carrots don't have that much vitamin C, Green Bell Peppers are so much better; They shouldn't be getting more then one baby carrot per pig per day.
What other veges do you feed them? They need veges daily, a good staple to start with is red or green leaf lettuce and green bell peppers.

You should really have a cavy vet on hand, esp. with 8 piggies.

You need to get them to a vet; there is always a way, honestly if they were any of the 9 piggies in my care right now they would of been to the vets on the first day I saw anything like that.
 

iamsnape

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That looks like mites to me, especially with the spots. When my pigs had mites, I was advised to get it injected rather than topically applied because it was more effective. Whether this was true or not, they went to the vets and got it done. The vet said he prefered injectin ivermectin because that way he KNOWS its in the system and is going to get to work. Noah had 2 shots of ivermectin (0.3ml each), 10 days apart, and his mites cleared up immediately.

I think it's important to have a cavy savy vet on hand, especially if you have 8 pigs. Despite difficulties, there will be a way. Sometimes, the best vets are hiding quite well - mine was!
 

MrWhistles

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I believe topically is more efficative than injection. I dont think mites feed off the animals blood or anything far below their skin.
 

couchon

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If the people in your household have such a horrible attitude about piggies, you have to either go against that or rehome them. I can tell you that you easily can spend over $1000 on a pig (I did just last year) when they need treatment. And in many cases, they will die without it. You either have to figure out how to get the money (part time job, etc.) and the transportation (maybe public transportation), or you need to find them a home where they WILL be treated. They are in a bad state, judging from the picture.


Also, carrots are like junk food for us - they are in no way good for them. They need green/red leaf lettuce, bell peppers, a little cilantro, tomatoes, and zucchini every day - these are essential.
 

Cavylier

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-I give them carrots and other vegetables regularly for vit C.

-Thanks for the tip on no bathing.

-I used injectable ivomec. They weigh between 1.5 to 2 lbs.

-I don't drive that's why it would be hard for me to go to the vet. And nobody here is really concerned.. they're like "buying another guinea would be cheaper -_-"

-The one in the pic, her skin has cleared up and it doesn't seem to be spreading. The canesten did dry it up a bit. Would the canesten be ok to treat for fungal?

-They're not scratching btw... just 1 of them scratches and she's the 1 almost bald now.

Canesten would be okay for the fungal. Reapply the ivomec 7-10 days after their first dose.

They need to be on a good diet for their fur to grow back well - a cup of veggies per pig per day, unlimited grass hay and 1/8th to 1/4th cup of pellets per pig per day. There's a food chart on the forum here that should help - READ ME- Cavy Nutrition Charts & Poisonous Plants List
Try to go for the veggies highest in Vitamin C - most people on here feed bell peppers almost daily as they are really high in Vit C.

As others have said above, you need to find a really good vet where you live. Medical problems are often very different from area to area depending on climate and what sort of diseases/parasites are present so it's important that you have someone at hand who knows what sort of medical problems guinea pigs might have where you live. It's hard to give advice over the internet because we can't see things first-hand and we do not know what sort of organisms might thrive where you are.
That and I don't think most people here are qualified vets, we just do the best we can.

Ask around, maybe a rescue or something could help you?

Also, you said that:
The skin is less spotty now but some of them have lost more hair.
They will lose hair due to their skin condition and it will take time to grow back. What is important is that their actual skin does not look irritated and red and that they do not scratch at it too much and cause wounds. Skin conditions can be very itchy and painful and you don't want to add to that. Give them a good diet and stick to the treatment.
 

madelineelaine

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You need to treat every week, and you should treat EVERY pig.

you need to wash ALL the bedding if there is any, sanatize everything. Straight vinegar on the cage bottom and bars, wash everything everything. Before you treat them.

Do not bathe them.

After about 3 treatments if it's mites you should be good to go. But it's important to treat all the pigs, not just the ones with symptoms.
 

MommyOfMany

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I'd search google and google images for things like "guinea pig hair loss" and click the website to see what it comes up with, most likely they'd include how they treated it. It looks like a fungal infection according to Gorgeous Guineas: (broken link removed)
 

MommyOfMany

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You can purchase products to treat the infection here: (broken link removed) No prescription needed
 

lissie

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A serious case like that won't go away with just shampoo. Even Gorgeous Guineas website recommends medications in serious cases.

Some vets believe ivermerctin injection to be more effective than topical. No matter which treatment you choose, please treat every pigs in your herd once a week until they are healed.

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