Hair Loss bald patch appeared all of a sudden

jenniwat001 · Nov 16, 2012

Our 6 year old piggy Wiggle (rescue, back bread, was bald when we got her) has recently had a second wave of life, she is a happy little thing, though can no longer wheek, it's more of a rasp (vet checked, and all ok, just old age).

Yesterday at evening feed, I noticed a bald patch, about the size of a desert spoon on her right side. It wasn't there at morning feed. It was a clean bald spot, no crusting, flaking skin, blood or scabs. No signs of scratching and we couldn't find the missing hair anywhere. (in the cage or around the house, as we thought the cats might have had a swipe, but that is really unlikely as they are terrified of her!)

Any ideas? She is completely fine in all other respects.

Kritastrophe · Nov 16, 2012

Did you have her checked for mites? Since she may be under the "weather" she is probably a little more prone than normal. Might not be the problem, but it's a start.

foggycreekcavy · Nov 16, 2012

Yes, since she was bald when you got her she probably had mites. How were they treated?

It's possible she's developed ovarian cysts. Is the hair balding on both sides?

Since it occurred so suddenly it's possible she scraped it, or another pig pulled it, or she barbered herself.

Quinten29 · Nov 17, 2012

that was my first thought aswell, barbering, i rescued a couple of pigs where one was being barbered by the other (worked out it was due to the fact the previous owners did not feed them any hay whatsoever, hence the barbering)

jenniwat001 · Nov 18, 2012

The initial hair loss was hormone related- she had been back bred. We have had her 4years now and she has been fine until the other day. The patch isn't getting bigger so I guess she could have caught it on something? The patch is only on one side. Could it be ovarian cysts and if so, how do you treat them?

HannibalLecter · Nov 18, 2012

jenniwat001 said:
The initial hair loss was hormone related- she had been back bred. We have had her 4years now and she has been fine until the other day. The patch isn't getting bigger so I guess she could have caught it on something? The patch is only on one side. Could it be ovarian cysts and if so, how do you treat them?

Either with a spay, hormone injections, or hormone chip. My local rescue has the most success with the chip in cases where a spay would be risky.
As she's old I'd try to find an experienced vet who can give her the chip under a very light & quick anesthetic.

She doesn't need to have balding on both sides for it to be ovarian cysts, and she may have many small cysts that can't be felt either by you or a vet.
My girl didn't get balding until a year after the cysts occurred, and only had balding on one side. Sexual aggression being the only symptom.
The vets couldn't feel any cysts but during her spay the vet saw the largest amount of medium/small cysts she'd ever seen.

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

jenniwat001 · Nov 18, 2012

Ok, that's interesting. She is by herself- our other two passed over the rainbow bridge about 18months and 6months ago respectively and we don't want any more, though to be fair she is by far the chirpiest and most active she has ever been by herself! If she is likely to survive after the op then it would be worth me getting it done, but don't want to put her under undue stress if it's not necessary. Can anyone recommend a good vet in the Manchester, UK area?

jenniwat001 · Nov 19, 2012

Vet checked her out today and she has multiple cysts, not limited to her ovaries. It looks like the big C. One cyst has burst (outward, between yesterday and today) and another is about the size of a small pea- once the vet told me what I was looking for could feel it. He weight has also redistributed, I can feel her ribs but her apatite is fine and she is podgy round her tummy. The vet said they could operate but she isn't in any pain or discomfort at the moment and she is getting on so might wait and see. If they operate and it turns out it is he big C there will be nothing more they can do.

Peggysu · Nov 19, 2012

Both my pigs have ovarian cysts. One has a very tiny one and the other one has what my vet believes to be a large ovarian cyst. My pigs have no symptoms other then one being extremely pear shaped. She seems to be in no pain and eats and lives her life normal. I keep an eye on her. She's 4 and a half and being that pigs are so fragile I don't want her spayed at this age.

foggycreekcavy · Nov 19, 2012

Peggysu, ovarian cysts can burst at any time, but most often when they are very large. Perhaps you might consider hormone therapy?

Jenniwat, it might be a good idea for the vet to take a sample of the burst cyst. If it's a sebaceous cyst it's probably unrelated to ovarian cysts. Sebaceous cysts are somewhat common in guinea pigs, and if they stay small don't need removal. However, when they burst open there's a chance of infection. Larger sebaceous cysts usually need surgical removal.

Peggysu · Nov 21, 2012

foggycreekcavy said:
Peggysu, ovarian cysts can burst at any time, but most often when they are very large. Perhaps you might consider hormone therapy?

I did discuss this with my vet. My vet has not tried hormone therapy in guinea pigs. As of right now I'm content with leaving it alone as long as she doesn't lose weight and is still active.

foggycreekcavy · Nov 21, 2012

The problem is that they can burst at any time. And once they do, your pig dies. So she could be fine one minute and not fine the next.

There's enough documentation of using hormone therapy for ovarian cysts in guinea pigs that your vet should be able to find information on how it's done. Basically all it consists of is giving an injection, and repeating if necessary. I even give the injections myself, just underneath the skin.

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Hair Loss bald patch appeared all of a sudden

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