Hair Loss Female year old piggy with hair loss and flaky patches by her eye

[Alana0827]

So I have two female guinea pigs (Lily and Rose) that live in the same cage together and previously they have had ringworm but that was about half a year ago and they have been doing fine since. Well up until last Monday when I looked at Lily and saw that she was missing some fur by her right eye and there seemed to be some flaky skin and a wound. I separated the two piggies right away and made sure everything in their cage was clean so that if it was an infectious thing, Rose would not get it. I bathed lily with anti-fungal soap and have been putting Neosporin on the wound to help it heal. the wound has since gone away and I though that she was fine but When I checked her again tonight I realized that the flaky skin is back and she has begun to loose fur again. She is still acting the same as before and there have been no changes to her weight. Both piggies get fresh food, water, veggies, and hay, daily and plenty of run around space. Cages are spot checked nightly and fully cleaned weekly. I am going on a trip in three days and am going to be gone for a week. A neighbor with piggies has offered to watch Rose and Lily for the week but I now I'm worried about Lily. I am going to take her to the vet tomorrow for a check up but I was wondering if there was anyone out there who has seen something like this and can tell me whats up and if I did the right thing by separating them as soon as I saw Lily's eye. Pics are of Lily before, Lily after, and the cage she was sharing with Rose. Thanks everyone!

 

[bpatters]

You probably just didn't continue the antifungal medicine long enough. Fungus is hard to get rid of, and the treatment should be continued until a few days after the hair has grown back.

As far as separating them, I'm of the school that unless one pig is sick with something that will kill both of them, they're better off left together. By the time you know one is sick, the other has already been thoroughly exposed, and pigs that normally live together get really stressed out when they're separated.

If you put them back together, don't just plop them in the cage. You'll have to do full reintroductions again, although it should go a little smoother than if you were introducing them for the first time. See https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/3002707.html for how to go about it.