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Hair Loss Fungus or mites?

mimipig

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Having just lost my other pig Lulu, Mimi is showing some symptoms that have me very worried...She has been having hair loss which is normal for her, she sheds typically but this seems to be increased hair loss. In addition to that I have found a couple small clumps of hair coming out when gently tugged- about 5 or 10 hairs held together on a small flake of skin. She also has some kind of "dandruff" that I have to brush off her for the past couple days. Would this be more likely mites or fungus? I am not sure where she would have gotten either of these things, other than my other pig being in and out of the vet and sometimes staying there in their holding cage? However my pig who just passed away did not show any of these symptoms, no hair loss at all etc. Which route should I go for treating Mimi? Thank you very much.
 

bpatters

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Yes, it should be fine. Just be sure to rinse her well.
 

mimipig

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Back again to ask a (maybe) stupid question- I have seen some other information that says that mites and fungal always go together, should I also be treating her for mites or is that incorrect? Thanks again.
 

bpatters

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It's incorrect. They sometimes go together, but they sometimes occur separately. Mites always itch, a fungus sometimes does. If the pig isn't scratching, it probably isn't mites.
 

mimipig

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Okay understood, so if the only treatment I am doing is the washing with that shampoo once a week is that enough? Do I need to do anything special with her cage/fleece or otherwise? I read to get rid of any wooden items, I don't have any of those but there are some chew toys made of a kind of grass/hay, should those be thrown out?
 

bpatters

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Yeah, pitch 'em.
 

mimipig

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Alright so the chew toys go, everything okay with the fleece just changing it as usual?
 

mimipig

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I've done the wash once so far but Mimi is still having dandruff/hair loss and she seems uncomfortable. She also has weepy eyes. I would like to do more whatever is possible to make her the most comfortable and treat this as quickly as possible. I'm really worried about her getting more severe, because she is also stressed from losing her cagemate Lulu. I read about using combination coconut oil + betadine to treat the dry skin/itchiness. How exactly do you use this to treat them, would I just rub it onto her skin under the fur?
 

bpatters

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I'd try washing with the shampoo every day for several days and see if that makes a difference. Do rinse her well.

And I wouldn't use coconut oil on a haired pig, or betadine on any pig. Betadine is very drying.

If she's itching, maybe it's time to treat her for mites.
 

mimipig

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Okay, I will try washing her every day. I'll order some Ivermectin and treat her for mites too just in case, although I have only seen her scratching once or twice within a couple days.
 

mimipig

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Hello again, just wondering if it would be alright to try this shampoo on her?
Veterinary Formula Clinical Care Antiseptic & Antifungal Shampoo
From chewy.com, the link doesn't seem to want to work. It says it's for cats and dogs, but the reviews had some people who used it successfully on their pet rats.
 

mimipig

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Hello again. An update on Mimi- she went in to the vet for a tooth trimming. She had a cracked tooth/some uneven wearing. They did both her cheek teeth and her incisors. Since the procedure (one week ago today), Mimi has not been drinking enough water. At first she was not able to eat her veggies well with her "new teeth" but she has gotten back to eating them normally now. She has not been eating her normal amount of hay or pellets though, and I suspect it is because of the teeth. My main concern though, is that she has barely drank any water at all since the tooth trimming. I'm not sure if the bottle hurts her teeth or something? She has touched it a few times but just barely. To compensate I have been giving more watery veggies than usual as well as heavily wetting them with water. I want to get her back to drinking normally though and am afraid of her getting dehydrated.

She has bounced back well from the surgery in all other aspects, she does not have any lethargy, she is actually very bright, active and energetic. However her poops are very slightly smaller/dryer than usual.

So what would be the best way for her to get back into drinking water? I tried giving her bowls of water instead but she just tips them over and spills them. When she sticks her nose down into the water and feels it she gets scared and runs away. Should I just syringe some water to her? How much should I do per day? The vet also mentioned something about diluting some fruit juice- is this recommended? Thanks for any advice!
 
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bpatters

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Mine take water-drinking by spells. Sometimes they drink a lot, sometimes not.

Just continue with what you're doing with the veggies and don't worry about it.
 

mimipig

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Mine take water-drinking by spells. Sometimes they drink a lot, sometimes not.

Just continue with what you're doing with the veggies and don't worry about it.

Alright, thanks very much bpatters
 

spy9doc

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The vet also mentioned something about diluting some fruit juice- is this recommended?

In a word......NO! Is this a cavy-savvy Vet?

I would syringe unflavored Pedialyte. The generic is just as good and quite a bit less expensive. You can buy it at Target, Walgreen's, etc. My cavies have always liked the taste and happily accepted it. Nobody (including me) seems to like the taste of the flavored.
 

mimipig

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Hi everyone, Mimi has a new health issue. :( She has a bladder stone (pretty large, 8mm). I brought her in yesterday and the vet gave her a prolonged pain relief shot that she said would hopefully help her relax and pee a little bit better. Basically we aren't able to get her in for the actual stone removal surgery until Tuesday morning. Until then I'm supposed to watch her closely and if she's not peeing at all anymore (a little pee keeps kind of dribbling out of her) I'm supposed to bring her to an emergency/urgent care vet to have them try a catheter to move the stone out of place, where its blocking the opening from her bladder.
I'm worried about the next few days and was just wondering if anyone has any more tips/advice for me until Tuesday, if there's anything more I can do to help her pee a bit more or also even how I should tell if its time to bring her in to the emergency vet. Thanks in advance!
 

bpatters

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Put something in the bottom of the cage that will let you know when she's peed -- a colored cloth of some kind that gets darker when it's wet. Check often to make sure she's peeing, and if she's not, get her to a vet who'll try the catheter.

Syringe her as much liquid as you can. Most pigs love unflavored pedialyte, and will readily take it from a syringe. The generic is just as good as the brand name stuff. And I've never had a pig turn down anything flavored with watermelon, so you could squeeze some watermelon to get some juice, or buy the Odwalla stuff if they have watermelon flavor.

This has the potential to turn into a life-threatening emergency in a hurry if the stone completely blocks her urethra. So keep a very close eye on her until you can get her in for the surgery. In the meantime, call around you to see if you can find an ER vet that has someone on staff who knows something about guinea pigs. Even if that person isn't on shift if you have to take her in, they can probably call and get instructions on what to do. Otherwise, ask if your regular vet would take an emergency call from you if you have to take her to an ER vet and they don't have a cavy person available.
 

mimipig

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Hi bpatters, thanks for all the advice. So I should be trying to get her to drink more liquids? I was a bit worried about this since her bladder is so full already. The vet squeezed her bladder and showed me how full it was.
Our vet also said she would be available on the phone if the ER vet had questions, and they recommended us go to the university ER vet if we needed to. I'm wary of the university though because they were not good with our other guinea pig Lulu but that's where she said we should go if needed.
 
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