Hair Loss Luna's Medical Thread

[guineapigpalace]

I recently (Saturday) got a new guinea pig. I've been looking for a while and couldn't find that I really was excited about for a number of reasons. When I saw one for sale on craigslist 15 minutes away, it was perfect. I took her home and named her Luna. She is currently in quarantine and I was holding her when I noticed that she has a patch on her body that has thinner fur. I looked her over and can't find any flea dirt. Does anyone have any suggestions on what it should be?

She was sold with her three babies if that changes anything.

 

[bpatters]

Can you post a picture? It might be fungal in origin.

 

[guineapigpalace]

Here's a picture of her. It's not the best but it can kinda show you the thinning hair right above her leg. I haven't noticed any crustiness nor do I think that she's been itching, but she is new and settling in so she mostly hides when I'm around her.

Slightly unrelated, how old do her kids have to be to have impregnate her? I've noticed that she's been putting on weight but it could just be from healthy eating.

 

[bpatters]

Males should be separated from females when they're 21 days old.

That could be a fungus, or it could be a vitamin C deficiency, or depending on her age, ovarian cysts.

Do you know how old she is?

Does she have any hair loss on the other side?

Does she scratch at the area at all?

 

[guineapigpalace]

I haven't seen her itching it at all. She does have a matching spot on the other side. I have no idea how old she is and I'm under the impression that the people that I got her from have no idea either. If I had to guess, she seems very young, maybe only a couple months old. She is very small compared to my other guinea pig.

 

[bpatters]

I'd supplement her with some extra vitamin C for a few weeks and see if that helps. Oxbow makes a vitamin C supplement for guinea pigs.

Make sure she gets fresh veggies with vitamin C also, particularly bell pepper.

 

[guineapigpalace]

Hi, thanks for your feedback. Luna looks great now, her hair has grown back in and she doesn't seem to have any issues. Two weeks ago, I introduced her to Milky Way, my other guinea pig. Last night I was holding Milky way when I noticed that the hair on her front shoulder is thinning. It's really similar to Luna's but she has lost a lot more hair and she does itch. And I noticed that now Luna is itching though I can't see anything on her.

Does anyone have any idea what this could be?

 

[bpatters]

Mites. https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/111160-How-to-treat-for-mites-and-lice

Or a fungus. https://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html

 

[guineapigpalace]

It looks more like mites.

Should I treat both the girls because they are both itching? Also, I'm still watching Luna for potential pregnancy, will it affect the babies if she is pregnant?

 

[bpatters]

It won't affect the babies, and yes, treat both of them.