Hair Loss 1 piggie out of 8 have a V spot on her back

[Melichat]

One of my piggie have a V spot on her back, at first she had a bite mark from one of the cagemate/hurt herself while scratching I'm assuming, it healed, the hair regrew but it's not as long as the rest so the V is still visible, its like half length, and it's been a few months, and she seem to be scratching it, and when i touch it she flinches a little and she try to scratch it while touching the area... The only exotic vet around me isn't taking new clients until the end of October, (which is why i never managed to bring her to said vet yet) so i'm not sure what to do. None of my other 7 pigs have any bald spots/V on their backs and none are scratching as much as her. Her skin do seem slightly dry, and i did put a tiny amount of coconut oil. I can't get Revolution in Canada without a prescription so i can't really try this, the only thing i found is Ivermectin/Bimectin for horses, so should i look more into it? or should i look more into an antifungal shampoo and give her a bath? she isn't obsessively scratching though, no redness on her skin and her coat is very shiny and healthy looking except for that V spot. All 7 other pigs are also shiny and healthy looking and no one is scratching. This is really confusing and i'm not sure what to do until the end of October
For reference she is 11 months old and she is 1138g, and potentially a Rex mixed with something else. Always running to me every time i get up/walk by and always popcorning and happy also, so i doubt she is in any pain

You can see it slightly here, the spot on her rib area is just fluffed up because she was sleeping in a tunnel, she isn't thinning out anywhere except the V

 

[Melichat]

2 more picture where you can see
(broken link removed)

 

[Soecara]

I would treat for mites first using ivermectin in your situation. Given the location and pattern of hair loss it has to be from her biting at herself, and the most likely cause is parasites. When you do treat you will have to treat all of the guinea pigs.

When you order/buy ivermectin make sure to pay close attention to the concentration, it comes in several different strengths and the weaker the concentration the easier it is to use on smaller animals like guinea pigs. Have a read of this thread https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/111160-How-to-treat-for-mites-and-lice

 

[Melichat]

This is a 1% concentration, and liquid, would i just need to do one drop behind the ear of each pig? it seems to be similar to what Saskia from LA Guinea Pig rescue uses, and i will definitely use the forum link, thank you so much

Edit: oh definitely diluted and orally, not behind ear

 

[bpatters]

Behind the ear is just fine. The liquid kind can be given either way.

And if you can get the 1% stuff, it's the easiest to use. The cost of ivermectin has just gone through the roof, and Amazon no longer carriest it at an reasonable price. I think $30 is about the cheapest you can get, and that would treat thousands of guinea pigs.

The horse paste stuff is by far the cheapest and by far the hardest to dose correctly. It has to be massively diluted to keep from overdosing the pig.

 

[Melichat]

I forgot to add the link... here it is: https://www.petsdrugmart.ca/en/Product/Ivermectin-Liquid-for-Horses-120979/5522

Edit: oh i'm bad at math but i'm not sure it's 1%, i just noticed its a 15ml syringe with 10mg per ml...

 

[Soecara]

Yes 10mg/ml is a 1% solution. This is the right dosage chart for guinea pigs when using a 1% ivermectin solution https://www.guinealynx.info/topical_ivermectin.html

A 15ml syringe is more then enough, though you might want to get a small container to put it into, it needs to be dark and leak proof, something like a small amber glass bottle. It would be too difficult to get the right dosage from a 15ml syringe into a 1ml syringe without another container, and as you need to do several treatments all a week apart just putting the full 15mls into a storage bottle will be much easier.

 

[Melichat]

I read more about it but it says “ 1. IVERMECTIN LIQUID for horses has been formulated specifically for use in horses only. The product should not be used in other animal species as severe adverse reactions, including fatalities in dogs, may result.”
Would you think this related to dosage or should i straight up not do it, there isnt ingredient list so this is probably too dangerous to try

 

[Melichat]

I found the ingredients, 1% Ivermectin and 70-100% Purified water, so there shouldn't be any issues as long as i follow the dosage from this right? https://www.guinealynx.info/topical_ivermectin.html

 

[bpatters]

Using the ivermectin on guinea pigs is fine. It's used on all sorts of animals, and even people on occasion.

 

[Melichat]

Using the ivermectin on guinea pigs is fine. It's used on all sorts of animals, and even people on occasion.

It only said that on the specific one i linked, none of the others i researched, so it had me concerned it had something else added to it but yeah, thank you for the help

 

[Soecara]

Bascially they say horses only so if you use it on something else and something bad happens you can't sue them. There are a couple dog breeds that are highly sensitive to ivermectin and using it on them will cause them legitimate harm. Guinea pigs are fine to be treated with ivermectin as long as they aren't too small and you dose it correctly.