Hair Loss Help! Merlin's lost almost all his fur

[Leslie]

At first I thought all the shedding was a winter to summer fur thing. My rabbits used to do it all the time. But I started noticing bald spots a couple of days ago. And now it's gotten so bad that he's lost almost all his hair! He's lethargic and won't eat.

What's happening to him? He was okay 2 days ago, though his fur was a little patchy. I haven't changed anything in the cage or in his diet.

 

[foggycreekcavy]

If he's lost that much hair and is lethargic, he definitely needs to see a vet as soon as possible. Usually with hair loss I suspect mites, but that shouldn't cause the lethargy. I'd consider it an emergency.

 

[VoodooJoint]

I agree with Foggy. A vet visit, as soon as possible, is in order (tomorrow morning would be best). With the extreme hair loss and lethargy you are describing it sounds more serious then mites and while mites might be a factor there certainly appears to be something secondary going on.

 

[Cogni]

Poor little one! Please get him to the vet ASAP! It sounds like he has had a skin problem for a while since the fur was patchy 2 days ago, before he became lethargic. Piggies do not show illness until it is far advanced, so he really needs some professional care right now. Let us know, please, about the diagnosis and treatment.

 

[Leslie]

I know an animal hospital nearby that treats small animals and lists guinea pigs as one of their patients. I'm bringing both my boys tomorrow. I need to make sure Arthur is okay. He seems to be worried about Merlin. Arthur is still eating fine, and energetic, and he keeps dashing over to poke Merlin a little and stands on the ramp watching him. Very intuitive little guy.

I was so shocked when I went to feed them today. I just got home from a weekend away, and left the pigs with instructions to my mom and sister to help me feed them while I wasn't home. I went to check on them and feed them dinner, and Merlin barely poked his head out of his hidey. I could see he had rapidly lost weight and his hair. My sister said he didn't look like that at all last night. She fed them yesterday and said they seemed fine.

 

[Paula]

If you can get him in tonight, please consider doing so.

If he's not eating on his own you need to handfeed him.

 

[Deb's4Pigs]

Can you get Critical Care from Oxbow for him. Or make a pellet mash and syringe feed him. I hope you can get him to the vet tonight.

 

[Leslie]

Unfortunately, there are no late-night hospitals or emergency services near me. It's very far away for the 'closest' emergency centre. I took both pigs to a trusted, cavy savvy vet this morning, and it turns out they definitely have mites. It seems it was going on for a long time, and I simply didn't know how to read the signs until it was nearly too late.

I have been trying to give him Critical Care and hand feeding him, but it doesn't look good. The diagnosis from the vet was also not very positive.

However, Arthur (my other pig) was not as badly affected, so he should be able to make a full recovery with a lot of care and attention.

I'll keep you all posted.

 

[craze]

Hope they get better, if you get treatment they should be ok (our came good pretty quick)

 

[foggycreekcavy]

Some vets give an injection of a steroid to stop the intense itching.

What did the vet treat them with?