Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register

Hair Loss/Grooming/Questionable Vet Question

waytofailself

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 26, 2007
Posts
31
Joined
May 26, 2007
Messages
31
Hello there. I make the crappiest subjects ever.

Pictures will be included in a later response, but for now, since it's just me here, I have no way of holding my cavy (Stevie) still enough to take pictures.

A) Hair Loss
Stevie has a few bald patches on him, and by bald patches I'm talking about areas that are roughly the size of a penny, if not more in two places plus one other area that may be fungal. This includes the torso on the right side between his legs (it's very well hidden by his fur though), a spot about as large above his front right shoulder and behind the ear that has a red sore/scab (dunno which), and a small round area behind his left eye that one of my friends who worked in a vet clinic strongly believes is ringworm.

I looked at guinealynx and found good information. However, the pictures there seemed to be really severe. Can you all think of any reason why my pig might have such large clumps of hair missing? Keep in mind that I got him from a pet store 2.5 weeks ago and he got over a URI the past week.

B) Grooming
Ever since I got Stevie, he's been displaying what I feel is grooming behavior. He will occasionally scratch himself in different places and will bite things out of his fur. Is it okay that he does this often (like around once every minute or two if he's mobile), or is that a sign of skin irritation? What would be considered normal cavy grooming behavior?

C) Questionable Vet
I don't want to say too much because I know I will come off as biased and thus bias your opinion as well. However, I'm curious (especially once I post pictures) what you all would say is up with Stevie. His disposition is moral other than he's a bit more bitey than he was the past few days. He's still very friendly.

The vet feels that while it's possible that there could be a bacterial, fungal, or parasitic cause, the best course of action for the next week or so is to apply peroxide on the areas once a day and neosporen twice a day. It struck me as kind of odd, especially since I was not given other options and I am not sure if human over the counter products are safe for animals.

(Note: this vet also insisted (and got upset when I questioned it) that I put vitamin c drops in stevie's water everyday. they also wondered why I had such a large cage for him and if i had read the literature they gave me that included specefic breeder and non breeder size living specifications (100 square inches and 180 square inches respectively) Trust me...I know better, but this isn't the first time i've questioned my vet).

I know...I know...lots of questions.
 

seagirl96

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Posts
776
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
776
Your instincts are good, trust yourself. Have you treated him for mites? The treatment will not hurt him and may bring great relief. Don't put drops in the water. Do give veggies high in vitamin c, like green pepper. Peroxide is not going to help & can poison your piggy if he ingests it.
 

HowietheGreat

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 6, 2006
Posts
1,312
Joined
May 6, 2006
Messages
1,312
PLease see my post on my Teddy. He may need to be placed on antibiotics.
 

Ly&Pigs

Cavy Champion, Previous Forum Moderator
Cavy Slave
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Posts
20,516
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Messages
20,516
Sounds like mites to me. Biting the fur and scratching excessively are classic signs. It's pretty easy to treat. See (broken link removed) for treatment.

This vet doesn't sound quite knowledgable on current standards in piggie care. Peroxide can harm him. Don't use it please. The neosporin isn't good for him if he ingests it either. I'd get some ivermectin and treat him yourself for mites and start looking for a more cavy savvy vet.
 

rabbitsncavyluv

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Posts
5,863
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
5,863
Pet store pigs often come with mites and URI. You need to treat him for mites.

The pics at GL are severe. If left untreated, that is what your guinea pig will eventually look like.

You do need to find a better exotics vet. Like I said in the other post and the others stated above, neosporin and peroxide is bad.
 

Piggersrule

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 8, 2007
Posts
1,126
Joined
Mar 8, 2007
Messages
1,126
Chances are good that your pig has mites. He may have got the mites from when he was sick and stressed. You can either find a new vet who can help you with the mites or you can purchase Ivermectin at a feed store and treat him yourself. Guinea lynx has some great information on treating with Ivermectin. It is not difficult but you need to follow the instruction carefully. You will need a current weight on him, kitchen scales are great for monitoring your piggy's weight. If you have other questions or concerns please ask.
 

suzilovespiggie

Cavy Champion, Previous Forum Moderator
Cavy Slave
Joined
Mar 7, 2005
Posts
2,752
Joined
Mar 7, 2005
Messages
2,752
If you think it is also fungal, you can use monstat on the fungas sites. guinea lynx also has great info on how to treat fungal infections.
 

waytofailself

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 26, 2007
Posts
31
Joined
May 26, 2007
Messages
31
thanks for the advice. i haven't had a chance to really start treating him as of yet, but it looks like i'm going shopping later today. I'll still post pictures later so that you all can see (I'm assuming that some of you have had experiences with these).

sadly, i'm not sure if there's another exotics vet in the area. i'll have to look around and see.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

Similar threads

X
Replies
1
Views
336
bpatters
bpatters
cruella-de-vil
Replies
3
Views
314
SSLee
SSLee
DreamsInPink
Replies
7
Views
657
Guinea Pig Papa
Guinea Pig Papa
A
Replies
1
Views
317
barbaramudge
barbaramudge
Top