Hair Loss Hair loss. Hope some body can give me an idea.

[Sugarbaby83]

Hello,

One of my guinea pigs is losing hair on his back and up his right leg to his neck. I have taken him to the vet and they said it is not mites and treated for fungus. (He was only missing hair on his back at this point). He finished all his meds and it has been about a week and this is when I have noticed that the hair on his right leg up to his neck is missing hair now. I have 6 guinea pigs 4 females and 2 males they have been together since birth. ( males and females are not in a cage together there cage is next to ech other) So I don't think it is stress. They are also not scratching or acting any different. Still popcorn and happy squeak all the time. Hope somebody can give me some advise as what to do.. They vet I took him to specializes in small animals and are not new to guinea pigs.

Thank you
Sara

 

[bpatters]

Can you post a picture?

But FYI, a small animal vet is a dog-and-cat vet. They get little education and no training in the care of exotics. You need to be looking for an exotic vet.

 

[Sugarbaby83]

Yes I will get a picture. It is an exotic vet sorry I should have put that instead of small animal vet. They deal only with birds and small critters. I will go take a photo now and get it up

 

[Sugarbaby83]

 

[Sugarbaby83]

his back looks a little dry like dandruff like but not dry looking on his arm/neck

 

[bpatters]

What treatment did he have for fungus?

I would treat him for mites just on the off chance that he has them. The treatment won't hurt him, and might help.

There are some treatments here: https://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html. Any of them should be effective.

I'd also supplement him with vitamin C. Pigs under stress can usually benefit from some additional C. You can get a plain human vitamin C tablet, crush it, and sprinkle it on his vegetables. You want to aim at about 30 mg. per day. Or, you might be able to find a children's chewable plain C tablet -- you can break it so that you've got approximately the right amount.

 

[Sugarbaby83]

the medication they vet gave me was enrofloxacin. It looked like some of the hair on his back started coming back since we used it. but his arm/neck is completely bald and that was never like that right after we finished the meds. I guess I will look in to treating for mites. The vet did say that if one of them have mites they all would. ( but none of them are scratching at all) so should I treat all of them even though he is the only one showing any kind of symptoms. and what are they chances that it is a bacterial infection apposed to a fungus? We are going away In 2 weeks so I wont have time to order anything online and the vet said it will be about 50$ a piggy to treat for mites. I have 6 pigs and that is a lot of money don't get me wrong if it is mites I will spend the money no questions but I would like to rule out anything cheaper before I treat all my pigs for something they might not have.

 

[Sugarbaby83]

I will also make sure to pick up some vitamin C tomorrow. Thank you so much for replying

 

[bpatters]

I can't figure out why on earth they would have given you enrofloxacin (Baytril) for that skin condition. If he's finished the medicine, there's not much chance that it's caused by a bacterial infection since the Baytril would have treated that. Baytril will do nothing for a fungal infection.

I'd definitely get one of the shampoos listed on the GL site and treat him with that. Start tomorrow if you can.

You can treat for mites yourself. This is the easiest stuff to use, and you should get it within 2-3 days after ordering it: https://www.amazon.com/Ivermectin-Pour--Cattle-250-mL/dp/B00JAL3AAW/ref=sr_1_2. Put one tiny drop behind each ear, and rub it between the ear and the skin on his back.

Treat all the pigs with the ivermectin, unless any of them are less than 350 grams. If you have any that small, you'll need to get the vet to prescribe Revolution for kittens.

 

[Sugarbaby83]

Okay well I will for sure go to the store and pick up a shampoo on the GL site and try that out first thing tomorrow. Thank you for the info!! I will order the ivermectin anyways just so I have it on hand if the shampoo does not work. and yes all my piggies are over 350 grams.. Thank you so much for your help

 

[Sugarbaby83]

So I had bought the shampoo to treat my guinea pig I gave him a bath washed him very good and made sure he was dried off before he went back in to his cage. So now I notices he has lost some hair on his nose.. Not sure how I treat this area since when I bath and shampoo him I do not go past his ears. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[bpatters]

Did you read the fungus link at GL that I gave you? It has instructions on treating a fungus.

Go to the drug store and get some Lotrimin or Monistat or Nystatin. Put it on sparingly with a q-tip twice a day for several days.

Repeat the fungal shampoo every couple of days for a week. Just be sure to rinse very well.

 

[Sugarbaby83]

Yes I did read the link you sent me It was very informative. I was just worried about putting a cream on his face and wanted to make sure it was okay Thank you all so much for all your help!! How long do you think it can take to start seeing results from the shampoo/cream treatment

 

[bpatters]

It'll probably take several days. If it's working, the first thing you'll notice is that the hairless areas aren't getting any larger. Then the hair will begin to grow back in.