Hair loss!

[Rachy1412]

My 5year old(soon to be 6!) piggie Biscuit is losing hair again! She has two medium patches on her back, two small patches further up near her head and a big line of no hair around her face. I will try to get pictures later but at the moment she is eating. She also has no dandruff.. but when I brush her alot of her hair falls out and there are lots of little black specks.

She has also lost 3oz/85g in a month. (My scales are not great so that might be why.) She doesn't seem to be scratching an awlful lot and doesn't appear to be irritated. She does though appear more "Old". I know that sounds silly but she just appears more fragile. I am also worried about her eyes. They appear to be slightly blue. The other day when I was rounding the pigs up she must not have seen me because when I went to pick her up she bit me. She has never bitten me before. I don't thinks he is blind because she can still see where I have changed the hayracks and boxes.. but maybe she is losing a little sight.

My mum won't book a vet appointment untill the end of the week as that is when she is getting paid. The last time I saw the vet with her because she was losing fur on her back he gave me something called Xenex ultra spot on; which caused an allergic reaction in one of my pigs. I do not want that again because the pig that had a allergic reaction has a habit of licking the other pigs. So I do not want her having another reaction. I will of course though ask about iverectim (sp?). Shes only 5, so she is not that old but what are the signs of old age? I want to rule out mites and other problems before I put my neutered male in with them.. I do not want him catching anything! I don't know if this matters but when I first got her she had a bad case of mites where she had open sores and it got infected. The place that is bald on her back is the same place that she had sores last time.

xx

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Could it be hormonal? She could have ovarian cysts. Causes hair loss, but if it's around the face then it is more likely fungal.

 

[Rachy1412]

She hasn't really been acting more hormonal. I can never tell when she is in season because she never rumblestruts or mounts her cage mates. When she is in the garden running around and the boys are in the run she does present herself to them... but thats about as hormonal as she gets.

 

[kimberly78]

My old man (he will be 7) is missing some hair around his face, the rest of his hair is thinned out too. He also has that blueish tint to his eyes. My vet has checked my pig over and did a skin scrape. Q is healthy as an ox for his age, just getting old.

 

[berylpheobe]

[Hi Rachy,
Just wondered how you are getting on with biscuit. I also have
trouble with hair loss with my older girls Fluffy, Muffy and Beryl. I live in Essex. The vets are a bit puzzled. May need to see a guinea pig expert. They cant see a trace of mites, but have given ivermektin in case. Can we swop notes and photos, my email is [email protected]. kind regards, DawnQUOTE=Rachy1412]My 5year old(soon to be 6!) piggie Biscuit is losing hair again! She has two medium patches on her back, two small patches further up near her head and a big line of no hair around her face. I will try to get pictures later but at the moment she is eating. She also has no dandruff.. but when I brush her alot of her hair falls out and there are lots of little black specks.

She has also lost 3oz/85g in a month. (My scales are not great so that might be why.) She doesn't seem to be scratching an awlful lot and doesn't appear to be irritated. She does though appear more "Old". I know that sounds silly but she just appears more fragile. I am also worried about her eyes. They appear to be slightly blue. The other day when I was rounding the pigs up she must not have seen me because when I went to pick her up she bit me. She has never bitten me before. I don't thinks he is blind because she can still see where I have changed the hayracks and boxes.. but maybe she is losing a little sight.

My mum won't book a vet appointment untill the end of the week as that is when she is getting paid. The last time I saw the vet with her because she was losing fur on her back he gave me something called Xenex ultra spot on; which caused an allergic reaction in one of my pigs. I do not want that again because the pig that had a allergic reaction has a habit of licking the other pigs. So I do not want her having another reaction. I will of course though ask about iverectim (sp?). Shes only 5, so she is not that old but what are the signs of old age? I want to rule out mites and other problems before I put my neutered male in with them.. I do not want him catching anything! I don't know if this matters but when I first got her she had a bad case of mites where she had open sores and it got infected. The place that is bald on her back is the same place that she had sores last time.

xx[/QUOTE]

 

[berylpheobe]

Hi Rachel.
Just wondered how you are getting on with biscuit's hair loss. I have the same problem
with fluffy, muffy and beryl, long haired. The vets (essex) and I may need to see a guinea pig expert. They have had ivermectin, but no trace of mites. Do you have any photos, and any results yet. Would love to swop notes, Kind regards, Dawn. My email
is [email protected]

 

[Rachy1412]

Hey, I live in Essex too! I won't be going to the vets until friday so I will tell you what they said then. Here is some pictures. Sorry they are not good. It is very hard to try and stop the piggie from eating the camara while trying to take a picture and trying to shield her eyes from the flash! Should pigs react to the flash? She did not even move.

Here is a picture of her back, the grey patches are where her hair has started to thin:

This a picture of her neck. VERY hard to get a picture of this and she wouldn't lift her head up, Once again the gray area is the bald.

Here is another picture of her neck:

Hopefully you can make it all out!

 

[Katie]

I would treat for mites just in case. My sow had no dandruff, but still had mites. Also, the black "specks" that fall out are more then likely dandruff, being a golden agouti, her skin is black.

 

[Rachy1412]

Well we went to the vets today. He couldn't really tell what was going on. He said that it could be mites but she is not scratching enough and she doesn't have the mass dandruff. He also said it could be an allergy or an iritation of some kind. He ruled out old age because she had been scratching at it.

He said that it did not look too bad but he could give her an injection to sooth any irritation but it wasn't really necessary and since she is getting old I didn't want to put her under any unnecessary stress. He told me to keep an eye on it for a while and if it gets worse to bring her back and he could run some tests. He didn't want to do a skin scrapping.. He didn't totally rule out mites as it could be just the early stages. And since she is old it could affect her more quickly. He did give me something similar to this so that we could rule out mites:
https://guinealynx.info/revolution.jpg
Mine looks exactly the same but it does not say revolution on it.. instead it says Stronghold. He advised me to put on one drop per pig, he said that one drop would be enough but I could do another one in about 2weeks time if I was still concerned. He also gave me some Hibiscrub to rub on the bald patches, I have to dilute it with water at about 1:20. He said it is also good for any wounds they might get which will come in handy when I start the introductions next week!

She doesn't seem bothered or in any kind of pain so I will just use this selamectin stuff and see what happens.