Any ideas what causes hair loss around the eyes?

[lauryn1289]

One of my boys Kip has had a bit of hair loss around his eyes for the past few months. He was taken to the vet a while ago who gave him ivermectin and it didn’t seem to do anything, a couple of years back he was on ivermectin for hair loss elsewhere. It’s been a continuous thing and I really don’t know what could cause it? He’s more than 5 years old and it doesn’t seem to bother him whatsoever he’s active and eats like a horse and he’s always begging for treats though his weight has dwindled a bit but I read that’s normal as they age. Just curious because my vet didn’t seem to have any other suggestion

Not sure if this could be relevant at all but he did have a hematoma on his neck a few months back that they drained and put him on antibiotics for, it’s sort of became a consistent lump around his neck that also doesn’t bother him whatsoever and the vet said sometimes they might never go down fully in guinea pigs and surgery would be an option but I won’t put him through surgery when it’s not bothering him. Not sure how this could possibly be linked but just incase anyone has ever had any similar issues any advice or suggestions are very welcomed!

 

[lauryn1289]

Some photos but the hair loss isn’t super visible

 

[Freela]

Does he have eye discharge? Or watery eyes? Sometimes that can cause fur loss under the eyes.

 

[Free Ranger]

When we've seen photos of pigs with fungal issues, which can also cause patches of hair loss, they've generally had other symptoms like itching, crusting and scabbing... and generally they spread (with ringworm also to the lucky owner!) but as far as I can tell your boy looks fine - the bald skin doesn't seem dry or flaky or scabby at all. And if he's had it for a while and it was fungal you'd have expected it to spread at least to other patches on his face...

Perhaps it's just an old piggy thing?

 

[lauryn1289]

Does he have eye discharge? Or watery eyes? Sometimes that can cause fur loss under the eyes.

I do notice his eyes seem a bit watery sometimes! I was concerned it was fungal or mites but I did think surely it would’ve spread

 

[lauryn1289]

When we've seen photos of pigs with fungal issues, which can also cause patches of hair loss, they've generally had other symptoms like itching, crusting and scabbing... and generally they spread (with ringworm also to the lucky owner!) but as far as I can tell your boy looks fine - the bald skin doesn't seem dry or flaky or scabby at all. And if he's had it for a while and it was fungal you'd have expected it to spread at least to other patches on his face...

Perhaps it's just an old piggy thing?

His eyes had been a small bit crusty a couple of times but the hair loss hasn’t spread anywhere else or to my other piggies so I’m gonna assume it’s not fungal at this point, I was just concerned maybe I’m missing something because even though I’ve had pigs for years now I’m not the most experienced! Probably just overthinking about it

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

You might like to have your boy's eye checked for a potential infection of the conjunctiva or irritation (including something potentially stuck under a lid); lots of watery tear fluid can cause hair loss under the eye.

It doesn't look like ringworm to me but you can find reference pictures in this link if needed: Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures

 

[lauryn1289]

Hi

You might like to have your boy's eye checked for a potential infection of the conjunctiva or irritation (including something potentially stuck under a lid); lots of watery tear fluid can cause hair loss under the eye.

It doesn't look like ringworm to me but you can find reference pictures in this link if needed: Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures

Thank you!