Bald spots behind ears on skin? No fur?

[koolkathan]

Hi there

here are some photosof the bald spots on myguinea Fur behind the ears on the skin,

would you say this is normal?
Thank you!
Sorry I couldn’t get the black side one any clearer. He’s a black, white and ginger coloured guinea haha


Sorry about the hairy legs

 

[Wiebke]

Hi there

here are some photosof the bald spots on myguinea Fur behind the ears on the skin,

would you say this is normal?
Thank you!
Sorry I couldn’t get the black side one any clearer. He’s a black, white and ginger coloured guinea haha

View attachment 171945View attachment 171946View attachment 171947
Sorry about the hairy legs

Hi

Guinea pics regulate their body temperature via the blood flow through their ears. It is a lot more difficult to shed excess heat when the ears abut furry skin; that is why piggies normally have a bald area behind the ears. The shape of it is individual but it should be the same behind both ears. You can only talk of hairloss if these areas are not the same on both sides.

You can learn about more piggy body quirks that can trip up new owners in the very useful guide links below and also use it for your life-long weekly body check and weigh-in health monitoring. Once you know what is normal for each piggy, you will find it easier to spot any changes.
Guinea pig body quirks - What is normal and what not?
Weight - Monitoring and Management

PS: No apologies needed! My piggies have told me that they find it cool that I try my best to look like them although the result is pretty unimpressive!

 

[Izzie913]

I literally posted the same question yesterday Apparently, guinea pigs naturally have a bald spot behind their ear!

 

[koolkathan]

Thank you! It’s just because my other guinea pig doesn’t have the same amount if you get me, he has a small patch! Where as his is quite big, not obviously extreme but bigger than my other one, also on the white side there’s some red but maybe it’s just the heat like you said?
I’ve only recently got this new one and he’s totally adorable and I’ve never had his breed before

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you! It’s just because my other guinea pig doesn’t have the same amount if you get me, he has a small patch! Where as his is quite big, not obviously extreme but bigger than my other one, also on the white side there’s some red but maybe it’s just the heat like you said?
I’ve only recently got this new one and he’s totally adorable and I’ve never had his breed before

The size and shape of the patch can vary a lot; they are as individual as fingerprints in humans. some piggies can even have some hair on their ears and fur growing right up to their ears. It is learning what is 'normal' for each piggy and if necessary taking reference pictures that help you spot problems later in life early on.

 

[koolkathan]

Also can I ask, is it normal for Guineas to have dandruff? And like scabs? It’s definitely not ringworm as I’ve had a look though all of that and it looks nothing like that thankfully, he just has white flaky bits like dandruff