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Dry skin & hair loss?

Lotteluvspigs

Lotteluvspigs

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hope the title doesn't make it sound so bad but a while ago I saw one of my guinea pigs Tiny, had some dry skin on her foot around her toenail and a little bit of hair loss around that area. I haven't really been keeping track but I noticed recently when I was clipping her nails that it's a long her foot now? Before I put some coconut oil on her toenail to relieve the dryness, but I'm concerned more about the hair loss now, any advice? Is this just normal sometimes for piggies? ( If you guys need more photos let me know but it's hard to get a good view )
 

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It’s good they you put something to keep they dry skin moist. You could also try to using Vaseline and massaging into her foot. What type of bedding do you use?
 
Are there any scabs? If it feels dry and cracked a vet might prescribe a wipe to kelp it from becoming infected.
 
Things like this also could be fungal in other guinea pigs. Taking yours to a vet could get it resolved.
 
A Guinea Pig said:
It’s good they you put something to keep they dry skin moist. You could also try to using Vaseline and massaging into her foot. What type of bedding do you use?
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I use a guinea dad liner (fleece) and they have a hay litter box which is a little crunchy. The picture is the padding of her foot since you were asking.
 

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I would see a vet to get it treated. Little white stuff is probably flakey skin. Right? Hair lose is not really something you can just treat at home. A vet can prescribe something specific to you guinea pig to help fight fungal infections.
 
Please get your piggy seen by a vet.
It looks like it could be a fungal infection. So you need the right kind of medication to treat it.
Fungal infections can spread to other piggies and to humans. The sooner you start treatment the better.
 
Please do not put coconut oil or Vaseline on your piggy. It is never recommended to put anything on yourself prior to seeing a vet as in the case of any skin condition it will actually hide evidence a vet needs to be able to make a correct diagnosis.

Please see a vet for any concerns
 
Piggies&buns said:
Please do not put coconut oil or Vaseline on your piggy. It is never recommended to put anything on yourself prior to seeing a vet as in the case of any skin condition it will actually hide evidence a vet needs to be able to make a correct diagnosis.

Please see a vet for any concerns
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The soonest time I can see a vet is next week cause the only exotic vet in our area is very busy, is this ok?
 
theguineahouse2424 said:
The soonest time I can see a vet is next week cause the only exotic vet in our area is very busy, is this ok?
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You can only do what you can do. Perhaps you could call them each day between now and your appointment next week to see if they have had any cancellations.
In the meantime, do not put anything on it yourself.
 
Piggies&buns said:
You can only do what you can do. Perhaps you could call them each day between now and your appointment next week to see if they have had any cancellations.
In the meantime, do not put anything on it yourself.
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Ok thank you!
 
Please don't use Vaseline on you guinea pigs. It could cause health issues if they lick it, a lot of human products are not safe for guinea pigs always check with a vet.
 
piggieminder said:
Please don't use Vaseline on you guinea pigs. It could cause health issues if they lick it, a lot of human products are not safe for guinea pigs always check with a vet.
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Yeah I was a little skeptical of that I only put coconut oil on it before because I was misinformed by the other person, hopefully this is okay since the appointment won't be for a while but thanks for letting me know.
 
@A Guinea Pig please don’t take this the wrong way but I am going to ask you not to give advice on health and illness threads. You are a new member. Your experience and expertise are untested by us and to be perfectly honest you’ve not given totally the correct advice in this thread. We have a wealth of very experienced members who have all the relevant information at their fingertips and who are trusted members of this forum. I appreciate your enthusiasm to help, but it really would be best left to more experienced members to ensure the correct advice is given.
 
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