Dry Skin on Older Piggy

[ariro007]

Hello all!
I noticed my older girl Freya was having some dry skin issues, specifically towards her rear. I want to add for some background she does have pretty bad arthritis and has been getting laser therapy, medication and some piggy physical therapy. I took her to the vet Thursday for bloodwork and to get her skin checked. Since she wasn’t itching, and there wasn’t a large amount of hair loss the doctors didn’t seem super worried about it. However, today I noticed she has more bits of dry skin coming off and got very upset when I was trying to comb her (understandable I’d be upset too). I am probably going to call the vet in the morning and double check with them if I should get a skin scraping done. The pictures I tried to take of her fur were all blurry . But it looks like dry skin with fur sticking out that has come off.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks to help her? I feel so bad that she might be uncomfortable. It has been pretty dry here so I know I have to start up my humidifier again.

Thank you! I added a picture of her at her laser therapy appointment being cute!

 

[CTWC]

Oh bless her sorry I have no advice but I'm sure someone will be along soon to help

 

[Wiebke]

Hello all!
I noticed my older girl Freya was having some dry skin issues, specifically towards her rear. I want to add for some background she does have pretty bad arthritis and has been getting laser therapy, medication and some piggy physical therapy. I took her to the vet Thursday for bloodwork and to get her skin checked. Since she wasn’t itching, and there wasn’t a large amount of hair loss the doctors didn’t seem super worried about it. However, today I noticed she has more bits of dry skin coming off and got very upset when I was trying to comb her (understandable I’d be upset too). I am probably going to call the vet in the morning and double check with them if I should get a skin scraping done. The pictures I tried to take of her fur were all blurry . But it looks like dry skin with fur sticking out that has come off.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks to help her? I feel so bad that she might be uncomfortable. It has been pretty dry here so I know I have to start up my humidifier again.

Thank you! I added a picture of her at her laser therapy appointment being cute!

Hi and welcome

Please make sure that you have her checked for mange mites. Most of the typical hair loss and wounds at the back sre self-inflicted but arthritic piggies cannot do this, and they can no longer scratch themselves.
Arthritic piggies are also often no longer able to 'piggy wash' themselves and to spread very midly antibiotic saliva and skin oil over their skin and coat.

Looking After Guinea Pigs With Limited or No Mobility

Without any pictures of the actual area, we can unfortunately not comment any further.

 

[ariro007]

Hi and welcome

Please make sure that you have her checked for mange mites. Most of the typical hair loss and wounds at the back sre self-inflicted but arthritic piggies cannot do this, and they can no longer scratch themselves.
Arthritic piggies are also often no longer able to 'piggy wash' themselves and to spread very midly antibiotic saliva and skin oil over their skin and coat.

Looking After Guinea Pigs With Limited or No Mobility

Without any pictures of the actual area, we can unfortunately not comment any further.

Thank you! I was reading that earlier! I can see if I can get a picture, her fur is so thick too it is a bit difficult.

 

[ariro007]

Hello all!
I noticed my older girl Freya was having some dry skin issues, specifically towards her rear. I want to add for some background she does have pretty bad arthritis and has been getting laser therapy, medication and some piggy physical therapy. I took her to the vet Thursday for bloodwork and to get her skin checked. Since she wasn’t itching, and there wasn’t a large amount of hair loss the doctors didn’t seem super worried about it. However, today I noticed she has more bits of dry skin coming off and got very upset when I was trying to comb her (understandable I’d be upset too). I am probably going to call the vet in the morning and double check with them if I should get a skin scraping done. The pictures I tried to take of her fur were all blurry . But it looks like dry skin with fur sticking out that has come off.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks to help her? I feel so bad that she might be uncomfortable. It has been pretty dry here so I know I have to start up my humidifier again.

Thank you! I added a picture of her at her laser therapy appointment being cute!

I’m going to try and add some pictures. Her fur is extremely thick so getting to the spot and taking a picture by myself is a struggle. The one picture is what I was coming out of her back area. The second picture, I apologize for the quality I had to mess with the settings just to get it bright enough, you can kind of see her skin. I know these aren’t great but I don’t want to stress her out anymore. I’m going to call the vet and schedule another appointment just in case.

 

[Veganmigi]

Ok I’m only mentioning this but of course I don’t know and I ain’t a vet lol…..but hair loss on females can be hormonal, is her nipples crusty?

 

[ariro007]

Ok I’m only mentioning this but of course I don’t know and I ain’t a vet lol…..but hair loss on females can be hormonal, is her nipples crusty?

She actually no longer has her ovaries and only has one nipple so thankfully we can rule that out. Freya has been through quite a bit! She’s a strong piggy! Going to attach photos here because I gave her a hair cut and was able to get a better view of her skin. She has a pretty bald butt but at least she isn’t peeing on herself. I thought those pics were better but you have to really zoom in . Sorry my camera sucks guys.