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Going Bald?!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Beanie
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Beanie

My long haired guinea pig Milly has got bald patches behind her front legs and some on her back. Is she chewing it all off because of fleas or do you think there could be another reason? And if she does have fleas, how should I treat them?
 
Hi you can go to the vets and ask for Revolution for puppies and kittens up to 2.5kg, BUT be careful only ONE drop to be put on her back just behind her head area, part the fur and pop it on. It can be repeated after about 2 weeks. This is about the best we've got here in Australia. If uncertain i'd ask the vet or the AEC people i've given you the number for, they will advise you much better than i can. Remember to tell them her weight and her age :-* Have you given her a bath at all? And do you groom her, for advice on this ask on here there's lots of lovely people with long haired guineas and they can help you :) :) :)
 
There are a few reasons that can result in bald patches - mites or a fungal infection would result in bald patches. Is she scratching a lot? Is there any scurf or dandruff? Are there any sores or scabby areas? Can you see any visable lice or wrigglies? In sows hormone problems can result in hair loss as well.

The Gorgeous Guineas website has some details on how to identify different skin problems - though this is a UK site but I understand they do ship internationally. They also have hints on tips & preventing skin problems as well - I follow their advice and use their products and can not recommend them enough. If in doubt about your girl, one for the vet I would say!
 
right now i have an awful lot of bald looking pigs :-\ they have patches on their back and above the eyes, it is mites or so the vet says and has spread through my herd and some of them have very bad sores on them, all happened very quickly.
 
None of my other guineas have patches on them, so I don't think it's mites otherwise they probably would have spread by now
 
Beanie said:
None of my other guineas have patches on them, so I don't think it's mites otherwise they probably would have spread by now
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Just because it hasn't spread doesn't mean it isn't mites. Since this is the most common cause I would treat her for it anyway. If you can't get ivermectin in Oz, follow Glynis's advice on revolution - it works well on mites and lice. If it is lice, however, you would be able to see them. There is also a possibility, as said above, that it could be hormonal - something like ovarian cysts. This is fairly common in older sows. Other symptoms of this include enlarged, crusty nipples, a change in body shape to thin ribs and fat belly and hormonal behaviour like mounting.
 
Piggies usually groom in those areas.. and it is normal to see some hair loss. You should start to worry if you see open wounds or lice looking parasites. If your gp is licking its most likely just grooming. if your gp is scratching it could be parasites. Take your piggy to your cavy savy vet. DONT LET THEM USE CAT/DOG FLEA MEDICATION. GP's rarely get flea's.. They can get 2 types of fungi under the skin (which is not visible with a mite test) or they can get mites, lice, parasites.. etc. All these can easily be treated with a set of three shots of invermectin. They cost about 12$ a shot. One shot every 10 days. Even if your gp is not suffering from parasites or fungus, if you're really worried invermectin will be fine to try. It will not hurt your piggy if your piggy is parasite free. It will just help it if it does have parasites. thats the good part. Good luck!
 
guinealove07 said:
Piggies usually groom in those areas.. and it is normal to see some hair loss. You should start to worry if you see open wounds or lice looking parasites. If your gp is licking its most likely just grooming.
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In 15 years of owning pigs I have never seen a pig that groomed/barbered to bare skin. If there are bald patches, chances are it's not grooming. I would also not recommend letting it get to the stage of open sores - mites can be treated long before it gets to that stage.
 
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