guinea pig occasionally losing small clumps of hair

[peppermintSmoothie]

One of our boys is having a strange skin issue. The area affected is his back around his rump

He's black, white and ginger and unfortunately the problem area is the black part!

• I've looked and looked but cannot find any sign of mites, fleas or any foreign body on him.
• He does itch a bit using his teeth, but not very often
• The skin isn't broken or damaged.
• When I stroke him theres a small amount of dandruff and some hairs that come loose (I've attached a photo but I had been looking through his fur with my torch to try and find something so its a little worse than usual!)
• One thing that has happened a few times is a small tuft of hair with skin attached has come off (photo attached) They are always the same size. I'm not sure if its related to his itching with his teeth though or something else
• They are on fleece and I haven't changed washing powder or started using anything new with them since this started.
• Our other pig has no signs of dry skin, mites, eggs etc

Has anyone experienced anything like this before? He's eating, pooping and drinking fine and will scratch a small amount but mostly he's totally not bothered by it!


My first thought is to use coconut oil and see if that helps with the dry skin? Am booking vets next week but I wanted to ask here for some ideas!




(This is not his best angle!)

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please do see a vet for diagnosis and don’t be tempted to use any coconut oil or any home treatments. Doing so can mask the issue and make diagnosis harder.

Piggies don’t suffer with fleas, and mites are not visible to us. We can only see their evidence - hair loss, scratching, sometimes empty egg casings etc.
Unfortunately the picture isn’t clear enough to show us much

New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

I agree with the above. Piggies are prone to mites, which are microscopic and bury in the skin so can not be seen. It is possible this is what your piggy has and if left untreated the condition can get a lot worse. A vet will be able to make a correct diagnosis and prescribe correct treatment.

 

[Swissgreys]

My pig had similar symptoms and it turned out to be mites (as others have said these can't be seen with the naked eye) and they need proper diagnosis and treatment by a vet.
Don't be tempted with home remedies of low strength pet shop treatments.
I hope you get your boy sorted soon as mites can be extremely painful for piggies.

 

[Merab]

Hope you can get to a vet soon and that your boy is ok