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Hair loss

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Piggy and Wiggy

Hi, I have 2 Guinea Pigs (Piggy and Wiggy) and both are 4.5 years old. I noticed a week ago that Wiggy started to lose some of her hair, and now it is getting pretty bad. I'm assuming it isn't bugs because Piggy is fine and I have inspected Piggy a lot to make sure that she is fine, but Wiggy isn't looking so good. And also Wiggy isn't acting the same. Piggy would be heartbroken if Wiggy wasn't there anymore, Wiggy is the dominant one and Piggy just follows her everywhere she goes. Please be honest with me, do you think Wiggy has much longer, I love them to death, but I'm prepared for the day I find one of them dead. I just feel bad for her and don't want her to suffer, she is such a sweet pig, piggy is a little bit more obnoxious, but fun none the less. But Wiggy has always been the nice one who loves to cubble up with me and get pet. I don't have hundreds of dollars to have a doctor look over my $30 pet either, I wish I did, but I can't spend that much on a pig that is on the back 9 of her life.
 
There is a possibility (a strong one) that if she is losing hair it could be mites. See www.guinealynx.info/mites.html. You cannot see them as they are microscopic, but they are easily (and cheaply) treated with ivermectin. There are no shampoos you can buy that can help the way ivermectin can. If it is mites and it is allowed to continue you could end up seeing your piggy scratch her skin open and end up having seizures from the pain. More things that could be wrong are hormonal hair loss from ovarian cysts or a fungal infection. But definitely treat for mites first.

I find it very sad that you are putting a monetary value on your guinea pig's life - 4 and a half years really isn't that old. It is your duty as an owner to get it seen by a vet - perhaps the laws are different where you are but over here you can be prosecuted for not getting a sick animal medical attention. By taking on an animal it is your responsibility to look after it, vet bills or not.
 
wiggy could be losing her hair as already said because of mites just becasue one does'nt get affected jsut means that she is a lot fitter and not so run down, because mites attack more when their immune system is lower, she on the other hand could have an ovarian cyst, this also is a reason she is losing her hair and considering i have had pigs until 8 I think you thinking she is on her way out is a long shot and a bit heartless, she might well have another 2 or 3 years to go yet if looked after properly, get her checked out by the vet, if you keep animals you must be prepared to look after them including all vet fees, its becoming law soon that it is a legal requirement,
 
I found a shampoo that treats mites, I will give them both a bath today and clean there cage. And don't get me wrong when I say I don't want to take them to a vet, I just don't want your advise to be "take them to the vet" I want to help them myself (the cheaper way) with store bought stuff to help her out. If it came down to needing to take her to a vet, I would, but I'd prefer to help her myself if I can. Also, after she gets her bath, is there something I can give her to help her hair grow back? Any kind of vitamin?
 
my piggy fluffpuff had a problem with hairloss. it kept on falling out and regrowing, i thought it must be mites but all the other pigs were fine. after some investigation by the vet it turned out that she had alopecia which is very uncommon in g/pigs my vet had only seen it in once before in a piggy (its very common in dogs).
is the hair regrowing or are there permanent bald patches?
 
My Sammy has had hair loss resulting from mites twice. Both times, his cage-mate did not lose any fur and looked perfectly well. (first time, he was living with his brother Snug, and more recently with Roo) I guess some pigs just react worse to mites than others do.

Mites are very easily treated by Ivermectin. Both times we had it, we took the pigs to the vet and they were treated by injection. It was effective within days. (You need to have both pigs treated to prevent re-infestation)

You can give the shampoo a go, but if there is no improvement then take them to the vet sooner rather than later.
 
How do they get mites, they got them once when they were little (which is why we have the shampoo) and this would be time #2. I also put the flea and tick stuff on them that goes on small dogs.

I'll give them the bath and put the stuff on them again, if no luck I'll buy the ivermectin and if that doesn't work I'll take them to the vet. I'll keep you updated.
 
we would ALL like to treat our pets ourselves but NONE of us are as experienced as the vet so if the shampoos do not work may I then suggest you take your pig to the vet for ivermectin which is the right treatment for mites, in the mean time if your pig starts to suffer fits etc then you know you should have taken our advise, we give advise becasue we want the animals to be as healthy as can be and not to suffer, you ask us to be honest with you sweetheart and we was, if you want your pig treated quickly and with the right medication then sorry but my advise is to get her to the vet you say its happend quickly in which case the shampoo might not work quick enough, as already said ivermectin works quickly and is officially a prescription only drug (POM) give them the bath and scrub the hutch by all means but most of us I'm sure would suggest the vet for medication,
mites attack becasue the animals has a low immune sytem they all have them but they only get a problem when they are ill or low only a few of us know how to buy and use ivermectin, not too sure if the tick and flea stuff for dogs is wise maybe some one else has used this but i know I would not use it good luck and check the shampoo has not run out of date as you used it a long time ago it might not be effective in which case the bath Will not work,
 
Shampoo is NOT the right treatment for mites. The shampoos are for lice, NOT mites. Insecticidal shampoos can also prove dangerous to piggies and some of the active ingredients (namely pyrethins) have been shown to be toxic when ingested by other rodents. Skin tests on guinea pigs have also shown evidence of irritation by this chemical but there's been no research into its toxicity if ingested by piggies. If it is mites (which it might not even be, but you don't seem willing to even get her checked out by a vet) then ivermectin is the thing to treat with.

Oh, and here you can also be prosecuted for treating them yourself rather than seeking veterinary treatment if it proves to be useless and the animal's life hangs in the balance because of it. Can you tell us which flea/tick treatment you are using please as while some are effective (active ingredient selamectin), others could kill your animal in a matter of hours.
 
unless you get the vets advice the poor little pig might have lice/mites or a cyst on her overy all can make them lose their hair as said earlier most if not all of us will suggest ivermectin by the vet,
there are 2 types of piggy owners the ones who have a great deal of knowledge and can care for their pigs themselves by years of experience and the ones who are just starting out like we did many years ago who need knowledge and experience and only by listening to the more experienced can you learn, we are not getting at you sweetie but please accept our advice in the manner it is ment and for the sake of the pigs health.
as already said you can be prosecuted for not getting proper care for your animal , build up a good rapport with your vet they can and will be so helpful, mine now trusts my judgement and my knowledge some of which i have learnt from this forum, even now i am still learning and i pass it on to my vet keeping him updated on the up to date info,
 
You do need to get to a vet now.

A guinea deserves proper care whether it is a baby or "at the back of its life".
 
Alright, I'll take them to the vet tomorrow. What kind of price am I looking at for the ivermectin?
 
Prices at vets vary considerably and will also depend very much on what the outcome is and therefore the treatment required. I think mine charge about £8 for the consultation and then you obviously pay what ever the treatment is.

I do appreciate your concerns over costs - vets are not always cheap. I have a very sickly dog and spend a lot of time at the vet and it does frustrate me sometimes and I wish I could just treat him myself but I can't. The problem with making a guess and self treating is that if you get it wrong you can make it worse which then in the long run would cost more and cause more suffering for the piggy. You should really only attempt self treatment if there is no doubt over what the problem is - any slight doubt then you do need a vet.

4 years old isn't a baby but it is not really old either so hopefully you have a couple more years with your piggy still to come.
Good Luck - let us know how you get on.
 
A couple more years, that would be awesome. I'm taking them to get treated tomorrow, as long as the bill is in the XX range, I'll be happy. I'm a student right now and don't have time for a job, that's why I'm concerned about spending a lot on them.
 
thats great news as already said if in any sort of doubt get them seen we all have problems coping with vet bills believe me,. I would think it would be around £10 to £12 and fingers crossed you get a few more years out of her, I've had an 8 year old which would mean shes only half way there, ;) let us all know how you get on, we all worry when we hear any of our pigs are ill, and love to know its sorted and they are on the road to recovery, :)
 
Made the appointment for tomorrow, $56 just to see the vet. They love animals but do all they can to get us to not want animals to be treated. I'm going to walk out of there paying over $100, it will be worth it to help the pigs, but that is ridiculous.
 
we have exactly the same problem in England sweetheart, vets charge what they like although they are now being brought more under control, with time hopefully it will all come down in price, but you will feel so relieved when you know for certainty whats wrong, let us know what happens ;)
 
Not mites, but they gave her about 3 shots to be cautious, and the other one all they did was weigh her (and charged me $60 just to weigh her.)

Total bill $261.xx, long story short, I'm not allowed back at that vet. After being told the reason if because of his 12 years of school, I checked his car, a porche and went right back in there. I shouldn't have said what I did, but I can't stand crooks like that.
 
I was told that this was a good affordable one, so I trusted the person who told me that. They want me to go back in 2 weeks for another checkup, but I told them in some bad language that I will not give them another penny and they will not see another animal of mine again. So I have to wait a week and they will call me with the results from the skin tests and they said it could be mites, but most likely its just hormonal. I was expecting to pay somewhere around $125, and that was after I added in some expected BS fees. I'm also sending them an email now, absolute crooks. But I'm glad my pigs are fine.
 
vets are a law unto themselves I'm afraid I'm lucky my vets are very friendly and so helpful, lets hope your piggys will be alright from now on they probably gave the ivermectin in injection form to be certain its not mites but sows do tend to lsoe hair especially from their sides when its hormonal ie cysts, keep us updated and look for a new vet now, dont want an emergency and no vet to go to or trust :)
 
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