Hello form a Dutch guinea pig owner with a balding piglet

[Mummel]

Hello fellow guinea pig lovers,

Greetings from the Netherlands!

The Dutch guinea pig forum I used to visit from time to time seems to have been closed recently, so I was in need of a new community to ask for help when needed.

Currently one of my guinea pigs has been going bald, and several vets have looked at her and have not found anything. So, I'm hopig to find something on here that might provide new insights. The bald spots started on her flanks beginning of january, and now have spread over her back as well, leaving her with normal hair growth only on her face and butt. She has been tested for parasites, fungus, bacterial infection, ovarian cysts, an overactive thyroid gland, and cushings, but so far the vets have ruled out everythingn they have tested for.

From having read some of the existing threads, I suspect she might suffer from an allergy to a laundry detergent/ stain remover I recently started using and found its way into my piggies' laundry as well. So, if any of you have experience with this or can point me to some more of the existing discussions on the topic, that would be great!

Hope you have a lovely day.

Kind regards, Mummel

 

[weepweeps]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I’m sorry your piggy is losing hair. It sounds like your vet has been very thorough.

I haven’t got any experience of this sorry. Hopefully someone will be along soon with some advice.

 

[Bill & Ted]

Welcome to the forum

Hope you can get some answers to your piggie going bald, it sound like she has had pretty extensive tests

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry. It sounds like your vet has been very thorough if they have even looked at Chushings, which is thankfully very rare in guinea pigs and have also excluded any deficiencies.

My oldie Cerian (who is just weeks from her 7th birthday now) displays a comparable hair loss pattern and has very crusty nipples but no noticeable ovarian cysts on her last vet check.
She is extremely frail now after nearly dying last August and lives with a constantly replaced warm but not hot microwaveable snugglesafe for comfort but so far she is surprising me every morning with still being there and eating enough on her own to keep going under her own steam (I have to offer water by syringe because of her advanced arthritis). However, under the circumstances I am not investing in any expensive somewhat speculative hormone treatment for her and I can of course not say whether this is relevant for you or not.

PS: Please ask any questions in our various Care sections; the most sensitive ones are specially monitored by experienced members (like our Health/Illness section) because you will not trigger an alert otherwise and your question may go unanswered, especially if it is a more special one that most members would not have an answer for. The forum is too lively for every one of us to go through all new posts all the time. Thank you.

 

[Mummel]

Thanks for the warm welcome and words of encouragement everyone!

@Wiebke Thanks for the tip to also make use of the more specialized sections. I'll make sure post there soon, maybe also a bit more in depth.

Luckily my piggy is doing relatively okay apart from the hair loss. She did initially drop in weight a bit, but that has stabilized for now. I am monitoring her weight daily just in case. She is also quite young still, she only turned 2 last month. But with a frail elderly piglet, I fully understand being a bit more discerning in what tests and/or treatments to have her undergo. Hope she keeps on surprising you for quite a few more mornings

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for the warm welcome and words of encouragement everyone!

@Wiebke Thanks for the tip to also make use of the more specialized sections. I'll make sure post there soon, maybe also a bit more in depth.

Luckily my piggy is doing relatively okay apart from the hair loss. She did initially drop in weight a bit, but that has stabilized for now. I am monitoring her weight daily just in case. She is also quite young still, she only turned 2 last month. But with a frail elderly piglet, I fully understand being a bit more discerning in what tests and/or treatments to have her undergo. Hope she keeps on surprising you for quite a few more mornings

Now that you have seen your thread, I am going to move it to our Health/Illness section so it is seen by more members who may be more poised to add personal experiences.

 

[A Guinea Pig]

I saw Saskia from the LA Guinea Pig Rescue made video about older girls losing hair due to eating a bunch of soy found in pellets. She also talks about their hormones. Here is the link. It’s probably not the answer, but I mean it’s something. I hope you find an answer.

 

[Mummel]

After waiting way too long for the results of the last test. The vet thinks she has Cushings after all. They first thought this to be unlikely since her adrenal glands looked normal on the ultrasounds they did. But the latest test showed high cortisol values in her urine, which could indicate Cushings. So we are gonna try medication for this and check in a month wethere there is improvement.

 

[eileen]

welcome to the forum.Your vet seems very thorough.Cushings syndrome is rare but treatable with medication.i hope your piggie feels better soon.

 

[Merab]

Just seen this thread.
Welcome to the forum.

Hope the medication helps

 

[Freela]

Just want to welcome you to the forum- fingers crossed that the treatment for Cushing's helps.