Help please! hair loss

[steph-J]

Hi... we got 2 new guinea pigs on 5th july and a week later noticed a small patch of hair loss around her eye. A week later and shes in a bit of a mess, she has lost alot more fur and skin is scabby and eye hasnt been fully open. I treat her about a week ago with mite treatment and the other guinea pig has no signs of the same. Guinea pig has been eating and not seen her scratching.

Any advice please?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Please take your piggy to a vet for diagnosis and treatment. Without a picture we can only guess based on your description and we also can’t diagnose in any event, but I’m thinking ringworm.

Please don’t use off the shelf treatments (if that is what it was) and treat on spec but instead always consult a vet for diagnosis and treatment. Off the shelf treatments aren’t prescription strength so won’t cure a problem, plus you aren’t able to diagnose anything yourself

I have added in some guides below which may be of help to you. If it is ringworm, then it can spread to people to do read the guide and ensure good hygiene

Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites

 

[steph-J]

Please take your piggy to a vet for diagnosis and treatment. Without a picture we can only guess based on your description and we also can’t diagnose in any event, but I’m thinking ringworm.

Please don’t use off the shelf treatments (if that is what it was) and treat on spec but instead always consult a vet for diagnosis and treatment. Off the shelf treatments aren’t prescription strength so won’t cure a problem, plus you aren’t able to diagnose anything yourself

Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures

Ok thanks... i have a pic but cant work out how to add it..... yes was a shelf treatment i was advised to try by a vet b4 we went down the consultation route.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi... we got 2 new guinea pigs on 5th july and a week later noticed a small patch of hair loss around her eye. A week later and shes in a bit of a mess, she has lost alot more fur and skin is scabby and eye hasnt been fully open. I treat her about a week ago with mite treatment and the other guinea pig has no signs of the same. Guinea pig has been eating and not seen her scratching.

Any advice please?

Hi!

Please have your piggies vet checked for likely ringworm (a highly contagious and species jumping fungal skin infection) and please do not DIY treat on spec - for exactly the reason what is happening there. You really want good quality vet grade products now! We cannot replace any necessary vet visit as we cannot do a hands-on examination and nor do we have the qualification for it.

You may just be able to sneak into the limit that you can reclaim any vet cost arising from problems that they have come with from the pet shop, but you are just getting to the limit of the 2-3 weeks that UK customers usually get; especially if you have consulted a vet within this time.
New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites

Here is more information on your customer rights and on ringworm. Top notch hygiene is key to getting on top of the thousands of invisible but highly infectious and long lived spores (up to 2 years or even more). Please follow the very precise and comprehensive advice in the ringworm guide to prevent a return/endless saga and coming down with ringworm/tinea yourself.
Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures

You may find our new owners information collection (of which the first guide is part of) very helpful in order to avoid any other of the common pitfalls that await the unwary. The guides are there to help you learn what is normal and what not and when to a vet apart from lots other useful stuff on a wide range of subjects we get the most questions and cries for help about.
Here is the access link, which you may want to bookmark: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides