Please help - irregular brown markings?

[Dolly2.0]

Hi there,
I’ve noticed my Guinea pig has some irregular brown markings on her skin. She’s the only one of our six girls who has them so I’m not sure what it could be. She also seems to have a bit of hair/weight loss? Two of them do have a bit of a thing with mounting and sometimes she is subject to that, however they are relatively small and don’t get very far. I’m really hoping she’s okay and it’s nothing to worry about however I thought here would be the best place to go. I have ordered some ivermectin and we have some insecticidal shampoo but I wasn’t sure exactly what it could be. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you!
Here are some pictures:

 

[Piggies&buns]

The markings could just be the colour of her skin, but it’s not something we can know from a photo. However, hair loss and weight loss is concerning.
Seeing a vet is the best thing to do. We cannot diagnose any issues.

Please do not use the ivermectin or shampoo on spec and instead please consult with a vet for a proper diagnosis and the correct prescription strength product.
Using any product yourself could be too low dosed to do any good, result in resistance and then a much harder time in treating the issue. You also don’t know that ivermectin is the correct product for the cause of the hair loss.
Using products without consulting a vet can also result in essential markers a vet needs to make a diagnosis being removed and thus making diagnosis harder

How much weight loss has occurred?
How old are they?

What do you mean by ‘Two of them do have a bit of a thing with mounting and sometimes she is subject to that, however they are relatively small and don’t get very far’.
Do you have unneutered boars and sows together?

 

[Dolly2.0]

The markings could just be the colour of her skin, but it’s not something we can know from a photo. However, hair loss and weight loss is concerning.
Seeing a vet is the best thing to do. We cannot diagnose any issues.

Please do not use the ivermectin on spec and instead please consult with a vet for a proper diagnosis and the correct prescription strength product.
Using any product yourself could be too low dosed to do any good, result in resistance and then a much harder time in treating the issue. You also don’t know that ivermectin is the correct product for the cause of the hair loss.

How much weight loss has occurred?
How old are they?

What do you mean by ‘Two of them do have a bit of a thing with mounting and sometimes she is subject to that, however they are relatively small and don’t get very far’.
Do you have unneutered boars and sows together?

Hi, thank you for your reply.
They are all girls (sorry for the confusion)
It doesn’t look like a huge amount of weight loss, it could possibly be just hair loss (it’s quite hard to tell). She is around 4, but we adopted her so we’re not entirely sure.
She’s eating completely normally and comes over for food like the rest of them, and is fine with running around the cage (she doesn’t seem particularly lethargic).
The two that have been mounting - I think it is just if they are in season, but it doesn’t really happen all the time - I wasn’t sure if maybe it was a scab?
I was potentially wondering if it was mites? I think she had something like this last year and when I used ivermectin (on all of the piggies) they seemed to recover well
Thank you again! And sorry that this is very badly worded!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Are you weighing them all weekly as part of routine care (switching to daily checks when there are health concerns)? That is the only way to know if they are eating enough hay and therefore not losing weight.
It could well be mites but it also might not be so seeing a vet for a proper diagnosis and the correct treatment is essential.
Mite treatments need to be given at the correct strength at the correct intervals and at the correct number of doses

 

[Dolly2.0]

Are you weighing them all weekly as part of routine care (switching to daily checks when there are health concerns)? That is the only way to know if they are eating enough hay and therefore not losing weight.
It could well be mites but it also might not be so seeing a vet for a proper diagnosis and the correct treatment is essential.
Mite treatments need to be given at the correct strength at the correct intervals and at the correct number of doses

There wasn’t particularly health concerns before as we just noticed today that the spots were there (they weren’t visible before). When we hold them, we noticed she felt relatively light. Her sister’s (who we adopted her with) fur has changed pigment since they have begun living inside, so I’m not sure if it may be something similar. They also all tend to eat each others fur, so it could be something like that.
Thank you for your help, I will get her checked out

 

[Piggies&buns]

Do make sure you keep up with the weight checks weekly, switching to daily particularly if you think she is feeling lighter than normal. By the time they feel lighter, they may already have lost considerable weight if you aren’t regularly weighing, then you wont know and won’t be able to step in with support feeding
Barbering (hair eating) each other and self-barbering can have many causes.

Please do see a vet for the hair loss, and to make sure the marks aren’t anything to be concerned about

 

[weepweeps]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Good luck at the vets. I hope its something easily fixable.

 

[Dolly2.0]

Do make sure you keep up with the weight checks weekly, switching to daily particularly if you think she is feeling lighter than normal. By the time they feel lighter, they may already have lost considerable weight if you aren’t regularly weighing, then you wont know and won’t be able to step in with support feeding
Barbering (hair eating) each other and self-barbering can have many causes.

Please do see a vet for the hair loss, and to make sure the marks aren’t anything to be concerned about

Thank you, I will do. I’m going to weigh her now also
You have been of great help!

 

[Dolly2.0]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Good luck at the vets. I hope its something easily fixable.

Thank you! I do too

 

[Dolly2.0]

Do make sure you keep up with the weight checks weekly, switching to daily particularly if you think she is feeling lighter than normal. By the time they feel lighter, they may already have lost considerable weight if you aren’t regularly weighing, then you wont know and won’t be able to step in with support feeding
Barbering (hair eating) each other and self-barbering can have many causes.

Please do see a vet for the hair loss, and to make sure the marks aren’t anything to be concerned about

We’ve just weighed her and it says she’s about 850g. It says that that’s within range online, but does that seem okay? We’re also going to weigh her in a week

 

[Roselina]

I would weigh her the same time tomorro just to see if she’s maintaining her weight.
I’d also take her for a check up with a vet that is experienced with guinea pigs.
It’ll reassure you and ensure your piggy is ok.

 

[Piggies&buns]

We’ve just weighed her and it says she’s about 850g. It says that that’s within range online, but does that seem okay? We’re also going to weigh her in a week

There is no range as such. Each piggy will have their own natural adult weight but the number on the scales isn’t the whole picture. The scales tell you that they are eating enough hay but it doesn’t tell you that they are a healthy size for themselves - eg a piggy can be healthy at 800g or 1500g but for another that could be severely underweight or overweight -what is important here is each piggy’s heft - what is healthy for their own size.
What you looking for, at her age, is that she is consistent at each weekly weight check within 50g. Any more than 50g loss and you go on alert and switch to daily checks, watch for a downward trend. 100g loss in 24 hours is a medical emergency.
Check her heft as per the guide below also.

If you are concerned she feels lighter than normal, then please weigh her tomorrow at the same time, and don’t wait until next week. If she is losing weight you need to be able to step in with syringe feeding her to stop weight loss

Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[Dolly2.0]

There is no range as such. Each piggy will have their own natural adult weight but the number on the scales isn’t the whole picture. The scales tell you that they are eating enough hay but it doesn’t tell you that they are a healthy size for themselves - eg a piggy can be healthy at 800g or 1500g but for another that could be severely underweight or overweight -what is important here is each piggy’s heft - what is healthy for their own size.
What you looking for, at her age, is that she is consistent at each weekly weight check within 50g. Any more than 50g loss and you go on alert and switch to daily checks, watch for a downward trend. 100g loss in 24 hours is a medical emergency.
Check her heft as per the guide below also.

If you are concerned she feels lighter than normal, then please weigh her tomorrow at the same time, and don’t wait until next week. If she is losing weight you need to be able to step in with syringe feeding her to stop weight loss

Weight - Monitoring and Management

Oh okay, I will do that. I thought tomorrow would be too soon, sorry, but I will make sure to do that
Thank you!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Oh okay, I will do that. I thought tomorrow would be too soon, sorry, but I will make sure to do that
Thank you!

No its not soon if you have concerns. Weighing every 24 hours is essential if you have health concerns to enable you to step in quickly. If a piggy isn’t eating enough and loses more than 50g in 24 hours, then they need to be syringe fed a recovery feed or mushed pellets.

A healthy piggy without health concerns, then weekly weight checks are fine.

 

[Dolly2.0]

No its not soon if you have concerns. Weighing every 24 hours is essential if you have health concerns to enable you to step in quickly. If a piggy isn’t eating enough and loses more than 50g in 24 hours, then they need to be syringe fed a recovery feed or mushed pellets.

A healthy piggy without health concerns, then weekly weight checks are fine.

Oh no of course, I wasn’t second guessing you, I just meant that I thought it was too soon before you said it as I didn’t know that it could happen that quick. Sorry.

 

[Dolly2.0]

I would weigh her the same time tomorro just to see if she’s maintaining her weight.
I’d also take her for a check up with a vet that is experienced with guinea pigs.
It’ll reassure you and ensure your piggy is ok.

Thank you