Plucking Cagemates' hairs

[Diana85]

I own 2 females and have always lived together since i got them 3 years ago, recently Piggy had to have surgery to remove a sebaceous cyst just under her ear, following the surgery she developed a UTI so was on antibiotics, both of those things really impacted her so she was pretty much not eating and it was very difficult to feed her critical care as she would refuse it and I had to practically force feed her. She then started to put the weight back on and finally 3 weeks after surgery started to eat veg, pellets and hay again on her own and now is always eating her hay. During this time she started eating her cagemate's (Kiwi) poops and the more she ate them the more she bothered Kiwi for them, and it came to a point that she would not leave her alone to eat and would even attempt to get her out of the hidey to look for poops and to make her poop to eat those too, and for the last week or so she didn't just eat the poops on the fleece but would get really close to Kiwi's bum trying to get the poops before they landed on the fleece. I intervened constantly so that she is left alone to eat and rest in peace but it is almost impossible to supervise them 24/7, i also tried separating them a night when i cannot supervise them but they both would go crazy biting at the grids trying to go to the other side that i would just give up and allow them to be together. Anyway I thought her trying to continually eat poops was because of her gut due to being on antibiotics and what she went through so would try to give her poop soup but she would just not have it, i also give her fibreplex but once back on the cage she continues to pester her sister for healthy poops, and today upon close inspection i noticed that Piggy had not just sniffed at Kiwi's bottom but had actually plucked the hairs making the area close to the grease gland area raw. I have now separated them for good until Kiwis bottom heals and Piggy's gut issue resolves, and I wanted some advice on how to treat Kiwi's sore area and on what exactly is making Piggy do this to her.

 

[Scooter Pie]

I was going to say, eating the poops is fine. It's actually really amazing they have the instinct to do that, because it's exactly for the reason you think; for the healthy bacteria.

Barbering can be annoying too....but the rawness there isn't good. It's a shame you have to separate them. Can you see a vet soon? They would know the best treatment.

 

[Diana85]

I was going to say, eating the poops is fine. It's actually really amazing they have the instinct to do that, because it's exactly for the reason you think; for the healthy bacteria.

Barbering can be annoying too....but the rawness there isn't good. It's a shame you have to separate them. Can you see a vet soon? They would know the best treatment.

Thank you, and yes it is a shame i had to separate them and I have been in touch with a vet asking them about this.

 

[piggieminder]

Barbering ( Eating Hair)

You may find the above link interesting.

 

[Diana85]

I own 2 females and have always lived together since i got them 3 years ago, recently Piggy had to have surgery to remove a sebaceous cyst just under her ear, following the surgery she developed a UTI so was on antibiotics, both of those things really impacted her so she was pretty much not eating and it was very difficult to feed her critical care as she would refuse it and I had to practically force feed her. She then started to put the weight back on and finally 3 weeks after surgery started to eat veg, pellets and hay again on her own and now is always eating her hay. During this time she started eating her cagemate's (Kiwi) poops and the more she ate them the more she bothered Kiwi for them, and it came to a point that she would not leave her alone to eat and would even attempt to get her out of the hidey to look for poops and to make her poop to eat those too, and for the last week or so she didn't just eat the poops on the fleece but would get really close to Kiwi's bum trying to get the poops before they landed on the fleece. I intervened constantly so that she is left alone to eat and rest in peace but it is almost impossible to supervise them 24/7, i also tried separating them a night when i cannot supervise them but they both would go crazy biting at the grids trying to go to the other side that i would just give up and allow them to be together. Anyway I thought her trying to continually eat poops was because of her gut due to being on antibiotics and what she went through so would try to give her poop soup but she would just not have it, i also give her fibreplex but once back on the cage she continues to pester her sister for healthy poops, and today upon close inspection i noticed that Piggy had not just sniffed at Kiwi's bottom but had actually plucked the hairs making the area close to the grease gland area raw. I have now separated them for good until Kiwis bottom heals and Piggy's gut issue resolves, and I wanted some advice on how to treat Kiwi's sore area and on what exactly is making Piggy do this to her.



View attachment 188745

Forgot to say Piggy the one doing the barbering is the dominant pig and the one that went through surgery

 

[Diana85]

Barbering ( Eating Hair)

You may find the above link interesting.

thank you will read through that

 

[Engel]

Piggies eat the fresh poops from their cage mates to help restock the gut. Have you got any probiotics? May be worth giving her some.

Ouch, that looks sore. I'd check it with a vet. Your assuming it's from her plucking the hair, just make sure it isn't anything else like ringworm first.

 

[Diana85]

Piggies eat the fresh poops from their cage mates to help restock the gut. Have you got any probiotics? May be worth giving her some.

Ouch, that looks sore. I'd check it with a vet. Your assuming it's from her plucking the hair, just make sure it isn't anything else like ringworm first.

i do give her the probiotic but i guess it is not enough so will consult vet in regards to this. Also vet confirmed it was not ringworm, but i have now given a bath with an appropriate antifungal just in case.

 

[Engel]

i do give her the probiotic but i guess it is not enough so will consult vet in regards to this. Also vet confirmed it was not ringworm, but i have now given a bath with an appropriate antifungal just in case.

Well that's good that its not ringworm. Forgive me, what probiotic are you using?

 

[Diana85]

Well that's good that its not ringworm. Forgive me, what probiotic are you using?

This probiotic

 

[Engel]

Ok. I've never used that as I didn't think it contained probiotics. (Hopefully someone will come along with more knowledge) Have you tried pro-c along with that? That has prebiotics, probiotics and vit c. Sprinkle a bit on veg before you give it to them and it goes down a treat.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Fibreplex is absolutely fine to use

Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

 

[Diana85]

Ok. I've never used that as I didn't think it contained probiotics. (Hopefully someone will come along with more knowledge) Have you tried pro-c along with that? That has prebiotics, probiotics and vit c. Sprinkle a bit on veg before you give it to them and it goes down a treat.

I tried giving them this before and both flat out refuse to eat the veg that was sprinkled with this so have to force feed them the other one.

 

[Diana85]

Fibreplex is absolutely fine to use

Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

thank you, i am giving her a pea sized amount once a day but have now started giving it to her 2x a day and seeing if that does the trick

 

[Wiebke]

Ok. I've never used that as I didn't think it contained probiotics. (Hopefully someone will come along with more knowledge) Have you tried pro-c along with that? That has prebiotics, probiotics and vit c. Sprinkle a bit on veg before you give it to them and it goes down a treat.

Fibreplex does contain probiotics and several things more. However, while it is fine for when your piggy has a slow recovery from loss of appetite or issues with persistent milder tummy problems especially in frailer and/or older piggies, it won't do anything for skin parasites or fungal, sorry.
It is listed on in our guide for feeding support products: Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

Has your vet checked whether there is a chance of mites? Since you have treated the spot it is diffcult for us to make an educated guess. I can also not clearly see where it is located on the body. This looks more like self barbering due to an acute pain issue in or underneath the skin and not like barbering from another piggy to me.

 

[Diana85]

Fibreplex does contain probiotics and several things more. However, while it is fine for when your piggy has a slow recovery from loss of appetite or issues with persistent milder tummy problems especially in frailer and/or older piggies, it won't do anything for skin parasites or fungal, sorry.
It is listed on in our guide for feeding support products: Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links

Has your vet checked whether there is a chance of mites? Since you have treated the spot it is diffcult for us to make an educated guess. I can also not clearly see where it is located on the body. This looks more like self barbering due to an acute pain issue in or underneath the skin and not like barbering from another piggy to me.

The vet said it was not any skin disease and when i explained what i had observed she agreed that her fur is being plucked. But in any case i did bathe Kiwi in antifungal shampoo today just in case.
Also they sleep in my room and i work from home so I'm always facing them and have not noticed her pulling her own hair, plus the area is around the grease gland and i have watched her closely and she is not able to reach it herself as far as i can see. But will keep a very closer eye on her for any of the behaviour you mentioned. The fibreplex is for her sister who keeps eating Kiwis poop's and the culprit in my eyes for the hair plucking/barbering, so hoping fribreplex does the trick fast.

 

[Wiebke]

The vet said it was not any skin disease and when i explained what i had observed she agreed that her fur is being plucked. But in any case i did bathe Kiwi in antifungal shampoo today just in case.
Also they sleep in my room and i work from home so I'm always facing them and have not noticed her pulling her own hair, plus the area is around the grease gland and i have watched her closely and she is not able to reach it herself as far as i can see. But will keep a very closer eye on her for any of the behaviour you mentioned. The fibreplex is for her sister who keeps eating Kiwis poop's and the culprit in my eyes for the hair plucking/barbering, so hoping fribreplex does the trick fast.

We can only ever just by look but we cannot have that all important hands-on examination to see whether the hair is falling out or is nibbled down (leaving a little stubble). However, a badly barbered patch like this is very unusual for being the result of nibbling from another piggy; mostly they are self-inflicted.

All the best for sorting out your problems.

 

[Diana85]

We can only ever just by look but we cannot have that all important hands-on examination to see whether the hair is falling out or is nibbled down (leaving a little stubble). However, a badly barbered patch like this is very unusual for being the result of nibbling from another piggy; mostly they are self-inflicted.

All the best for sorting out your problemsthank you

We can only ever just by look but we cannot have that all important hands-on examination to see whether the hair is falling out or is nibbled down (leaving a little stubble). However, a badly barbered patch like this is very unusual for being the result of nibbling from another piggy; mostly they are self-inflicted.

All the best for sorting out your problems.

thank you so much for all your info and insight and i have looked at photos of ringworm and

We can only ever just by look but we cannot have that all important hands-on examination to see whether the hair is falling out or is nibbled down (leaving a little stubble). However, a badly barbered patch like this is very unusual for being the result of nibbling from another piggy; mostly they are self-inflicted.

All the best for sorting out your problems.

I agree it is difficult to diagnose with just a photo, and all the comments people have left here has really helped in giving ideas to the vet as to what it may be, and i no longer think its babering from the other pig, it is either herself or ringworm, but since the vet i go to said it wasnt this, i have now made an appointment to see another vet who i hope gives me a better answer and some sort of treatment.