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small bald patch on middle of back

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liquorice allsorts

liquorice allsorts

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hello everyone
well three boys seem to be getting on ok, all eat together, there has been no teethcattering we have seen, lots of popcorning from the babies, and some rumblestrutting between all of them, definitely no fighting, but pepper(the older one) has got a small bald patch developing low on his back, in the middle, no sores it is not red at all, just thinning, he seems really happy,can anyone give me any ideas what this is, the others have no bald patches, remember they are in a bigc&c cage, with lots of separate sleeping areas, food bowls water bottles.
 
Hi, one of my boys had something similar last year, i also posted for any help, the majority of feedback was said to be that it could be mange flies, my first thought was eek!!! but i put some spot on and after a month or so his hair grew back and has been fine since.
Apparantly they can get it from being outside on the grass or from the hay they have, so please dont worry.

Do you bath your piggies at all? i usually bath mine about every 6 - 8 weeks depending on the weather etc, i use a small animal shampoo and an insecticide shampoo but only a very small amount and they have been bug free ever since.

Hope this helps xx
 
yes thankyou that has helped, i use the excel hay,so not cheap "dusty type", but yes they are all out on the grass everyday as it is so nice at the moment. Ialso wonder if it because in his old cage he had manger outside of the hutch so he had to pull the hay through the bars to eat it, he was nt bedded on it, now he is and is loving it, so he is in much more contact withit than before. they all had a bath about ten days ago prior to being homed together.
 
My first thought was mites too. Has he been scratching lots? Thinning hair is a classic sign of mites and they're especially common on the lower back. One of my piggies had mites with no redness/soreness/pimply bits (which are also other signs of mites), just a thinning/bald patch and a course of ivermectin cleared it up nicely.

Gorgeous Guineas has lots of useful info on mites and other skin problems on their website, with photos to help diagnosis. Obviously you should have a firm diagnosis before treating so a Vet could help with that.
 
we have a similar problem with piglet his fur thins in places and its alopecia due to stress
 
I'd treat with some Xeno 450 just to be on the safe side, or Xeno 50 (depending if they're 800g or less) Treat all three of them too and be sure to give their cage and accessories a good clean.

I'd also possibly bathe him with some nizoral shampoo - just incase its fungal (only as a precaution really) but be sure to do this 48 hours after giving the ivermectin.
 
thankyou all, i am taking him to the vets tues , perhaps i will take others too, to be on the safe side.
 
took pepper to the vet today, and she thinks the small bald patch is due to mites, so he has treatment now, she did say how early we had caught it ( i would never leave anything for long), and she felt sure it would clear up quickly, she also said what a lovely calm boy he is, and very handsome, she seemed impressed when i told her he lives indoors, so is quite used to humans, and being handled.
 
Pepper sounds like a lovely pig! Glad you've got a proper diagnosis and treatment. Fingers crossed he'll be back to normal very soon :)
 
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