• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Thinning hair patch

G

Guss.the.guinea

New Born Pup
Joined
Sep 8, 2024
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
25
Location
Newfoundland and labrador
my guinea pig is a 5 year old male, and has been itching at a spot on his side for a couple days now, not really excessive itching, just every so often. i had him out today and he scratched at this spot, so i decided to take a look, he is a fairly long haired pig so when i seen the short thin patch of hair i was kinda concerned. its not red, and there’s no lump there. i’m not sure what it is?
 
Welcome to the forum

Please have him seen by a vet.
When a piggy concentrates on scratching/biting and a specific area, it generally indicates pain/discomfort in that area. The vet will need to determine what the issue is.

I hope he is ok
 
Piggies&buns said:
Welcome to the forum

Please have him seen by a vet.
When a piggy concentrates on scratching/biting and a specific area, it generally indicates pain/discomfort in that area. The vet will need to determine what the issue is.

I hope he is ok
Click to expand...
okay thank you very much, i will see what i can do. do you have an idea of how much a vet bill would be for something like this?
 
Guss.the.guinea said:
this is what it looks like.
Click to expand...

Hi

I am very sorry. Vet access for guinea pig owners in Canada is generally not very good; especially not in the Maritimes as we know from other members.

It looks rather like a case of self-barbering so the rather localised pain/discomfort could be sitting under the skin and not necessarily on it.
Wiebke

Thread 'Barbering ( Eating Hair)'

Overview
1 What is barbering?
2 Barbering other guinea pigs
- Social grooming
- Dominance grooming
3 Self-barbering
- Habitual over-grooming
- Stress
- Pain
4 Problems that can look similar to barbering
- Skin parasites and ringworm
- Hormonal problems and nutritional deficiencies
- Normal bald...
  • Like

It doesn't look like a ringworm patch (fungal skin infection). Have you checked his hairs, especially the underlayers for tiny egg cases fixed to the hairs - when you feel it, it is like teeny beeds on a teeny string (hay mites). It is not a typical are area for mange mites, either. In this case you can sometimes feel tiny bumps in the skin (egg cases) and your piggy squirms when you touch a mange mites spot.
Wiebke

Thread 'New piggy health problems: URI - Ringworm - Skin Parasites'

1 Vets and your customer rights
- What makes newly bought guinea pigs so vulnerable?
- Do I need to see a vet?
- Documenting illness and your customer rights
3 URI (Upper respiratory tract infection) and sensitivities
- Typical symptoms in order of development
- What to do immediately
- Sensitivity to hay dust and pollen
2 Ringworm (highly contagious fungal skin infection)
4 Species specific skin...
  • Like

Thinning can sometimes point to a metabolic problem. How is his weight? Is it stable?
Can you feel a lump underneath?

Here are more things that a vet may check for: Guinea Lynx :: Hair Loss
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

I am very sorry. Vet access for guinea pig owners in Canada is generally not very good; especially not in the Maritimes as we know from other members.

It looks rather like a case of self-barbering so the rather localised pain/discomfort could be sitting under the skin and not necessarily on it.
Wiebke

Thread 'Barbering ( Eating Hair)'

Overview
1 What is barbering?
2 Barbering other guinea pigs
- Social grooming
- Dominance grooming
3 Self-barbering
- Habitual over-grooming
- Stress
- Pain
4 Problems that can look similar to barbering
- Skin parasites and ringworm
- Hormonal problems and nutritional deficiencies
- Normal bald...
  • Like

It doesn't look like a ringworm patch (fungal skin infection). Have you checked his hairs, especially the underlayers for tiny egg cases fixed to the hairs - when you feel it, it is like teeny beeds on a teeny string (hay mites). It is not a typical are area for mange mites, either. In this case you can sometimes feel tiny bumps in the skin (egg cases) and your piggy squirms when you touch a mange mites spot.
Wiebke

Thread 'New piggy health problems: URI - Ringworm - Skin Parasites'

1 Vets and your customer rights
- What makes newly bought guinea pigs so vulnerable?
- Do I need to see a vet?
- Documenting illness and your customer rights
3 URI (Upper respiratory tract infection) and sensitivities
- Typical symptoms in order of development
- What to do immediately
- Sensitivity to hay dust and pollen
2 Ringworm (highly contagious fungal skin infection)
4 Species specific skin...
  • Like

Thinning can sometimes point to a metabolic problem. How is his weight? Is it stable?
Can you feel a lump underneath?

Here are more things that a vet may check for: Guinea Lynx :: Hair Loss
Click to expand...
i checked his fur, he’s always had little black dots on his fur, closer to the ends of the hairs, but i’ve always thought he was just dirty, he’s never shown any discomfort with those, closer to the skin he’s got what almost looks like dry skin, it looks like little white flakes, i’m not sure what i’m looking for so i’m not sure what’s normal and what’s not. he’s never liked being touched or pet on his back/bottom, he makes an annoyed squeaking noise at me and sometimes jumps away, he was doing that earlier when i was trying to look at his patch for a second time, but he was a lot more upset and jumpy when we were touching in those areas.i weighed him yesterday and he is kinda underweight, he’s 1.8 pounds, i had to weigh him on a regular human scale because i don’t have anything smaller. i’m not sure if that’s too underweight for his age.
 
Guss.the.guinea said:
i checked his fur, he’s always had little black dots on his fur, closer to the ends of the hairs, but i’ve always thought he was just dirty, he’s never shown any discomfort with those, closer to the skin he’s got what almost looks like dry skin, it looks like little white flakes, i’m not sure what i’m looking for so i’m not sure what’s normal and what’s not. he’s never liked being touched or pet on his back/bottom, he makes an annoyed squeaking noise at me and sometimes jumps away, he was doing that earlier when i was trying to look at his patch for a second time, but he was a lot more upset and jumpy when we were touching in those areas.i weighed him yesterday and he is kinda underweight, he’s 1.8 pounds, i had to weigh him on a regular human scale because i don’t have anything smaller. i’m not sure if that’s too underweight for his age.
Click to expand...

If he has had black dots stuck in his fur then that can indicate he has parasites and needs proper diagnosis and treatment.

There is no age to weight ratio. What you are looking for is that his weight is stable (or going up if he is young). The number on the scales does not tell you that he is over or underweight - it simply tells you about his food intake. There is a huge range for healthy weights for adult piggies.

The way to determine a piggy is over or under weight is by checking their heft - you put your hands around his ribs and see what you can feel.

You need to use a kitchen scale. A human scale is not likely to be accurate for such a small animal

Wiebke

Thread 'New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights'

In order to nip any major problems in the bud as much as possible right at the start, there are some things you should do with all new arrivals.

New Guinea Pig Problems
1 Double-checking the gender upon arrival
- Sexing
- Pregnancies and surprise babies
2 When to quarantine new companions?
3 Vet visits
- Health check/registration upon arrival
- Reclaiming vet cost for newly bought ill guinea pigs...
  • Like
Wiebke

Thread 'Weight - Monitoring and Management'

Overview
1 Health monitoring: BMI, weighing, poo out and body changes
- The importance of the weekly health and grooming body check
- Different feedback from BMI, weight, poos and body changes
2 Regular weight monitoring
- How often should I weigh?
- Weighing tips
3 Guidelines for changes in weight
- Weight loss guidelines
- Sudden weight gain and fluctuations
4 Weight and...
  • Like
  • Love
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top