• 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

G

Giraffe

New Born Pup
Joined
Nov 12, 2023
Messages
10
Reaction score
7
Points
60
Location
Plymouth
My female pig has had what I can call crusty boobs for about a month. I have been trying to alleviate it for her thinking something had irritated her. I then noticed she is losing hair on the crown on her head and her coat is thinning. So took her to the vets. They said could be a parasite so have given me Xeno. One dose now and one in four weeks time. First of all I’ve read this is a prevention dose and not treatment dose and she should have been given 3 doses two weeks apart. I’ve made a call but they haven’t got back to me yet. However I’m still thinking that this is hormonal and not parasite. She has no itching what so ever. But seems ok in herself and is eating. She seems a bit bonier but I don’t know if that’s the thinning coat. Any advice appreciated as I don’t have confidence in the vet.
 
Hair loss associated with cysts tends to be on the flanks rather than the head.
However given the crusty nipples cysts would be a possibility.
How old is she?

You will need to see if you can find an experienced vet to assist.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Hair loss associated with cysts tends to be on the flanks rather than the head.
However given the crusty nipples cysts would be a possibility.
How old is she?

You will need to see if you can find an experienced vet to assist.
Click to expand...
She is 2.5 years old. How do I find one of those?
 
Giraffe said:
My female pig has had what I can call crusty boobs for about a month. I have been trying to alleviate it for her thinking something had irritated her. I then noticed she is losing hair on the crown on her head and her coat is thinning. So took her to the vets. They said could be a parasite so have given me Xeno. One dose now and one in four weeks time. First of all I’ve read this is a prevention dose and not treatment dose and she should have been given 3 doses two weeks apart. I’ve made a call but they haven’t got back to me yet. However I’m still thinking that this is hormonal and not parasite. She has no itching what so ever. But seems ok in herself and is eating. She seems a bit bonier but I don’t know if that’s the thinning coat. Any advice appreciated as I don’t have confidence in the vet.
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry.

Please see a vet again for ovarian cysts and give them a call again tomorrow morning when the clinic reopens. How experienced are they with guinea pigs?
Crusty nipples and thinning hair on both sides of the belly are typical symptoms for ovarian cysts. The hormonal ones that cause the classic symptoms tend to be most active between the age of 2-4 years; they are usually smaller but growing cysts. By far not all ovarian cysts cause visible symptoms and not all cysts are hormonal; the large fluid filled ones become more common in older age. Hard ovarian cysts (thankfully a small minority) can pose a cancer risk. There are various ways on how to treat ovarian cysts that cause problems; unfortunately none of it is cheap.
Here is more information: Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Recommended Guinea Pig Vets

Please also switch from the regular once weekly health monitoring weigh-in on your kitchen scales to weighing daily first thing in the morning when the daily weight swing is at its lowest for best day to day comparison. If you have never done that, please feel around the ribcage whether your sow is still a good weight for herself or whether she is underweight and needs medical treatment. Ovarian cysts often come with a noticeable weight loss. Just feeding more calorific food on spec is not a longer term solution; you will need to treat any medical issue for the problem to go away. Cheap scales from a supermarket or online will do for this purpose.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely (videos)

The hair loss doesn't sound like either mange or hay mites to me.
New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites

All the best.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi and welcome

I am very sorry.

Please see a vet again for ovarian cysts and give them a call again tomorrow morning when the clinic reopens. How experienced are they with guinea pigs?
Crusty nipples and thinning hair on both sides of the belly are typical symptoms for ovarian cysts. The hormonal ones that cause the classic symptoms tend to be most active between the age of 2-4 years; they are usually smaller but growing cysts. By far not all ovarian cysts cause visible symptoms and not all cysts are hormonal; the large fluid filled ones become more common in older age. Hard ovarian cysts (thankfully a small minority) can pose a cancer risk. There are various ways on how to treat ovarian cysts that cause problems; unfortunately none of it is cheap.
Here is more information: Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Recommended Guinea Pig Vets

Please also switch from the regular once weekly health monitoring weigh-in on your kitchen scales to weighing daily first thing in the morning when the daily weight swing is at its lowest for best day to day comparison. If you have never done that, please feel around the ribcage whether your sow is still a good weight for herself or whether she is underweight and needs medical treatment. Ovarian cysts often come with a noticeable weight loss. Just feeding more calorific food on spec is not a longer term solution; you will need to treat any medical issue for the problem to go away. Cheap scales from a supermarket or online will do for this purpose.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely (videos)

The hair loss doesn't sound like either mange or hay mites to me.
New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites

All the best.
Click to expand...
That’s what I think. I feel I have just paid £155 as a test and then they will get me going back in a few weeks to say what’s next. How do they diagnose the cysts? Ultrasound?
 
Giraffe said:
That’s what I think. I feel I have just paid £155 as a test and then they will get me going back in a few weeks to say what’s next. How do they diagnose the cysts? Ultrasound?
Click to expand...

Often by feel (especially with larger cysts) but also by ultrasound especially for smaller or more internal lying cysts but crusty nipples are usually very much a give-away.
 
Wiebke said:
Often by feel (especially with larger cysts) but also by ultrasound especially for smaller or more internal lying cysts but crusty nipples are usually very much a give-away.
Click to expand...
That’s what I thought too. She did have a feel and said nothing seemed unusual. Thanks
 
Update. Spoke to a different vet today. They said despite the crusty boobs, as the fur is thinning in a lot of places and not just in the flanks then to keep going for a minute with the xeno. But I was right with the dosage and it should be very 2 weeks for three times. Fingers crossed
 
Giraffe said:
Update. Spoke to a different vet today. They said despite the crusty boobs, as the fur is thinning in a lot of places and not just in the flanks then to keep going for a minute with the xeno. But I was right with the dosage and it should be very 2 weeks for three times. Fingers crossed
Click to expand...

All the best.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top