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What do people think this could be?

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PIGGIES FOREVER

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Hi.

I am wondering if anyone could give me a clue as to what could be going on with my two guinea pigs? I have one piggy that has bald patches on her flanks that are flakey and her hair has patches of skin attached to it, and she has thinning on her tummy, she's been treated for mites more than once and isn't itchy, my vet has done culture's which have come back clear for fungus twice. And my other pig has thinning on her tummy to and a slightly painfully tummy. IMG_20210526_184014_9.webp
 
The first things which come to mind when you hear hair loss is mites, fungal, barbering or, in sows over two years old, ovarian cysts.

Was the treatment for mites a full and proper course?
Fungal has been ruled out
Have you seen barbering occurring?
If they are over two, have they been checked for ovarian cysts?
 
Piggies&buns said:
The first things which come to mind when you hear hair loss is mites, fungal, barbering or, in sows over two years old, ovarian cysts.

Was the treatment for mites a full and proper course?
Fungal has been ruled out
Have you seen barbering occurring?
If they are over two, have they been checked for ovarian cysts?
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Yes my vet told me to treat her with ivermectin for 3 weeks but each dose 10 days apart if this makes sense? Yes fungus has been ruled out, we have done two fungal cultures, both negative. No she hasn't been barbering. Yes they are over two, they are two years and two months old. The vet thinks it may be ovarian cysts, but I am not totally sure about this, as some of there symptoms don't really seem like ovarian cysts.
 
PIGGIES FOREVER said:
Yes my vet told me to treat her with ivermectin for 3 weeks but each dose 10 days apart if this makes sense? Yes fungus has been ruled out, we have done two fungal cultures, both negative. No she hasn't been barbering. Yes they are over two, they are two years and two months old. The vet thinks it may be ovarian cysts, but I am not totally sure about this, as some of there symptoms don't really seem like ovarian cysts.
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What other symptoms have you seen then?
Do bear in mind that some symptoms dont even produce any symptoms but can still get very big . If everything else has been ruled out, then I'd definitely be looking at further checks for cysts.

Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
 
Piggies&buns said:
What other symptoms have you seen then?
Do bear in mind that some symptoms dont even produce any symptoms but can still get very big . If everything else has been ruled out, then I'd definitely be looking at further checks for cysts.

Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
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Well she has got some crusty nipples and a crusty spot on her tummy, her nipples are probably slightly swollen, she hasn't got any hair loss on her side just on her back as you can see. It just doesn't seem like classic ovarian cysts.
 
Well vet does think there's a chance she has ovarian cysts, but I can't understand why the patches are more on her back than the sides and why her skin looks flakey with her hair coming out with skin attached? This is the bit that doesn't make sense to me. Everything else matching the classic symptoms of ovarian cysts.
 
Only your vet can diagnose - we can only make guesses. Not everything always follows the exact set of symptoms.

Your picture has now opened more fully for me (I couldn't see the whole thing previously - a strip across the bottom was missing).
The V shape of hair loss can be characteristic of mange mites.
 
Yes the vet is going to do an ultrasound but I am not sure if this is the right thing to do or not, that's why I'm asking for what other people think. She has been treated for mites 3 separate times but the hair never completely grows back and she starts balding again.
 
An ultrasound is definitely the right thing to do. You won't know whether there are cysts present without one.

When you do mite treatments, are you also thoroughly disinfecting the cage and any hides with F10, hot washing fabric bedding and items, throwing away anything which cant be washed, changing your hay supply?
 
Yes I do disinfectant the cage with pet spray and hides etc.. I have wood shavings so that gets thrown out, most of the things are wooden so not going to throw out as expensive, Can't keep replacing things every time I have mites or fungus. Yes I have changed hay supply.
 
Priscilla was recently spayed for ovarian cysts.
She had no noticeable fur loss and no crusty nipples.
It was the ultrasound that confirmed mine and the Vet’s suspicions.

Hope you can get your girl sorted out.
 
PIGGIES FOREVER said:
Yes I do disinfectant the cage with pet spray and hides etc.. I have wood shavings so that gets thrown out, most of the things are wooden so not going to throw out as expensive, Can't keep replacing things every time I have mites or fungus. Yes I have changed hay supply.
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What 'pet spray' do you mean? If you mean a pet shop brand such as Johnsons then they aren't always strong enough to be fully effective. F10 is a vet grade disinfectant which kills everything including ringworm and wooden items can be cleaned with it.
 
Merab's Slave said:
Priscilla was recently spayed for ovarian cysts.
She had no noticeable fur loss and no crusty nipples.
It was the ultrasound that confirmed mine and the Vet’s suspicions.

Hope you can get your girl sorted out.
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That's really interesting, what made you take her to the vets in the first place? Thank you it drives me crazy not knowing what is going on with her.
 
PIGGIES FOREVER said:
That's really interesting, what made you take her to the vets in the first place? Thank you it drives me crazy not knowing what is going on with her.
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She was getting very hormonal and as this was very unlike her I decided a vet check was in order.
Having already had 2 sows with ovarian cysts I was alert to the symptoms
 
Piggies&buns said:
What 'pet spray' do you mean? If you mean a pet shop brand such as Johnsons then they aren't always strong enough to be fully effective. F10 is a vet grade disinfectant which kills everything including ringworm and wooden items can be cleaned with it.
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Yes I do mean Johnsons or pet select spray.
 
PIGGIES FOREVER said:
Yes I do mean Johnsons or pet select spray.
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For general and routine cleaning and disinfecting the commercial pet cleaning sprays or a mix of vinegar and water works well but for disinfecting when dealing with mite or fungal issues, F10 is vet grade, stronger, so a much better choice.
 
Piggies&buns said:
For general and routine cleaning and disinfecting the commercial pet cleaning sprays or a mix of vinegar and water works well but for disinfecting when dealing with mite or fungal issues, F10 is vet grade, stronger, so a much better choice.
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O.k thanks for this information, can you buy it online? How come my other pigs haven't got mites I don't understand this?
 
PIGGIES FOREVER said:
O.k thanks for this information, can you buy it online? How come my other pigs haven't got mites I don't understand this?
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Yes from Amazon for example. Its cheaper to buy it undiluted and then dilute it yourself as needed into a spray bottle. you can change the strength depending on what you are using it for.

You dont know what you are dealing with at this point so this is why there are questions. Once further checks for cysts have been carried out then you can have a much better idea of where to go next. All we can do is give guesses.

Mite eggs are kept under control by the immune system but if a piggy is ill or otherwise stressed, then mites can make an appearance.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Yes from Amazon for example. Its cheaper to buy it undiluted and then dilute it yourself as needed into a spray bottle. you can change the strength depending on what you are using it for.

You dont know what you are dealing with at this point so this is why there are questions. Once further checks for cysts have been carried out then you can have a much better idea of where to go next. All we can do is give guesses.

Mite eggs are kept under control by the immune system but if a piggy is ill or otherwise stressed, then mites can make an appearance.
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O.k thanks, this makes sense, maybe if she's got under laying cysts, this maybe might be causing the mites, so hench the flakey skin and the balding on her back in a v shape.
 
Hi.

I wrote about a possible cyst problem with my two girl guinea pigs and posted a picture of one of my girls but, I have some more questions.

Why after a very long time the fur seems to be growing back in the bald spots on her back and don't seem so flakey now but seems greasy?

Why does a female guinea pigs tummy start thinning?

It's very strange, I hope someone can help.
 
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