My guinea pig is 5 months old. His environment and food has not changed. He is losing hair on his back and near his hind legs. I have noticed that chunks of 3-4 hairs come out at a time.the roots connected by a white flaky chunk. These white flaky chunks are seen in his remaining fur (looks somewhat like dandruff). Is this dry skin or some sort of fungal/bacterial infection?
Answers:
GO TO THE VET NOW!
It could be a fungal/bacterial infection, but don't fret about it.They will prescribe antibiotics and topical cream to put on.
He possibly could have scurvies. They are prone to it. Make sure that he eating the proper guinea pig food (no rabbit food, it doesn't have vitamin C), has lots of sun light and has extra vitamin C( get vitamin C drops and put it in his food).
Also make sure he has clean bedding. If you see that his bedding is dirty or wet change it. The urine can cause and irratation on the skin, causing it be flaky and dry.
I hope that I help you out.
It's dead
It could be mites, fleas, or dry skin. Look closer at its skin for mites which will be red tiny bugs skittering across the skin or hair. Check for flea poop by brushing him over a white surface and see if you can find any little black specks that fell. You might try calling a vet and asking them what they think. It won't cost you anything. Or even better, look up guinnea pig skin disorders on the internet. Good Luck!
Hair Loss in Guinea Pigs
While there are many possible reasons for hair loss, the most common reason by far is microscopic mange mites, a painful parasitic condition easily treated with ivermectin. Fungal infections are a close runner-up.
Check over this list for the possible causes of hair loss: NATURAL Hair Loss
Naturally occurring bald spots behind the ears
Shedding hair MECHANICAL Hair Loss
Barbering: "Hair cutting" by another artistic, jealous, or bored pig
War wounds and Abrasion (and other miscellaneous mechanical hair removal) PARASITES
Extremely common. Treat any pig with suspected mange mites with ivermectin.
Read more: PARASITES FUNGUS
Often starts on the face, usually easily treated with an anti-fungal cream.
Read more: FUNGUS METABOLIC Hair Loss
Vitamin C deficiency : can be hard to identify, signs may suggest other illnesses and a deficiency may also compound other problems.
Read more: SCURVY
Postpartum and Hormonal hair loss, usually bilaterally symmetric. Important to note that the stress of birth may lead to an outbreak of mites.
Bacterial infection Cryptococcosis or staphylococcal dermatitis lesions and associated hair loss, usually occurring on the trunk (Harkness and Wagner)
Low protein diets (under 15% CP) (Harkness and Wagner)
Animals near weaning age Thinning of hair is frequently observed in young animals at time of weaning and is associated with "the period of transition between loss of baby fur and appearance of more coarse guard hairs".
There's ALOT more info at the link below (looks like a good resource for future info about your guinea pigs)
(don't you just love the web.there's a site for EVERYTHING.lol)
it can be it's diet. the type of shampoo that you use on him. or mites. if it's mites you can buy shampoo for him. or it can possibly be the cage litter.
Your guinea pig most likely has ringworm. There are two ways to treat this problem. The first way is very very very dangerous to your guinea pig. It is giving the guinea pig a pill with griseofulvin in it. This will kill the ringworm but might kill your guinea pig too. If you wind up taking your guinea pig to the vet and the vet suggests you do this, DO NOT DO IT!! Some vets just don't know much about guinea pigs.
The second way is to get a topical oinment to treat the ringworm that you apply directly to the affected areas. Your vet can get this or tell you where to get it in your area.
Secondly, you should make sure you are changing the bedding in the cage regularly and that the cage does not have damp bedding in it for very long as high humidity will promote the growth of the ringworm fungus.
If the bedding gets damp soon, go buy a better water bottle. If you are giving your guinea pig water in a bowl, you must stop doing this and start using a good water bottle device.
Check your guinea pig regularly for lice. If there are small white egg sacks around its ears or on the hair on its back, get a magnifying glass and you can acutally see the lice crawling. Powder your guinea pig with kitten flea powder.
Also never use cedar bedding as that stresses the guinea pig out. Use pine bedding only.
For food, use only Purina Guinea Pig pellets that you can get at a feed store if not your pet shop. Give it a little lettuce. Guinea pigs, like us, can get scurvy from lack of vitamin C. Purina Guinea Pig pellets provide Vitamin C as well as the lettuce.
Good luck. Remember to never give your guinea pig griseofulvin. It might die from it.
The most common reason I have found hair loss in my guinea pigs was Scurvy a vitamin C dificancy. Guinea pigs can not make thier own vitamin C, and the stuff found in guinea pig food can die because its been on the shelf in the warehouses to long. A good source of C is Vitamin drops you can put in their water or give them red peppers or other vegies that have high C content.
It could also be alot of other things, here is a couple websites that give you some symptoms. I also suggest a vet check. Make sure you take him to a bet that specializes in guinea pigs.
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Agreed on the Vitamin-C thing! My parents raised award-winning cavies for show for nearly 25 yrs. The most common reason for hair loss is scurvy--with which you may also notice a hunched-up posture and sort of sunken-in eyes. And, of course, scurvy leads to a run-down immune system... which can lead to other infections such as mites.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely to the vet or (preferrably) a knowledgable breeder. (And be sure to make an appt before showing up. Breeders don't want their own stock infected.)
~sc'Que?