guinea pig skin problem

muckyhands

We recently got two guinea pigs, theyre about 2 months old now.

One of them has a small bald patch just behind her ear. It doesnt look red or sore, but the skin looks a bit dry.

Other than that she is alert and eating really well.

Any ideas what it could be?

Thanks.

loveisdivine

All guinea pigs have a bald patch behind the ears. Its a prime spot for rubs and tickling!

She should have it behind both ears, and so should your other guinea. I suggest you check them both. If it is something seperate to the bald patch they should have then it could possibly be a fungal infection.

Any other questions done hesitate to ask/PM me. I have 4 of the furballs

muckyhands

Thanks very much.

I will have another look at them and get a pic if I can.

muckyhands

Checked on the guinea pig this morning and im afraid it looks quite sore now.

The other guinea pig looks ok.

Made apt for vets in the morning because none of the petstores sell anything that looks like it might help.

Was suggested to me to use sudocream but I dont know- if its fungal or mange it probably wont help.....

Any ideas what this is?

Up until today it was dry and flaky looking, but now it looks like its spreading toward her eye. Starting to look red and sore at the top too.

Plymouth Rock

Good luck with the vet visit. It looks a little like mites to me. The guinea would be scratching tho!
Mites are common and sometimes carried on straw so always use hay as bedding.
Take the other guinea with you to the vet for a quick check too.

muckyhands

Thanks for that.

I have been using straw so I will get hay instead too.

Funny thing is my daughters friend told me not to go to that particular store, that every pet she ever got from there has had something wrong with it.

Lesson learned- nine year olds know better than me.

Rabbitandcavy

Probably mites, definitely needs to be treated as soon as possible because they don't go away by themselves

muckyhands

Have only had these guineas for two weeks. It wasnt obvious when we were looking at them in the store (because we 'looked' at them from afar, really, didnt actually hold them and have a 'propoer look' at them).

Hopefully vets apt in morning will get it sorted.

Will let you know what it is. Thanks all for the help.

loveisdivine

Yeah that's definitely not the naturally occurring bald spot behind the ear.

I would suggest its either fungal or mites. I would lean more towards fungal as that tends to start around the face/head and mites is usually around the rear. But it could well be either.

Either way the vet should be able to help. Whichever it is you will need to clean their cage thoroughly, disinfect the cage and any toys/housing. Fungal infections can be hard to get rid of so it's just important to keep stuff clean and wash your hands after any contact with the pigs.

You may want to check out gorgeous guineas website. They specialise in creams lotions and shampoos etc for guinea pig skin problems. You can email the lady that runs it, Chrissie, as she is very knowledgeable when it comes to piggie skin problems. I've used a number of the products and found them extremely useful and gentler on the piggie than shop bought remedies.

Oh and definitely stop using straw. Because guinea like to hide and burrow into their bedding, straw can be quite sharp and could poke them in the eye

Hay is an extremely important part of the diet. The majority of their diet would be hay. They eat it, sleep in it, use it as a toilet and play in it. They should always have a clean supply.

Maxi zoo do 5kg bags for €15 which are good quality (nice and green and no dust) and great value too.

muckyhands

The vet thinks its mites. She gave them both an injection for mites as the other one was exposed to them too and also gave her an anti inflamatory injection for itching.

Have to go back for a repeat injection this day week.

She recommended aloe vera or even vaseline rather than sudocream.

I threw out the straw, disinfected everything and got hay instead.

Thanks to everyone for the help/ advice.

loveisdivine

Hi OP, hows the piggie doing? Have you noticed any more hair loss, or anything on your other piggie?

I forgot to post this link before, its worth a wuick read even if the mites have cleared up. The Guinea Lynx website in genral is very helpful.

http://www.guinealynx.info/hairloss.html#baldspots