4 Day Old Guinea Pig Losing Fur?

[happypiggy123]

Hi my guinea pig unexpectedly had 3 babies, unfortunately two died but one did survive. I adopted the mum a few weeks back so this is a shock. It's doing well and is eating. The problem is after a few minutes of it being born i checked it and it had a very small bold patch between the ears. I thought mum might be over grooming. But it's gradually lost more and more hair. Its not completely naked but its a lot. It's skin isn't red either.

 

[ButtercupClover]

Poor little baby (although still very sweet)! It looks a bit thin to me too, compared to mine who are just a few days older. That might just be because his / her fur is so thin though. I think if it was mine, I'd be heading to the vet. Is Mum OK?

@Wiebke are you able to suggest anything?

 

[Lady Kelly]

Tagging @Wiebke as she is much more knowledgeable but I would get to a vets

 

[Piggie buddies]

Hi and welocome!

Bald patches behind the guinea pigs ear is absolutely normal but anywhere else is likely to be an infection. I'm not too sure about pups losing fur but I would defiantly see a vet anyway asap but not out of hours for its not a proper emergency. I would also recommend reading this Guinea Lynx :: Hair Loss

 

[happypiggy123]

Mum is fine but theres alot of patches missing everywhere. And I dont know whether mother pig is doing it

 

[ButtercupClover]

I'm no expert on Guinea pigs at all, but have got a mum with babies at the moment. She licked the babies bums to start with, although I've not seen her doing that for a couple of days now. Other than that, the only time she really licked / groomed them a lot was when they were first born (i.e. Less than an hour or so old).

Have you seen mum doing any vigorous grooming? If not, I think I'd suspect an infection.

 

[happypiggy123]

She grooms him/her often but not a lot. I honestly can't tell how hard shes grooming because mums so fluffy I can't see what's happening. I suspected infection too but then mum hasn't got any signs of what the baby has. And the babies skin isn't red neither does it scratch a lot.

 

[ButtercupClover]

Sounds fairly normal behaviour (compared to mine) then! I think I'd pop baby (and mum) to the vets for a look. x

 

[happypiggy123]

Thank you so much. How would I transport them safely without mum getting too stressed?

 

[ButtercupClover]

Put them together in a cardboard box that they can get out of, plenty of hay to snuggle up in, and holes for ventilation. As long as they're together, I'm sure they'll be fine.

When I've needed to transport mine, I've put their carrier in the footwell of the car by the passenger seat, where there's no chance of it falling over.

Let us know how it goes! x

 

[happypiggy123]

heres a better pic

 

[Wiebke]

Hi my guinea pig unexpectedly had 3 babies, unfortunately two died but one did survive. I adopted the mum a few weeks back so this is a shock. It's doing well and is eating. The problem is after a few minutes of it being born i checked it and it had a very small bold patch between the ears. I thought mum might be over grooming. But it's gradually lost more and more hair. Its not completely naked but its a lot. It's skin isn't red either.

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The bald spot can be overgrooming from mum, but I would recommend to have baby and mum checked for mange mites to be on the safe side. Babies from mums carrying mange mites can be born with them, and they do not yet have an immune system to keep them in check as healthy adults do most of the time. You will have to talk with your vet about whether it is better to risk using ivermectin so early; at that young age it comes with risks, but without the immune defenses up and running, mites could be devastating.

Please take the time to read our baby and new mums care advice. You are welcome to ask any questions you may have in this thread. I am very sorry about the dead babies. it is always a bummer, especially when you are not aware of a pregnancy.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-and-nursing-diet.109377/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/after-birth-and-baby-care.109389/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/sexing-separating-baby-boars-and-rehoming-babies.109391/

 

[happypiggy123]

Thanks so much Wiebke, I'm so worried about him/her

 

[Hank288]

Hope the poor little mite improves soon. He/she looks so cute and so tiny.