• 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

Alopecia

Status
Not open for further replies.
lilmisscavy

lilmisscavy

Joined
Jun 1, 2007
Messages
789
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Lincolnshire, UK
My Daisy has alopecia at the moment.

She's been getting it since earlier this year when Megan was beginning to get lethargic, losing weight and generally not herself, and I had to remove her from the herd to keep an eye on her inside. I brought Erin with her for company and left Daisy and Penny in the hutch. I guess Daisy was stressed about this, and also Megan began getting hair loss too, which obviously sent alarm bells ringing in my head so I promptly bathed them all (Erin and Penny too) with insecticidal shampoo and treated them with Spot On. Erin and Penny haven't had skin problems before and they don't have any unusual bald patches, and neither does Rose, since she was living with them at the time it all started.

Well, obviously the shampoo and Spot On made no difference to her problem and I asked my mum and girlfriend to double and triple check her skin for me and they both agreed it was alopecia and from reading about it online I figured it must be.

Her fur had been growing back nicely, so was Megan's slightly, and it's been fine until earlier today I was putting them into their run when I noticed how much fur was coming away from Daisy's back as I turned her round from picking her up to putting her against my chest. I stroked her and my hand was covered in fur. I put her on top of Robin's hutch and just stroked her again to get the excess fur off her and I was horrified how much was coming off her. I checked her skin thoroughly and it's perfectly smooth with no bite marks and it's not itchy or sore. It's not completely bald patches though, it's just thinned out a lot.

What I'd like to know is, if anyone can help, although I know there isn't any specific 'treatment' for this condition, I'm concerned how much she's going to lose, as it was just on her rump but now it's going up her back. So, could this be something she'll be getting often now in her life? And could I end up having to knit her a little jumper, basically, could she go completely bald? :( I hadn't found a lot online, and having another look just now, there aren't any decent pictures of this happening to pigs and how bad it can get for them.

I'll be keeping an eye on Megan's skin and fur as well, just incase. I know it's nothing sinister like mites etc because the stuff I treated them with would have made a difference and my other pigs aren't affected, it's just the two older girls.

I don't like the idea that she could be stressed. Nothing has changed majorly for them so I don't understand. Although, I have noticed Erin kicking up a fuss with her, trying to claim dominance, I'm not overly sure as I have them outside. She's always been a bolshy, head-strong sow, and Daisy has always been 'Top Sow', so it would make sense she'd be stressed about that.

Any advice from someone who's been through this with a pig before, would be grateful. I've learnt its something sows usually get, especially pregnant and elderly? Well, Daisy is definitely not pregnant lol, but she's only just turned 2 this year so it's a bit baffling.

Thanks in advance :)
 
Wiebke said:
I am sorry about your worries. has Daisy been seen by a vet and checked for ovarian cysts or hormonal problems? Are you feeding enough vitamin C in good quality pellets and high vitamin C veg? Perhaps these links can help you:
http://www.guinealynx.info/hairloss.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/ovarian_cysts.html
Click to expand...

I had thought of ovary or hormone problems from what I'd read before (on that site actually), but no I've not taken her to the vet yet because I didn't really feel the need to as she was acting perfectly normal. I tend not to rush my pets down to the vet at every health problem I may come across as it might be something I can deal with myself. Plus I'm wanting to change my vet so I've been trying to find a good small animal one and found one sort of locally but hopefully they'll be better than my last one, they were hopeless and charged a fortune. I will hopefully get them into this vet clinic next week. If you're querying that like I was then it's something I'll need clarifying with tests etc.

As for vitamin C in their dry food, I use Wagg Guinea-Pig Crunch which has it added in, but I am desperate to change it to a nugget/pellet food as it's beginning to annoy me how picky they all are.

Fresh veg, they don't get a lot during a week, I will admit, but I can't explain why without it sounding like pathetic excuses, basically.
 
Try to give them loads of oranges and other vitamin C. Guinea pigs need a lot in their diet.
 
Hi there I'm no expert but you def sure it's not mites? I've had it twice with mine and only injections from the vet (not the xeno450) really worked. They never had scabs etc it never got that bad but the hair loss pattern sounds the same. You can buy chewable vitamin c tabs from sainsburys in 60mg perfect dose and mine love them, hope you figure it out soon. Hope its not anything more serious for your little ones x
 
My piggies sometimes shed quite a lot (more obvious with the longer haired ones but my smooth haired ones can give me a bit of a fright sometimes)..they seem to do this in response to temperature changes (summer and winter coats) ....and what with all the massive fluctuations since april this year, my poor pigs have shed the equivalent of three coats (and they are indoor pigs!)

If however the hair really is coming away in handfuls (is there skin scales attached or is it breaking off?) then aside from mites (and Caroline is right....ivermectin injections are far better than spot-on which is more of a preventative treatment and certainly not effective against a full blown mite infection), other possible causes to consider include a fungal or bacterial skin infection or metabolic issues ( ovarian symptoms are one, but thyroid springs to mind too)

Has she been drinking more recently?

Sorry I can;t be of more help.

x
 
Carolinemm said:
Hi there I'm no expert but you def sure it's not mites? I've had it twice with mine and only injections from the vet (not the xeno450) really worked. They never had scabs etc it never got that bad but the hair loss pattern sounds the same. You can buy chewable vitamin c tabs from sainsburys in 60mg perfect dose and mine love them, hope you figure it out soon. Hope its not anything more serious for your little ones x
Click to expand...

When one of my boars, Todd, was suffering with his usual skin problems a while ago (he's had problems with his skin since I got him in 2008 ), he began losing weight, he got dry, scaly scabs on his back where he'd lost fur and was getting erratic in his behaviour like my Sam was last year before he died of severe mange mites. So I bathed him with the same insecticidal shampoo, the Johnson's one, that I used on the girls, and then along with the Spot On, again same one I used on the girls. His skin problems went within a couple of weeks and he's now getting back to his previous weight.

The girls skin/fur problems are absolutely nothing compared to what Todd was going through so I know it can't be anything like mites as the treatment I gave them would have 'cured' it.

And about the tabs, I generally don't buy store bought things like that but I shall have a look next time I'm in town but I don't go out often anymore.
 
Sorry for the double post, it wouldn't let me edit my previous one :{

Can I just say, in the most respectful way possible because I know you're trying to help, I have stated in my first post that I already know it's alopecia (or at least 99% sure it is that or something causing symptoms like it) and not something like mites. The reason being, she lives with 3 other girls and only one other has had fur loss like her but that started when I had to separate them, they were both away from each other when it started. She has been like this for months, February at the earliest, so my other two girls they live with, plus Rose who they lived with at the time, would have been infected as well but they're not losing their fur so I know it's not a skin infection type thing, because any pig in contact with Daisy for that long would have got it as well. With no treatment since back then, there would have been obvious clues of mites or more serious problems with their skin by now.

Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough about that before, I don't know, I have a habit of not explaining myself properly. But yea, it's definitely not mites. I just wanted to know a bit more about it in guinea-pigs because of having not found much on it before. The websites are ok but doesn't really explain what I'm wanting to know as such.

After looking at those Guinea Lynx pages again, I can just clarify some things. Her fur is being lost on her rump and back, I've not noticed any fur loss on her belly or sides. She's a very chunky girl and has been a consistent weight for around a year now so no change there. Her nipples are rather dry and a bit crusty but that could just be dirt where she's not cleaning herself properly but they're not 'enlarged' but then as I said, she is chunky. She's also not sexually frustrated/aggressive, she's quite mellow really. And she's not been put off by her veg or her general food. So I don't know. I'm hoping it's not cysts, obviously, because I wouldn't want to risk her being put under to be honest, but we shall see what happens.

Are there any blood tests that can be arranged or will she need an x-ray instead? Is that a dumb question? :{

And is it strange only her and Megan have had this fur loss? I wouldn't be surprised with Megan having something wrong inside because she had a pregnancy far too early in her life, but I'm confused about Daisy.

I'm too sleep deprived to be on here discussing this still so I'll check back here tomorrow. I want to learn more so I can help her, I just don't want her going through an operation if it's cysts :(
 
Hey no you explained fine, I was just surprised to look at my diary of when the girls started with tiny mite patches it was feb, I use spot on for 3 times then reverted to vets when the area grew. Their hair is just coming back to normal. Which was what my thinking was, if you had kept it 'at bay' so to spk with your measures but it hadn't gone away.. Not to worry yes only passing own experience albeit small, on :) sounds like somethig different tho. Good luck finding out what's wrong with her.
 
I had two sows that had ovarian cysts, they never needed ops for them, I took them down to see Vedra at the CCT at Wyton & she dealt with them by injections so neither had the trauma of an anaesthetic. Also if there is some underlying problem (fungal/mites etc) regarding skin issues she will spot it. I would consider taking all of them to see her for a check up if you can get down there. She can actually feel the cysts without doing x-rays :) Good luck, hope you get it sorted soon!
 
Again, not letting me edit my previous post :(

Glynis - I did see Peter's website about it too and was thankful when her fur began growing back before that it must have just been alopecia, but now it's falling out again with some vigor :( Haven't yet checked her today so will do in a minute.

Poppy'sMum - That is a bit of a trek but I'll see what I can do. Without being nosy, what's the pricing like? Just so I know I'm prepared! :)
 
I think it's £30 to have a membership, which covers any number of piggies, then she will do worming nail clipping teeth checking & filing/clipping (without anaesthetic) http://www.britishassociationofrodentologists.co.uk/CCT.html Xrays etc are reasonable & she doesn't charge a fee for a visit, only for the medication or actual treatment. Good luck! :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top