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Bald spot

Hope4gem

Hope4gem

Adult Guinea Pig
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Our sow, Chippy, has a bald spot on her bum just above her girl bits on her back. She's almost a year old. We just noticed this today. She is eating, drinking, pooping, and peeing normally. The bald spot doesn't seem to bother her. She doesn't scratch at it at all. Temperament seems to be the same. We have not made any changes with hay, bedding, food, etc. The only change was a plastic tunnel they had in their cage for a few hours today, but they've had access to that tunnel before so I don't think that's it. She and her cagemates get along well. Chippy is the leader of the 3 sows in the cage. I can certainly take her to the vet if needed, but in the meantime any guesses as to what might have caused it?
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Hi and welcome

It is impossible for us to say and should e vet checked.

Apart from mange mites and other skin parasites it doesn't look like a fungal infection but more like a barbered (or rather self-barbered) spot.
Here is an overview on of skin parasites, fungal (the most aggressive and contagious form of which is ringworm) as well as a guide on barbering in all its forms:
New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites
Barbering ( Eating Hair)
 
Chippy does like to barber us. We have to keep our hair up or she'll saw it off, lol. We'll keep an eye on the spot and I will certainly give the guides a read. Thank you.
 
Hope4gem said:
Chippy does like to barber us. We have to keep our hair up or she'll saw it off, lol. We'll keep an eye on the spot and I will certainly give the guides a read. Thank you.
Click to expand...

Self-barbering can be an indicator of pain/discomfort in a specific area.
Please have your piggy vet checked. We cannot provide the necessary hands-on examination, nor are we qualified to replace a vet.
 
Wiebke said:
Self-barbering can be an indicator of pain/discomfort in a specific area.
Please have your piggy vet checked. We cannot provide the necessary hands-on examination, nor are we qualified to replace a vet.
Click to expand...
Ok, will call the vet tomorrow when they open.
 
Wiebke said:
Self-barbering can be an indicator of pain/discomfort in a specific area.
Please have your piggy vet checked. We cannot provide the necessary hands-on examination, nor are we qualified to replace a vet.
Click to expand...
Called the vet. It's really hard to find an exotic vet anywhere near my home. We have one nearby and that's it. The soonest she can be seen is Monday April 19th. Not ideal, but if the situation worsens we can always take her to the emergency vet. I don't think the emergency vet is as knowledgable, but they are our only other option unless we travel about two hours (or more) away to another state. In the meantime we are keeping an eye on the spot to make sure it doesn't worsen and monitoring her behavior and weighing her daily.
 
Hope4gem said:
Called the vet. It's really hard to find an exotic vet anywhere near my home. We have one nearby and that's it. The soonest she can be seen is Monday April 19th. Not ideal, but if the situation worsens we can always take her to the emergency vet. I don't think the emergency vet is as knowledgable, but they are our only other option unless we travel about two hours (or more) away to another state. In the meantime we are keeping an eye on the spot to make sure it doesn't worsen and monitoring her behavior and weighing her daily.
Click to expand...

Hi!

This doesn't sound like an emergency; only if your piggy really deteriorates badly over the coming days. Hang on in there.
 
Thanks. So far, so good. Hopefully, it's nothing to worry about. We'll see.
 
Got Chippy to her vet appointment today. (Took a week to get seen). Vet said that it's not mites, so that's good. The vet took a fur sample and will culture it to see if it's ringworm. Will take 10 days to get the results. Fur seems to be growing back in. She does not have any new bald spots. She still is not scratching at it. It doesn't seem to bother her. Hopefully, it was just a fluke. We'll see what the results are from the vet. Will try to remember to update this thread once we get the results.
 
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