Bald spots on Pansy

[ElleTrixieB13]

Due to a large heart and a crazy brain, I brought home two more fosters on the weekend. They are very pretty Black with brown patches Abyssinians. Their backstory is they were owned and loved by an elderly lady who went downhill mentally. Previous owner is in a care facility's and Pansy & Parks weren't in great condition. The granddaughter took them in, but didn't want them and contacted me through Facebook. I was working with her to try and help them, they had a nice cage, but were on a diet solely of dollar store Guinea Pig Mix. However, the granddaughter eventually said she's was going to leave them at the Humane Society, so I took them in.

Parks is in good condition. Pansy I noticed had some bald patches, but I didn't no bother her for the first few days to try and reduce stress. I got a picture tonight and theybare worse than I thought. A vet visit is in order. The closest vet familiar with GPS is two hours (where I got the boys neutered), but a local vet will see guinea pigs for illness. I need help deciding on which vet to see and to help me as a new owner in the conversation.

Is there any chance this is due to a VitC defiency?

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[hrsrdr]

I'm not sure if it could be vitamin c or not. It could still be stress. Try feeling that skin. In my experience, if the skin in that area is waxy, or kind of oily, you have to clean that area, and it'll settle down a bit. I'd go to the vets though, especially since we don't know exactly what happened with her previous owner.

 

[Piggies&buns]

It’s better to see a cavy savvy vet as it can just mean you get a better diagnosis first time. That said, many general vets are fine for certain things but I think in this case a cavy savvy one is best as there could be many things going on here.
Hair loss can be caused by a variety of things- mites , stress (which lowers the immune system and allows opportunistic parasites, which most piggies have on their skin anyway, to ‘invade’), hormonal issues, or just general lack of care. Either way it is important Both of them have a thorough health check - eyes, ears, teeth (this is important as without hay in their diet, their teeth may be problematic), chest etc. I’d have the check done as quickly as you can but I’d avoid washing the piggies until the vet has seen them. You don’t want to remove any potential evidence that leads to a diagnosis. Ensure they get hay in their diet and you could slowly introduce a veggie at a time, but I’d be incredibly cautious and do it very very slowly. Their systems won’t be able to handle fresh veg If they’ve never had it before. I’d start with a herb as it can often be slightly milder on the system - something like a couple of sprigs of cilantro/coriander which has a good vit c level. Watch for any signs of problems with the poop and remove veggies again if poops become soft.
But they definitely both need to be checked over thoroughly.

 

[ElleTrixieB13]

Thank you both, sounds like a trip to the cavy vet is in order. I made an appointment for next week.

The skin feels "normal", not dry or flaky, nor is it greasy or waxy.

They are getting all the hay they want and I did start introducing veggies with cilantro/coriander. So far poops seem fine so I may try to increase a bit!

 

[pig in the city]

It looks very suspicious of mites or possibly barbering. As stated above dont treat until the vet has taken samples.

 

[ElleTrixieB13]

So it sounds like I should expect a skin scrape for testing for mites, etc. Do cavy vets usually perform any other tests (bloodwork, etc.)?

Just trying to be prepared!

 

[hrsrdr]

Idk about bloodwork, but they'll check the skin, ears, bottom of the feet, and possibly take a fur sample. At least in my experience.