Balding pig - fungal problem?

[Kira]

My partner has just got home from work...with a gorgeous male, teddy guinea pig.

Turns out one of the lads from work had bought the guinea pig for his daughter (she's 3) but had lost interest within weeks when she realised they didn't do tricks and needed mucking out..she now wants a dog...

The piggy isn't very old he says it was born on new years day - he got it from a breeder and he was initially going to be kept on to breed but the breeder has decided to give breeding up and sell all her pigs

The lad had said he was going to take it down to pets at home adaption center after work and my partner straight away said no and that he'd bring it home for me drool

THE PROBLEM

Although he seems happy within himself, wheeking jumping around his cage, eating and drinking well ect the fur around his bum and genitils is very very thin, there is some scabbing and his balls seem to be swollen and there seems to be something wrong with his actual genital...he is being kept well away from my girls in isolation and quarinte and I am washing and using steralizing gel after I touch him.

He seems happy within himself, wheeking jumping around his cage, eating and drinking well.

I have some pictures which I'll upload but i'm pretty sure he has a fungal infection - but I'm no expect and would like some more opinions

Are there any other precautions I should be taking..after everything baby piggy Jennifer has been through I can't have her put at risk again

many thanks
x

 

[Wiebke]

What a gorgeous boy! How can people let him get to a state like that?

He looks like he has an infection in his genitals, poor boy! They must be painful as swollen as they are! The hairloss could be due to fungus or mites.

Best book him in at a vets as soon as possible!

Do you have some painkiller at home? Otherwise you can give him calpol 0.2 ml from the pharmacy (which is nurofen for small children) to make him feel a bit more comfortable until then.

From the weight loss it seems like he has been in a bad way for some time. I hope that with your tlc he can make it! I keep my fingers crossed for the two of you!

 

[Kira]

I have some childs calpol in so I'll give him a bit of that and call the vet in the morning

It was the swelling that really got to me! I knew something was wrong the second I saw his back end, but it was too late to call a vet by the time the other half got home

He feels guilty for getting me a sick pig, love him, but at least here he'll get the TLC he needs

 

[Wiebke]

Frankly, it looks VERY bad to me!

For more advice, it may be a good idea to pm CCC4 or alcesterpigs; they are the ones on here with the best medical knowledge and experience.

 

[alcesterpigs]

It may "look bad" but that is all. The hair loss combined with a possible weight loss together with a variation in normal anatomy have combined to produce this odd appearance. There is also hair loss on his nose.
I would ensure that he is on a good diet, it is possible that he has not had enough to eat when he was with his previous owner.
Bath him using an anti-fungal shampoo, such as Nizoral.
I would not be too concerned about his rear end, at the moment, except that it is possible that the shaft of the penis has a build-up of secretions around it. The penis needs to be extruded and inspected and, if necessary, cleaned. I would not be in too much of a hurry to rush him to a vet. Give him a week of general care and attention and then review the stiuation.

 

[Lisajazz]

Poor guy! Gosh again i'm stunned that people allow this to happen and do NOTHING. It's awful.

He is the sweetest looking piggy and thank heavens he has found you. I know you'll do your best to help him improve.

I am far far to inexperienced to help on this one but best of luck sorting the hairloss and swelling and that out. You know we're going to need lots of reports about this fella too.

 

[Laura-CCC4]

Bless you (and your partner) for taking him on! He is adorable, have you thought of any names for him yet?

His overall condition looks neglected, though I am not surprised if he was bought for a 3 year old. My brother and sister are 3, I wouldn't dream of letting them have a pet of their own, or indulging them in their desire for a pet. Helping me with my pigs, yes, but animals shouldn't be bought for a child of such a young age. Makes you wonder why parents would buy a pet for their child if the parent has no intention of looking after the animal themselves - it's common sense not to let a 3 year old take charge of their care, or to give the child what they want when it involves live animals!

AP has got it covered, I have little else to add. I would agree that a fungal skin infection is probable, I've seen a similar case in two of my own pigs. May be worth treating him for mites as well, if you are at all unsure, although giving him a good bath and some good food is the priority at the moment. If he was born on New Years Day he would be almost 8 months old, so although he may have most of the features of an adult boar (i.e. large testicles) his light weight would lead things to look out of proportion. It is unlikely he'll have had much exercise, so setting up a nice play area for him to explore should help build some muscles up and encourage him to settle.

 

[gembob]

oh my god,poor little man! i hope he gets better soon, he must be so uncomfortable!I'm sure hell be fine soon with your care, thank god for people like you!gemxx

 

[Wiebke]

How is he today? I've been thinking of him a lot!

 

[Kira]

Thanks for all the replies I feel a lot better reading the replies and am a bit less concerned as I was worried it was something really bad and maybe life threatening..I do worry a lot!

At the moment I'm just calling him "teddy" as he's a teddy pig lol but a I'm sure he'll have a proper name soon

His personality is so cheeky! He gnaws on his bars when he thinks I'm not looking, but stops if he see's me look, he doesn't take his mouth away from the bars tho - he just sits there with his teeth on it trying to look innocent!
When he saw me coming over to his house he ran to the door and put his paws on it he didn't even move when I opened the door so he was sort of lowered like a bridge as he wheeked at me! As i tried to put his food bowl in with the dry food in he started munching on it before I'd even put it down!
As for the veg I thought he was going to choke on it! I've never seen a piggy munch so fast!

I was thinking about maybe giving him some corn on the cob to help fatten him up?

He's really friendly but when I pick him up - he startes to freak out and goes beserk, (I'm guessing he hasn't been handled much) but after some soothing he calms a bit and snuggles into me as close as he can get.

He doesn't seem to be scratching at all and I've checked for signs of lice ect, but I'm still not ruling out mites as i'm sure i got told you cannot see them with the naked eye

His penis looked at to me but i bathed it in some warm water just in case, then gave him a bath - he REALLY didn't like this at all and even bit me so I was wondering if he found it painful? or prehaps if it was his first bath just really really scary

He's a gorgeous boy and I don;t like him being housed on his own so I'm going to look into neautering so he can go in with my girlies eventually but not until he is 100% healthy!

With me having the other girls I wont be able to get him another boar for company will I?

I'll be keeping a picture diary so I'll be able to monitor his progress and share it with you all
x

 

[Lisajazz]

That's a great idea. Or maybe start a blog and put it all in there so we can visit and see the progress? May become helpful to people in the future then too (blogger.com is good, i'm doing one for the foster guineas progress).

He sounds like quite a character and i'd love to read a little bit more about him.

 

[Wiebke]

If you get him a baby boar who will grow up with having girls around, it won't be too much of a problem. They might run into trouble when the boy hits puberty, but that happens independent of girls! There are quite a few people on here who have boys close to girls.

If you have girls you can put him with and can find a vet who has experience with neutering, it might be an option to have him neutered. Just as long as you are aware that there are risks with every operation and complications like abscesses or infections are possible.

 

[Kira]

That's what scares me about neutering maybe if if i keep looking at rescues and can find a already neutered boar to partner him with that would be solution?

I like the idea of keeping a blog for him I think I'll do that!
x

 

[Wiebke]

That's what scares me about neutering maybe if if i keep looking at rescues and can find a already neutered boar to partner him with that would be solution?
x

No, that is not a solution. I recommend you find a rescue that either has a full boar or a baby boar that has been living near girls all his life and will bond with your teddy boy; or have teddy boy neutered and living with your girls.

By ringing up your closest rescues, you can find out whether they have boars that might suit (and are prepared to introduce them to teddy boy, so you can road test him). You can also ask where they themselves have their boys neutered or whether they can recommend a good vet for the operation, as this can cut down a lot on problems. A chat might not be a bad idea!

Neutering doesn't change boars behaviour at all, only the fact they can't make babies! A neutered boy still reacts the same way to girls as an unsnipped one. I can personally testify to the fact that a neutered boy can still produce enough testosterone to completely clog up a big room!

Utlimately, the decision has to be yours, but you have plenty of time to ask different people and weigh up the pos and cons of the alternatives while your teddy boy is recovering his weight and his health!

It is great that you are keeping that poor, neglected boy with you and are doing your best to create a happy future for him!

 

[Kira]

cheers for all the great info Vickyt!

I was under the impression that a neutered boar would be calmer and less teratorial? sorry about my spelling - wish I had an excuse other then i just can't spell! lol

I wont be looking into anything until he is better, I'll just be giving him lots and lots of extra attention to make sure he doesn't feel lonely

 

[Wiebke]

cheers for all the great info Vickyt!

I was under the impression that a neutered boar would be calmer and less teratorial? sorry about my spelling - wish I had an excuse other then i just can't spell! lol

I wont be looking into anything until he is better, I'll just be giving him lots and lots of extra attention to make sure he doesn't feel lonely

No, as they get to keep their testicles in these more enlightened days, they just stay the same, basically. They are as territorial and eager to mate with a girl as any other boy.

If you can find a vet that has the experience and that you trust, it is worth thinking about neutering your boy.
Boars are usually very happy being with girls (ask my Llewelyn - that's how they were born to live!)

You get to have all your pigs in one group, which is a lot easier to organise in terms of cleaning and holidays.

As you say, you have time; think it over, ask more people and in the end listen to your guts!

 

[Kira]

Teddy is so camera shy! Every time I point the camera in his direction he makes a run for it! lol this is going to make my photo diary idea harder then I expected!

He's currently running around having some exercise as type... aww he just scratched so cute! ahem!

At first he seemed really uncertain abotu what to do when i just let him have the run..I don't think he's been able to just have a good old run around before...

He keeps eating really fast almost as if he doesn't know when he'll next get fed so he has to make the most of his meal, half way through some rcket he started coughing so I think he nearly did choke himself!

He seemed unsure of the guinea pig nuggets as well...I prefer the nuggets so that my guinea can't pick and chose and miss out on vital nutrients, so I don't know if he was just used to the museli.

Where he has lost his fur doesn't seem to be scabby, although he does have a single scab above his bum.

When i pet him he doesn't sound like it hurts when I touch the baldy areas and I'm being very careful to wash and disinfect my hands after contact with him as I don't want to be passing anything on.

I'm not going to be getting him a friend until he is better as I don't want to get a healthy piggy sick with a fungal problem if that's what causing the fur loss, but at the moment I'm weighing up the best options for his friend.
So far I've got
1) neuter him so he can go in with my girlies - but I am worried this
2)go to a rescue and try to find an already neautered female
3)take teddy to a rescue and see if he bonds with a boar there

any more ideas or opinions on the best thing to do in reguards to him getting a friend would be appreciated

Not sure what else to update you guys on lol..feel free to ask questions about anything I've missed that you've been waiting to hear about

x