• 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

Callie Is Losing Fur And Becoming More Lethargic Everyday. Please Help Asap

Status
Not open for further replies.
Sarah-sore

Sarah-sore

Teenage Guinea Pig
Joined
Jun 29, 2012
Messages
820
Reaction score
211
Points
425
Location
Canada Ontario
Hi everyone. I went to the vet about 2 weeks ago because little Callie who is only 3 was losing fur. She's been pulling it out like its itchy. It wasn't life threatening or concerning at that point. The vet checked her out and took an xray. She tried to take blood but there was no luck there. She couldnt find the vein and ended up having to give up because Callie was getting stressed out. They gave her a mite treatment and told me if she gets worst bring her in and theyll try more for the bloodwork again and chalked it up to vit. c deficiency. They couldnt even give me any vit. c drops that go directly into her mouth because I guess its no longer sold(they called pet stores and their own producers if that makes sense)
But as the days go on, I've been giving her tons of vit. c fruits and veggies (red pepper, cabbage, kiwi, etc) and shes just not bouncing back. And she's losing more fur, not as hyper as she once was. She's still eating and drinking and pooping and peeing but I'm not sure for how much longer. I can just tell this is the start to her going downhill. I don't have a scale so I havent been able to keep an eye on her weight but just by eyeballing and holding her she seems good. she hasn't gotten smaller/larger.
I'm not sure what to do tho because I'm not confident in my vet with this issue. My vet has worked on almost all my piggies and has been great with them. She saved Rusty. Did surgery on Allie (and also Rusty.) I'm just at a loss of what to do. There is another vet but its a bit of a ways away and I dont have all this money to keep up with all these vet visits(although if it came down to it I would pay the world for my piggie.)I'm mostly ust not sure if these vets will know what to do anymore than my current one will. I'm just so lost, upset and not sure what to do.
Does anyone have any advice or know what I can do? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
They can barber themselves if they feel pain.
Guinea pigs need anaesthetised to get blood taken as their veins are small. Ask for a ultra sound.
 
Gp36 said:
Cystic ovaries?
Has she been spayed?
Click to expand...
I was almost wondering if it was cycstic ovaries. It was rolling around in the back of my mind.
She has not been spayed.
What would happen if it was cycstic ovaries?
 
76 percent of over 3yr has cysts mostly untreated and unknown some don't affect pigs.
What age is your sow?
 
Gp36 said:
any other symptoms?
Click to expand...
She's around 3 now.
When I still had other piggies I could never put her with them because she was so aggressive, her limbs have always been a bit on the pointer side(her hips, should blades, ribs, etc) compared to my other pigges. I can really think of anything else.
 
look at Cystic ovaries but more so adrenal disease.
Hyperadrenalism.
Cushings disease.
 
With what I know that means pain, barbering is a pig chewing their hair very short or a jealous pig chewing the other pigs hair?
 
is it coming out in clumps?
Are they no signs of mites infection?
 
On your shopping list is scales, thats a must when you own piggies :)
Weight tells everything.
 
I too think ovarian cysts are a possibility. Does she have crusty nipples at all? my Fuzzy was recently spayed due to microscopic ovarian cysts - she was permanently in season, had crusty nipples and her hair was thinning. Does she seem like she is itchy though?
 
Yes, she's always had crusty nipples. But she definitely is itching her hair out. It's not barbering where she's just nipping it out. She's ripping it out. She pulls and bite at it. There are no signs of mites (one of my first piggies I got from a petstore had them when we brought her home so I know the signs of mites)
 
I too would have your piggy scanned for ovarian cysts. Chewing and pulling her hair sounds like shes selfbarbering which could be due to pain. I have had a 4 year old sow succesfully spayed and my 16 month old just had a scan today as shes being extremely hormonal and just coming out of a 10 day season! She has unidentified tissue on her ovaries which was found on ultrasound today- she was conscious throught and its really simple. By next season, if its prolonged and she suffers hormonally again then she will be spayed too.

I hope u get a diagnosis soon, but would definately second the scales as weighing is important x
 
Sarah-sore said:
Hi everyone. I went to the vet about 2 weeks ago because little Callie who is only 3 was losing fur. She's been pulling it out like its itchy. It wasn't life threatening or concerning at that point. The vet checked her out and took an xray. She tried to take blood but there was no luck there. She couldnt find the vein and ended up having to give up because Callie was getting stressed out. They gave her a mite treatment and told me if she gets worst bring her in and theyll try more for the bloodwork again and chalked it up to vit. c deficiency. They couldnt even give me any vit. c drops that go directly into her mouth because I guess its no longer sold(they called pet stores and their own producers if that makes sense)
But as the days go on, I've been giving her tons of vit. c fruits and veggies (red pepper, cabbage, kiwi, etc) and shes just not bouncing back. And she's losing more fur, not as hyper as she once was. She's still eating and drinking and pooping and peeing but I'm not sure for how much longer. I can just tell this is the start to her going downhill. I don't have a scale so I havent been able to keep an eye on her weight but just by eyeballing and holding her she seems good. she hasn't gotten smaller/larger.
I'm not sure what to do tho because I'm not confident in my vet with this issue. My vet has worked on almost all my piggies and has been great with them. She saved Rusty. Did surgery on Allie (and also Rusty.) I'm just at a loss of what to do. There is another vet but its a bit of a ways away and I dont have all this money to keep up with all these vet visits(although if it came down to it I would pay the world for my piggie.)I'm mostly ust not sure if these vets will know what to do anymore than my current one will. I'm just so lost, upset and not sure what to do.
Does anyone have any advice or know what I can do? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Here is a link to the Guinea Lynx website with more potential avenues: Guinea Lynx :: Hair Loss

Has she had a full 3 rounds course on mange mites and have your vets considered a fungal skin infection? This can result in itchiness.
Guinea Lynx :: Mange Mites
Lab tests only test for ringworm, but not other forms of fungal infections. Blood is very difficult to take from guinea pigs and should only be taken by a very experienced small animal vet. Otherwise, there can be more damage than good.
Guinea Lynx :: Fungus
Gorgeous Guineas Photo gallery
Gorgeous Guineas Identification

Ovarian cysts can result in hair loss on the sides, but they generally don't cause itchiness. Has your vet done a scan for them, though?
Guinea Lynx :: Ovarian Tumors
 
Wiebke said:
Here is a link to the Guinea Lynx website with more potential avenues: Guinea Lynx :: Hair Loss

Has she had a full 3 rounds course on mange mites and have your vets considered a fungal skin infection? This can result in itchiness.
Guinea Lynx :: Mange Mites
Lab tests only test for ringworm, but not other forms of fungal infections. Blood is very difficult to take from guinea pigs and should only be taken by a very experienced small animal vet. Otherwise, there can be more damage than good.
Guinea Lynx :: Fungus
Gorgeous Guineas Photo gallery
Gorgeous Guineas Identification

Ovarian cysts can result in hair loss on the sides, but they generally don't cause itchiness. Has your vet done a scan for them, though?
Guinea Lynx :: Ovarian Tumors
Click to expand...
My vet did check her out for a fungal infection and she ruled it out because other than the hair loss there's no other signs (no flakey skin, no redness, no pain.) I have noticed sometimes there's bumps but I think that's from where she's pulled the hair out. I also thought it was a fungal infection.
She's had the first dose for the mites but it hasn't helped.

Also I called my vet back and made an appointment asking about an ultrasound. My vet doesn't do them but another vet does it for her so I'll figure out more about that. On Thursday she goes in.
 
Sarah-sore said:
My vet did check her out for a fungal infection and she ruled it out because other than the hair loss there's no other signs (no flakey skin, no redness, no pain.) I have noticed sometimes there's bumps but I think that's from where she's pulled the hair out. I also thought it was a fungal infection.
She's had the first dose for the mites but it hasn't helped.

Also I called my vet back and made an appointment asking about an ultrasound. My vet doesn't do them but another vet does it for her so I'll figure out more about that. On Thursday she goes in.
Click to expand...

Please continue with the mites treatment and complete it, even if it may not turn out to be mites; you need to go through at least three rounds at the requested interval; in really bad cases it can take more and longer.
 
I would also consider discussing the other avenues mentioned in the first link with your vet, too. It can sometimes be very tricky and frustrating trying to work out what is causing a certain skin problem that is not quite run-of-the-mill and may need a trial and error approach.

Could you please post a picture of where the hair loss is actually located?
How To Post Photos

PS: Are you weighing her daily to make sure that whatever is causing her discomfort is not leading to loss of appetite? If necessary (i.e. with a weight loss over 50g in a short time) please consider stepping in with offering her syringe feed. Caring for an ill Guinea Pig
 
I agree with finishing the mite treatment, something is bothering her if she is scratching that much. With Fuzzy her hair was just generally thinner (and changed colour - oddly) but she wasn't scratching. You may find that the mange mites are a secondary issue though because she is run down. If you can get her scanned too that would be good, though Fuzzy's microscopic cysts were not visible on a scan, the vet she saw though was able to tell she had them as her membrane was permanently open which meant she was in season continually.
 
Sorry for the late reply guys. I got called into work right as I was checking the thread. Just got home now. I'll take pictures of her right now
 
Apparently Callie has been a bit more active today than she has been these past few days my mom was telling me.
Heres the pictures, this is how she used to look
20140601_094321.webp
this is how she looks now
20160413_211444.webp 20160413_211511.webp 20160413_211530.webp
Her face doesnt seem to be affected much by this I've noticed. Not as bad as the rest of her at least.
20160413_211656.webp 20160413_211703.webp
 
That looks much more severe than the hair loss Fuzzy had with her cysts. Has your vet checked for running lice? Can you see anything on her? Has your vet considered fungal too? does the hair come out easily when you tug it gently?
 
It's definitely not fungal because the hair doesn't come out easily. And I'm not sure about lice. I've been doing daily checking and my vet did a through check also. Well definitely keep putting advantage on her tho.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top