Dramatic hair loss in my guinea pig!

[fisher9988]

I'm at my witts end, I thought Kevin had turned a corner and was getting better. I have no clue what is going on with him and our vets advised against testing as the anesthesia would more than likely kill him being so weak.

I noticed a balding patch on his leg when he was having his veggies. Upon further examination it is a huge patch of hair he has lost.

I ruled out surface mites, none are visible on his fur also him and his cage mate have been treated for mites 3 weeks ago. His cage mate has also lost no fur and the mites where absent on their skin a few days after treatment.

 

[Piggies&buns]

How old is he?

Is he chewing his own hair off (barbering)? That can indicate irritation or pain. If he is older is arthritis a possibility?

You say he is weak, is there a reason for this/what are his other issues?

You said you ruled out mites or was it the vet who ruled it out?
Mites themselves are not visible to the human eye.
What treatment for mites did they get? The normal treatment for mites is prescribed Xeno which is three separate treatments with two weeks between each treatment (so a full course of xeno is six weeks).

 

[fisher9988]

They had xeno 50 mini treatment, mites hadn't been ruled out by vets. Neither guinea pig its itching anymore since the course of xeno.

He is approx 1 year old. He had issues a couple weeks ago with his back legs and was struggling to walk. His mobility massively decreased. After a trip to a specialist vet they said it may be neurological and testing was needed. After discussing further over a few days we decided together not too and he has recovered.

There is a little bit of barbering but nothing I had noticed to this extent. Most of the hair seems to have shedded off onto the pig mats or the hidey he is in.

 

[Piggies&buns]

If mites has been totally ruled out, then that is something.

I would take him back to the vet and get them to check him again given the potential for barbering and therefore the potential for discomfort.

 

[fisher9988]

If mites has been totally ruled out, then that is something.

I would take him back to the vet and get them to check him again given the potential for barbering and therefore the potential for discomfort.

Thank you, will get in touch with our vets

 

[Lady Kelly]

I agree with seeing your vet. They should be able to look at the hair shafts in the area to see if they are being barbered or not and, if not, a skin scraping under a microscope should show whether mites are an issue. I have had a piggy barber a sizeable area before due to pain and discomfort. It won't be the same issue mine had as mine was a sow with ovarian cysts

 

[Wiebke]

I'm at my witts end, I thought Kevin had turned a corner and was getting better. I have no clue what is going on with him and our vets advised against testing as the anesthesia would more than likely kill him being so weak.

I noticed a balding patch on his leg when he was having his veggies. Upon further examination it is a huge patch of hair he has lost.

I ruled out surface mites, none are visible on his fur also him and his cage mate have been treated for mites 3 weeks ago. His cage mate has also lost no fur and the mites where absent on their skin a few days after treatment.

Hi and welcome

I would check for mange mites and otherwise for a fairly major pain issue in the leg (Arthritis? Injury?). In either case, a guinea pig will bite off the hairs themselves. Yours look chewed up rather than fallen out.

Please be aware that either variety of mites specific to guinea pigs are invisible. Mange mites burrow their eggs into an icreasingly inflamed and painful skin while less harmful hay mites fix theirs to the hairs, especially at the bum end. The egg cases feel like really tiny beads especially in the undercoat at the bum end. Untreated mange mites can kill through the discomfort they are causing so please never rule them out just because you usually cannot see them while the piggies are alive. How many rounds of xeno has your piggy had? Hair loss connected with mites is often down to self-barbering, as is biting the skin open in more severe cases.


More information on self-barbering through pain or skin parasites: Barbering ( Eating Hair)

Signs of Pain in Guinea Pigs

New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites (includes information on both guinea pig specific varieties of mites)

All the best!

 

[Piggies&buns]

They had xeno 50 mini treatment, mites hadn't been ruled out by vets. Neither guinea pig its itching anymore since the course of xeno.

He is approx 1 year old. He had issues a couple weeks ago with his back legs and was struggling to walk. His mobility massively decreased. After a trip to a specialist vet they said it may be neurological and testing was needed. After discussing further over a few days we decided together not too and he has recovered.

There is a little bit of barbering but nothing I had noticed to this extent. Most of the hair seems to have shedded off onto the pig mats or the hidey he is in.

Just realised I misread your first paragraph. If mites have not been ruled out by the vet then that needs to be done.
Was it the full course of xeno 50 ie three separate treatments?

I do agree with wiebke - the hairs do look bitten rather than shedding