guinea pig shedding

[saeedeh]

hey everyone.I have an 8 months old female piggie who sheds a LOT. sometimes when i hold her clumps of hair fall out.this happened 3 times (that i have seen !) during the 6 months that i have her. other than that only single hairs fall out.I got her at spring and now its the beginning of fall .all this time she has been shedding .she is healthy looking and has no spots as i can see.(she has always been too sensitive to her body to be touched.i can only touch her head and give her chin rubs) since she was living alone i got her a new buddy.they are best friends after 2 days.another question i have is that whenever i give her carrots she bites it and turns it into pieces but she doesn't eat it.is this OK ?

 

[DMS260820]

hey everyone.I have an 8 months old female piggie who sheds a LOT. sometimes when i hold her clumps of hair fall out.this happened 3 times (that i have seen !) during the 6 months that i have her. other than that only single hairs fall out.I got her at spring and now its the beginning of fall .all this time she has been shedding .she is healthy looking and has no spots as i can see.(she has always been too sensitive to her body to be touched.i can only touch her head and give her chin rubs) since she was living alone i got her a new buddy.they are best friends after 2 days.another question i have is that whenever i give her carrots she bites it and turns it into pieces but she doesn't eat it.is this OK ?

Does that only happen with carrot? Or all veg? Because that can be a sign of a tooth problem. But don't let me scare you.

Il tag in wiebke for the hair shedding advice

! @Wiebke

 

[PigglePuggle]

Many piggies shed a lot, especially in spring and autumn if they are subject to seasonal temperature changes. If she isnt scratching a lot and doesnt have any bald patches it is probably normal, but possibly worth mentioning to the vet at her next routine health check. Same with the carrot destroying- if her weight and heft are stable, she may just be playing with her food, but again at a routine health check you can ask the vet to check her teeth.
If she is scratching a lot or has bald patches or is losing weight or heft, this might indicate health issues that need veterinary attention in the next few days.

 

[saeedeh]

Does that only happen with carrot? Or all veg? Because that can be a sign of a tooth problem. But don't let me scare you.

Il tag in wiebke for the hair shedding advice

! @Wiebke

no she loves every veggie i give her and eats a lot and she eats pellets fine.it's just carrots.thank you

 

[saeedeh]

Many piggies shed a lot, especially in spring and autumn if they are subject to seasonal temperature changes. If she isnt scratching a lot and doesnt have any bald patches it is probably normal, but possibly worth mentioning to the vet at her next routine health check. Same with the carrot destroying- if her weight and heft are stable, she may just be playing with her food, but again at a routine health check you can ask the vet to check her teeth.
If she is scratching a lot or has bald patches or is losing weight or heft, this might indicate health issues that need veterinary attention in the next few days.

oh yeah i think she is playing with her food. maybe i give her a lot of veggies.she scratches but not a lot.I will definitely get her checked though.thank you

 

[PigglePuggle]

oh yeah i think she is playing with her food. maybe i give her a lot of veggies.she scratches but not a lot.I will definitely get her checked though.thank you

With the carrots, my piggies often take a nibble to check it really is carrot, then take it away and hide it to eat later once the other food is gone!

 

[saeedeh]

With the carrots, my piggies often take a nibble to check it really is carrot, then taske it away and hide it to eat later once the other food is gone!

that's so smart ! my piggies prefer lettuce over anything else.

 

[Helen82]

My two were completely baffled by carrot in 'solid' form so to speak, but they love it grated!

 

[Wiebke]

hey everyone.I have an 8 months old female piggie who sheds a LOT. sometimes when i hold her clumps of hair fall out.this happened 3 times (that i have seen !) during the 6 months that i have her. other than that only single hairs fall out.I got her at spring and now its the beginning of fall .all this time she has been shedding .she is healthy looking and has no spots as i can see.(she has always been too sensitive to her body to be touched.i can only touch her head and give her chin rubs) since she was living alone i got her a new buddy.they are best friends after 2 days.another question i have is that whenever i give her carrots she bites it and turns it into pieces but she doesn't eat it.is this OK ?

Hi!

Is your piggy a teddy? Some piggies (of nearly all breeds, but teddies in particular) shed their hair seasonally in spring and autumn quite noticeably. As long as it is all over the body and there are no bald patches resulting, you need not worry.

Can you please check your girl's front teeth, please as long as they are nicely even, and not slanted jagged or inward pointing, there is no problem with the crucial back teeth overgrowing. The incisors, which are there to pick up and cut food, are self-sharpening in a balanced dental system. The premolars and molars at the back are there for chewing and grinding down the food, which should be for over 80% consist of unlimited hay. It is specifically the highly abrasive silica in the grass/hay which guinea pig teeth have evolved against. Veg and pellets should be seen more as a daily treat than as the mainstay of the diet. The correct hay based diet without much in the way of high sugar/high fat food can actually add 1-2 years to the life expectancy and will improve overall long term health, so it is really worth not to be too kind...
Carrots are the equivalent of a doughnut in humans for guinea pigs because of their high sugar content; they should only be an occasional treat and not a daily food anyway.
You may find our diet guide with a sample diet very interesting and helpful: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Here are our bonding guide (which covers the post-bonding dominance phase) and our sow guide, which you may find helpful. Be aware that the first few seasons can be more dramatic; the shared excess of emotion acts to bind your girls closer together.
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

 

[saeedeh]

Hi!

Is your piggy a teddy? Some piggies (of nearly all breeds, but teddies in particular) shed their hair seasonally in spring and autumn quite noticeably. As long as it is all over the body and there are no bald patches resulting, you need not worry.

Can you please check your girl's front teeth, please as long as they are nicely even, and not slanted jagged or inward pointing, there is no problem with the crucial back teeth overgrowing. The incisors, which are there to pick up and cut food, are self-sharpening in a balanced dental system. The premolars and molars at the back are there for chewing and grinding down the food, which should be for over 80% consist of unlimited hay. It is specifically the highly abrasive silica in the grass/hay which guinea pig teeth have evolved against. Veg and pellets should be seen more as a daily treat than as the mainstay of the diet. The correct hay based diet without much in the way of high sugar/high fat food can actually add 1-2 years to the life expectancy and will improve overall long term health, so it is really worth not to be too kind...
Carrots are the equivalent of a doughnut in humans for guinea pigs because of their high sugar content; they should only be an occasional treat and not a daily food anyway.
You may find our diet guide with a sample diet very interesting and helpful: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Here are our bonding guide (which covers the post-bonding dominance phase) and our sow guide, which you may find helpful. Be aware that the first few seasons can be more dramatic; the shared excess of emotion acts to bind your girls closer together.
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

oh my god! i'm so embarrassed to say that i'm not sure what breed is my guinea pig! i mean when i got her I was absolutely sure that she was Abyssinian,but now that she is older and she has the longest hair I think she is Peruvian.this is when i have cut some of her hair short .she doesnt let me groom her at all! here are some pics! her front teeth look very good.better than mine .can you look at pics and tell me her breed ?that one is when she was a baby piggie.the other two are now . thank you for the good information.

 

[Wiebke]

oh my god! i'm so embarrassed to say that i'm not sure what breed is my guinea pig! i mean when i got her I was absolutely sure that she was Abyssinian,but now that she is older and she has the longest hair I think she is Peruvian.this is when i have cut some of her hair short .she doesnt let me groom her at all! here are some pics! her front teeth look very good.better than mine .can you look at pics and tell me her breed ?that one is when she was a baby piggie.the other two are now . thank you for the good information.

She is beautiful peru girl indeed.

I only have one at the moment as the little baby in my avatar picture and her auntie have left me both this summer (aged around 8 years) but I grew up with a succession of them. The large (unrelated) piggy in my avatar is an American teddy, by the way.

If you want to learn more about guinea pig breeds and coat colours, you may find these two illustrated guides here interesting:
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...ig-picture-guide-to-common-pet-breeds.121399/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...-coat-colours-agouti-shadings-roaning.121413/

 

[saeedeh]

She is beautiful peru girl indeed.

I only have one at the moment as the little baby in my avatar picture and her auntie have left me both this summer (aged around 8 years) but I grew up with a succession of them. The large (unrelated) piggy in my avatar is an American teddy, by the way.

If you want to learn more about guinea pig breeds and coat colours, you may find these two illustrated guides here interesting:
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...ig-picture-guide-to-common-pet-breeds.121399/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...-coat-colours-agouti-shadings-roaning.121413/

wow ...that's a big surprise for me ! i never thought she could be Peruvian .i'm so dumb ! your piggies are adoraaaable thank you so much

 

[Wiebke]

wow ...that's a big surprise for me ! i never thought she could be Peruvian .i'm so dumb ! your piggies are adoraaaable thank you so much

This was my peru family I adopted in 2011 as stuck in rescue piggies.
Hywel (the 'husboar'), Ffwlbri 'Moonlight', her niece Tegan Syndod 'Little Beautiful Surprise' (my avatar baby when she had grown up!) and Tegan's mother Tesni 'Sun-warmed'

PS: I am going to tell Tegan's story in the next Guinea Pig Magazine issue coming out in November if you are interested. The magazine is also available as a download option worldwide and has also got a reader picture gallery and features reader letters. You can access the website via the link in my signature.

And this here is Carys with her sheltie husboar Gethin. I adopted Carys a year ago to make sure that he had another wife in place after Tesni had passed away aged 7 and only Ffwlbri was left; incidentally she lived for nearly another year. Rescue born Carys was the only one of her unplanned family due to buying a mis-sexed pair who had not received any interest because her ruby eyes, so I was very lucky there with my little princess!


We are currently working on a new illustrated hair cutting guide for the forum but perus are in my experience not minded to be cooperative like other long-haired breeds ('peru wrestling' is my name for the procedure)!

 

[saeedeh]

This was my peru family I adopted in 2011 as stuck in rescue piggies.
Hywel (the 'husboar'), Ffwlbri 'Moonlight', her niece Tegan Syndod 'Little Beautiful Surprise' (my avatar baby when she had grown up!) and Tegan's mother Tesni 'Sun-warmed'
View attachment 123150
PS: I am going to tell Tegan's story in the next Guinea Pig Magazine issue coming out in November if you are interested. The magazine is also available as a download option worldwide and has also got a reader picture gallery and features reader letters. You can access the website via the link in my signature.

And this here is Carys with her sheltie husboar Gethin. I adopted Carys a year ago to make sure that he had another wife in place after Tesni had passed away aged 7 and only Ffwlbri was left; incidentally she lived for nearly another year. Rescue born Carys was the only one of her unplanned family due to buying a mis-sexed pair who had not received any interest because her ruby eyes, so I was very lucky there with my little princess!
View attachment 123151

We are currently working on a new illustrated hair cutting guide for the forum but perus are in my experience not minded to be cooperative like other long-haired breeds ('peru wrestling' is my name for the procedure)!

wow..they are all so lovely so beautiful ! never seen eyes like that !
I will definitely check it out !
yea your right...whenever I want to cut my piggie's hair i get so sad because I can see she doesnt like to be touched and groomed.thank you !
long live all the piggies in the world

 

[Freela]

Some pigs shed a lot... and I mean a LOT. As long as you aren't seeing thinning/bald patches in the coat, I would try not to worry about it. Mine seem to go through seasonal coat changes where there is hair all over the place!