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Guinea's back completely bare?

A

Ayallagreen

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jul 6, 2018
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So I have a long haired guinea called Laika, and she's almost 2.5, she had a partner for a few months, another female called Luna but she passed away at just under a year old. Laika has been absolutely fine since, she's very timid but fine with cuddles and always has a good appetite and drinks plenty.

However a couple days ago we noticed a patch of skin with no hair near her bottom, we thought we'd see how it goes and today the patch has extended to almost her whole back, and her hair at her bottom is extremely matted? Can anyone help with what I should do? The skin doesn't seem too bad, there's a little patch that's slightly bloody, but only specks, I've given her attention and she's still eating and acting otherwise normally. I'm very concerned because she's never done this before, and I don't want to look stupid and go to the vet.
 
Ayallagreen said:
So I have a long haired guinea called Laika, and she's almost 2.5, she had a partner for a few months, another female called Luna but she passed away at just under a year old. Laika has been absolutely fine since, she's very timid but fine with cuddles and always has a good appetite and drinks plenty.

However a couple days ago we noticed a patch of skin with no hair near her bottom, we thought we'd see how it goes and today the patch has extended to almost her whole back, and her hair at her bottom is extremely matted? Can anyone help with what I should do? The skin doesn't seem too bad, there's a little patch that's slightly bloody, but only specks, I've given her attention and she's still eating and acting otherwise normally. I'm very concerned because she's never done this before, and I don't want to look stupid and go to the vet.
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Hi! Please have your piggy seen by a decent vet promptly. It is likely mange mites; they can take over extremely quickly if the immune system is not fully working and can cause seizures and eventually kill of not treated correctly and promptly.

Please do NOT treat on spec with low dosed broad spectrum pet shop products that can only temporarily suppress any symptoms but not cure them and that only prolong the suffering. You need a good quality high dosed 3-4 rounds course of ivermectin. In severe attacks, injections are more effective than spot-on, but you may have to sign a disclaimer as injectable ivermectin is not licensed for guinea pigs.

Please also accept that we cannot replace a vet and are not able or entitled to diagnose reliably just from your description. We can tell you when and how soon you need to see a vet and can support you during the treatment.
 
Okay thankyou, I'll get her seen today. And no I don't think this site replaces a vet at all, and I would be taking her this weekend anyway I just wanted some advice and if other people had experience with it. Thankyou for the reply
 
Ayallagreen said:
Okay thankyou, I'll get her seen today. And no I don't think this site replaces a vet at all, and I would be taking her this weekend anyway I just wanted some advice and if other people had experience with it. Thankyou for the reply
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Good that you are conscientious owner! Sadly we do get frequent requests on how to avoid a vet visit or after home treatment that isn't working, especially when it comes to parasites or fungal so I always add a routine warning for any new members we do not know yet where they stand.

Please do not put anything on the skin to allow your vet an easier diagnosis and prompt treatment that will kick in as soon as possible; your girl should hopefully get over it well. :tu:
 
My daisy had mange mites. I too her to the vets and they gave her four doses of treatment and within a week her fur had grown back
 
Thankyou! And I'd always rather go to the vet and be way to precautious, never worth risking a Guinea's life. And okay i haven't put anything on her, I've just brushed her bottom so it's less matted and given her some dandelion leaves so she's clam for the vet aswell haha. Thankyou so much for the help!
 
Welcome to the forum
Glad to know you are such a sensible and caring owner.
So sorry for your loss of Luna
Hope the vet trip goes well and Laika is soon fully recovered.
Please post pictures when you can. It’s always nice to see the forum piggies
 
Thankyou, I'll update as soon as I know what's happening. I'll definitely post pictures when she's feeling confident for you all! And thankyou, we both miss Luna but she definitely made herself known while we were still blessed with her <3
 
Ayallagreen said:
So I have a long haired guinea called Laika, and she's almost 2.5, she had a partner for a few months, another female called Luna but she passed away at just under a year old. Laika has been absolutely fine since, she's very timid but fine with cuddles and always has a good appetite and drinks plenty.

However a couple days ago we noticed a patch of skin with no hair near her bottom, we thought we'd see how it goes and today the patch has extended to almost her whole back, and her hair at her bottom is extremely matted? Can anyone help with what I should do? The skin doesn't seem too bad, there's a little patch that's slightly bloody, but only specks, I've given her attention and she's still eating and acting otherwise normally. I'm very concerned because she's never done this before, and I don't want to look stupid and go to the vet.
Click to expand...
I've got two female texels and they has long fluffy fur, after about 3 weeks of having them I suddenly noticed it looked like they had both had haircuts, I took them to the vets the next day and it was mites, they gave me some stuff for it which I applied 4 weeks apart and their fur is growing back lovely now x
 
If she is starting to matt in her hair around her bottom you can give her a little trim to get rid of some of the matting
 
Sorry I didn't update yesterday, we went to the vet quite late. But I have mostly good news, sadly it is mites but I've got a mite treatment for that which I'll apply every 4 weeks (they said perhaps 2 if there's not a visible improvement). I was also given some antibiotics which I'm going to put on some dandelion leaves if she won't let me out it into her mouth as I thinks she's been a very good guinea considering how sore she must be.

It also turns out the reason she's lost so much hair is because her skin is sensitive and she was nibbling at the bites (where it obviously itched alot for her, bless) and made herself bleed and pull out her hair.

However, we have some other treatment for her skin which will soothe it, and her hair has been shaved so she's not as matted. She seems much perkier and even told the vet off for poking her too much. She's had alot of much deserved attention today!

Here's a little picture of my beautiful Laika prior to her haircut. I hope you love her toupee as much as I do. IMG_20180707_142724.jpg
 
What medication have you been given by the vet? and is there any reason why antibiotics were prescribed? (perhaps she has been biting herself and the vet was worried about infection but antibiotics are not normally prescribed for mite treatment). Usually mite treatment is a dose of ivermectin every week for 2-3 weeks to kill off any remaining mites that have since hatched
 
The antibiotics (baytril) were to ensure any infection is cleared as she bitten herself quite harshly and she's very sore. Some hisbiscrub to dilute and gently wipe over the sore patches then rise with fresh water. They said the mite treatment can be given every 2/3 weeks but she didn't want to give it that often unless it was necessary.
 
Ouch it sounds painful. Hope she starts to feel better soon and the infestation is cleared up
 
Yes I think it must be for her, but she's alot calmer since using the hibiscrub so I think that's eased the itching and thus the soreness a little.
 
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