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Hair loss - please help! Urgent

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lap9387

Hi, I'm sorry if this has been covered, but i searched high and low, finding nothing.

My female pig had a small bald spot (1cm diameter) just above her bum and a lot of flakey skin running up her back.

I had her to the vets with suspected ring worm, he said "that looks like mites, but could be ring worm), he gave her an injection for mites and gave me a ring wormsolution to apply to the area every day for three weeks.

I have been applying the solution as directed and nothing is happening, she is still itching and scratching.

I then lay her on her back to search for more hair loss and found that the areas arround her nipples were huge (the size of 20 pence peices).

I'm starting to get worried that it is worse than what was suspected, but cant get to the vets.

She has continued to bite/chew at the area on her back, she now has a bald patch the size of a tennis ball...

Does ringworm make the hair fall out, or does it cause the pig to chew the hair out?

Also, does anyone know why her nipple area has grown so big?

PLEASE HELP!

P.s my partner have recently given birth to our first child, he is kept away from the pigs and i wash hands thourghly a
after touching the pigs, but i dont want this to affect him!
 
hello, it sounds like a case of mites because ive had some gp's in thr past with the same symptoms
id take her back to the vets and see if they can give you some shampoo to bath her in, more experienced gp owners will be able to help more but this is all i can advise you I'm afriad hope it helps and she gets better soon :)

ps congratualtions on your baby :)
 
Welcome to the forum.

How old is your guinea pig? What was the ringworm solution you were given?

Mites and fungal infections can both cause hair loss and flaky skin. A fungal infection sounds fairly likely; while ringworm is a fungal infection, it is fairly distinguishable by it's red circular patches on the skin, while a different kind of fungal infection tends to be primarily characterised by flaky/crusty skin, and hair that slides out easily when gently tugged.

Mammary gland tumours are relatively common in guinea pigs, luckily almost all are benign and nothing to worry about. Some other medical conditions can cause a swelling of the nipples themselves; ovarian cysts is one example. However I would advise that a vet or rodentologist examines your guinea pig to determine exactly what is causing the problem around the nipples. Posting a picture here may help, but a hands-on examination would be the only way to fully explore the potential causes.
 
Hi, the pig is a year and a half old...

The vet gave me imeravol or something like that...

She is tortoise shell, so has mainly black skin, would it still appear red?

She has also started lying down a lot, she used to be really energetic
 
Thanks for the extra info.

The Imaverol is an anti-fungal dip; I have not heard of it being used in the same way as a cream though. The normal method is to mix the solution up as instructed, immerse the pig (obviously keeping the face out of the water), wipe off the excess moisture and allow the pig to dry naturally. There is no rinsing with it, and the pig is fully immersed in the solution so it should treat all areas of the problem. The problem with applying it in only one area is that the fungal infection has probably spread further afield on the body by the time the hair loss is noticed, so the symptoms continue to spread and worsen. A treatment of the whole body should clear it up relatively quickly.

Imaverol does deal with fungal infections other than ringworm, so you could try to use it properly as a dip. Another option (which is often the cheapest and easiest) is to buy a human antifungal shampoo (such as Nizoral) from the chemist and bathe her once weekly for three weeks.

Unfortunately I am not sure how to identify ringworm on guinea pigs with dark skin, but there are other experienced and more knowledgeable members here who may be able to help further.

Is she still eating well? It is normal for guineas to slow down and lay down more as they age, but 18 months is still rather young. Is she kept alone?
 
Ring-worm on pigs of any colour is characterised by hair which comes out very easily. The hair roots are often covered by black specks. The affected skin can be covered by a crust of skin flakes which, if removed, can leave a raw area.
The problem with "fully immersing the pig in an Imaverol solution but keeping it away from the face is that the pig is not fully immersed"
I advise using Nizoral shampoo and completely washing the pig, including the face.
I have seen many pigs with very severe fungal infections affecting the lips and the sides of the face.
No area of the pig should be left untreated.
 
hiya everyone....how exactly do * bathe a guinea pig in the nizoral shampoo x my guineas are being treated for mites but i think its actially ringworm
 
also.....if vet put some spot on for mites on wednesday....am i ok to bathe the guineas in nizoral or will that wash off the spot on treatment? .....since wednesday the itching is not improving....the guineas are sqealing when.itching and there are more sores on them!
 
Hello, welcome to the forum. I can't advise as I have no experience in this area unfortunately.

You may get a better response if you start a new thread. This can be done by clicking 'new thread' on the left hand side of the page.
As this thread is quite old. I will try and point some experienced members your way
 
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