Hello! I just got a new baby guinea pig a few weeks ago and he hasn't been shedding, as he has longish hair. But today, I was holding him and a massive chunk of hair came out with hardly any pulling! He also was pushing against the bars yesterday, and when he rain away a ginormous chunk of hair came out. He looks like this
Images-3
Is this normal, or is something wrong? I haven't give him a bath since I've gotten him, so it can't be shampoo...
Please see a vet for a diagnosis and do not home treat on spec, as you make any diagnosis much more difficult and your vet will curse you for it! If you have a new piggy from a backyard breeder or shop (within 2-3 weeks of the sale), then it is most likely either ringworm or mange mites, which require different treatment. Just a normal bath will cure neither, nor will a broad spectrum low dosed shop product; all it does is make things much worse, prolong the suffering and in the end cost you more because things are a lot worse by the time you finally see a vet.
Exposure and infection has generally happened at the shop/breeder. With a chain shop, you can reclaim any vet cost if you present the vet bill together with the sales receipt at the shop; with a backyard breeder it is usually more difficult to get a refund for basically selling damaged ware. Far too many of them skimp on medical care or proper hygiene and get away with it because there is no control and no licensing system. It is a buyers beware situation.
Since baby guinea pigs have not yet a fully operational immune system (it is still under construction) when they are ripped from their family and thrust into a frightening world they have no clue about, the additional stress makes them prime material for any opportunistic bug that is around at their place of origin. This goes double for any babies sold as singles who do not even have the comfort of a companion to snuggle up with; being caught and handled all the time by stinky giant predator (which is what we humans look like to them) is not a comfort in that situation. Guinea pigs are social animals and are not wired to live on their own. No human can ever replace the round-the clock need for company and social interaction.
How To Understand Guinea Pig Instincts And Speak Piggy Body Language
Companionship
Please be aware that ringworm is by far the most transmittable and aggressive of all fungal infections. It affects all mammals, including dogs, cats and humans and is the single most common problem that can be passed on between species. You will have to be very careful when handling your piggy in order to not catch it and you will also do well to not skimp on hygiene and disinfection with a fungicidal product (most cleaners are only bacterial) as ringworm spores can hang around for 18 months in all kinds of nooks and crannies (or even just in the fur) and are shed in thousands in an acute outbreak.
It really pays to get a proper diagnosis and to treat properly first time round. Please read his guide carefully. the tips in there have been learned the hard way. That is why they work!
Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
Mange mites are invisible; they burrow their eggs into the increasingly painfully inflamed skin. Mange mites, when not treated with a good quality product (again, cheap shop products are too low dosed for an acute outbreak), can eventually lead to an agonising slow death.
Guinea Lynx :: Mange Mites
I am very sorry that you have a rather steep and expensive learning curve ahead of you. It is the kind of start that no-one wants.
Recommended UK vets:
Guinea Pig Vet Locator
Recommended piggy savvy vets in some other countries:
Guinea Lynx :: GL's Vet List
Please be very careful
