Jack and is ills

[Olivitree]

Jack and his ills (missing hair from his chest)

Ok I think I'm just going to keep this thread hanging around for him as before this year he has NEVER been truly ill, except that incident with ringworm when we first got him but now he just seems to be getting issue after issue.

So, yeah this is Jacks thread from now on.

So, we've done broken tooth and diarrhea, both have cleared up, the tooth looks strong and healthy and hasn't broken for a while(fingers crossed!) and the diarrhea has gone with no more sign of it. So thats great!

However, now he has a balding patch on his chest, it doesn't look like it's ringworm which just makes the hair fall out, it looks more like he's chewed the fur off as theres very short hairs all over the patch. Theres no dust or mite poo or anything, he's a clean chappy and as far as I can see theres no creepy crawlies around. His diet is great and he's stuffing in food like theres no tomorrow.

He does like a good chew on his chest, could this be boredum related? I haven't managed to persuade my parents to allow me to get another guinea pig so I'm doing my best to keep him entertained. But I've never heard of mental problems appearing in guinea pigs, could this be sweet itch guinea pig style.

I hate to say it, but could I be cuddling him too much and he's getting hot and itchy underneath? he does spend quite a lot of time sleeping on my lap so I have my suspicions that I'm to blame, HOWEVER if he isn't sleeping on me he's usually sleeping in his house or laying around on his hay, he doesn't spend a lot of time stood up.

What can I do about it though, I'd rather he didn't keep pulling his chest fur to bits and will it cause health problems opening his skin up to the elements like that?

 

[alcesterpigs]

As you say it could be boredom or a skin problem. Has he had any Ivomec recently?
Has he had a bath/shampoo?
He should have a companion, ideally sharing the cage. I wonder if he is a house pig?
There is often a marked improvement in a pig's general well-being if they are given a friend or if a previous companion has died and a new friend is provided.

 

[Olivitree]

don't think he's ever had an ivomec, not totally sure what that is to be honest.
I bath him and use baby shampoo on him when I do, I usually bath him when he gets messy as generally he's cleaning himself fine and doesn't smell or have any visable skin conditions.(excluding this bit of fur he's been pulling out)
He is a house pig yeah, but he gets to run around outside in a cage on the lawn so he can have a munch and if he's not in that I usually take him out and lay around in the grass with him.

I have tried to persuade my parents to let me have another, but they still say no, I really want to introduce him to my sister and brother in laws boars, but it might upset their relationship even more than it is already(they're very argumentative) Trouble is with a companion is he fought really badly with his old companion to the point we had to split them up or he would have killed who was ment to be his buddy! I think he did like spending time with him outside though, we had a wire devider to split them up and they use to sit together.

I will try again to get him a companion but the trouble is he's pretty old now and my parents don't want the guinea pig thing to go on any longer so I can't have anymore until I've got my own house. If theres a 6 year old boar out there I might have more of a chance really but it's still unlikely. I really would like to provide another companion for him though.

Also I noticed he's got a patch of shorter hair on his back, much small than the one on his chest/neck though.

 

[alcesterpigs]

Ivomec is an anti-parasitic drug. It deals with mites that can cause severe skin irritation.
There is no way at all of knowing whether or not two pigs will get on together except by putting them together and seeing what happens.
It would be good for him to have a companion, maybe you could borrow a pig to try with him?

 

[Olivitree]

Ivomec is an anti-parasitic drug. It deals with mites that can cause severe skin irritation.
There is no way at all of knowing whether or not two pigs will get on together except by putting them together and seeing what happens.
It would be good for him to have a companion, maybe you could borrow a pig to try with him?

He might of had one in his younger days but I'm not sure now.
I think now he's an old man he could get on with other guinea pigs but he needs one his age really, my sisters piggies are pretty young and rather violent, so I can't really try with them and I don't know anyone with an older piggy really.

I've cleaned out his house and I'm going to give him a wash as he's a bit sticky on his underside for some reason, could he be over cleaning? Is it even possible to get an obsessive compulsive guinea pig?