I just bought two guinea pigs from a farm about 2 and a half weeks ago. One of them was pregnant and just had a baby about a week ago. She started losing hair a couple of days before giving birth. She does not really seem irritated by it, and she doesn't scratch more than she used to. I think it is mites, but I am not sure. She is losing her fur on the left side of her stomach. She is 7 months old, does not fight, and the no-fur patch is spreading. What could it be?
Hi! Please have your girl properly seen and assessed by a vet. Hair loss in pregnant sows/new mums can be caused by mange mites, fungal or by mineral deficiency due to the extra burden on her little body at the moment, and the obviously less than optimal conditions where you got her from, considering that they were selling highly pregnant piggies, putting them at a high risk of having a miscarriage from the added stress of the move to a new home! Neither mites, fungal or hair loss caused by deficiencies tend to happen in well looked after pregnant sows.
Do NOT treat on spec without knowing what you are doing and PLEASE do not use any low dosed pet shop products that are not geared to towards treating an acute outbreak and only serve to make things worse. Your vet has to make the diagnosis after a proper investigation, as all possibilities need different treatment. Do not put anything on the skin because that is going to make a diagnosis much more difficult.
If it is mange mites, your vet will have to see how badly mum is affected (mange mites can hit pregnant sows very hard) and whether she can wait another week or two until the baby has shifted from mostly drinking to mostly eating solids because ivermectin can damage embryos and nursing pups.
It is always recommended to have any new pet vet checked upon arrival unless it comes from a good rescue where mandatory quarantine and vet checks have happened before the adoption.
Here is our link to recommended UK vets:
Guinea Pig Vet Locator
A good diet is most important for mum at this stage, to make sure that she has as much support for her stressed body.
Please follow the recommendations in our sample diet and supplement them with add-ons for highly pregnant and nursing mums for the next 4-6 weeks to make sure that mummy's body recovers from its ordeal as best as possible. The better the mainly hay based diet, the healthier and more long lived your guinea pigs will be, so it is worth getting it right from the start.
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-and-nursing-diet.109377/
Please also take the time to read through these baby care guides; they also contain tips on what to look out for in mum during that time as well. You need to separate any male babies at 3 weeks (unless it reaches 250g well before or is below 200g at that stage) before they can start making the next generation. Guinea pigs are nonstop breeding machines; they basically start as soon as they are weaned.
If you want a second opinion on the gender, you are always welcome to post a picture of the genital area in our pregnancy and sexing section, preferably a clear and well lit one - ideally you angle the relevant bits towards a good source of daylight and make it a two person job with one person holding the wiggly baby and the other the camera.
We are also willing to give you our opinion on the companion, to make sure that it is really another sow. Please be aware that the companion could also be pregnant, and may have babies herself sometime in the next 8 weeks. Pregnancies usually don't show until the last third or quarter of a roughly 10 weeks pregnancy. The best preparation you can give, is a good diet to make sure that any potentially pregnant sows is as fit and as healthy as possible, and through her, her babies. You are welcome to open a specially monitored ongoing support thread in our pregnancy section.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/after-birth-and-baby-care.109389/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/sexing-separating-baby-boars-and-rehoming-babies.109391/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-guide.109375/
You may also find our new owners' guide collection helpful. We have included answers to the most often asked questions by new owners and combined them with some important information that can save you much distress in the longer term. The guides cover a wide range from settling and making friends with guinea pigs, understanding their behaviour, care, housing, enrichment and learning what is normal and what is not, and when to see a vet.
New Owners' Online Starter " Booklet" For Really Helpful Advice
