New rescue pig - shedding hair

[Claire1973]

My wonderful husband went to collect a piggie yesterday for me - I have alerts set up on preloved for free cage within 20 miles as we foster for a rescue and I currently have two on pregnancy watch - the rescue have limited cages to lend out, I already have two so I need another on standby. Anyway. An email alert pops up yesterday with "free Guinneapig and cage with all the stuff" 10 miles away! Well .. Rang the rescue who said go get it! It was odd - the owner was outside waiting and had the cage with piggie in her car boot! (kept in it overnight and out during day by the way it looked - she offered no information - didn't even question my husband who could have been buying it to feed a snake for all she knew! once home - seems cage was swimming in brown sludge at the bottom. (it is an indoor cage - plastic with a clear plastic lid and a grid on top tp get in) and clean paper with wood shavings had been placed on top! There was a wooden hut soaked through sodden with water about an inch deep - her hay was wet.. She's obviously been kept out in the rain . So.. Here we now have a tri coloured female, weighing 745g - she looks young - woman said 8 months. Very nervous. We have cleaned her cage thrown out all the stuff and she has fresh water (green water bottle thrown out!) she hasn't touched her kale overnight tho?.. She ate apple and pellets but today is moulting a LOT!? Is this possibly shock/stress related? She is short haired - I've never seen so much coming off one pig before! It could also be coming into a warm house I suppose.. I have ivermectin which I'm going to dose her with today. Any advice on what else I can do for her tho? (ps she is isolated from my other piggies as well)

 

[piggyfan]

Poor little thing. Hair loss is a sign of stress but she could have mites too. Maybe a check up at the vets would be wise. How awful she was kept in such conditions.

 

[Claire1973]

Well I'm taking her to see Gwen at the rescue in the morning as she has a lot of experience and then a vet check up next week. I think she also has urine scald as she has red sore feet - I could use a bit of pure aloe on that? I have various shampoos from GG plus miconozal but don't want to stress her out anymore for a while... I'm wondering if I should bath her in one of these as a precaution tho? It's disgusting how badly she was being kept. :0

 

[Guinea pig slave]

Aw, this is heartbreaking to think how the poor little thing has been living - thank goodness you have her now :rose Hope this woman doesn't have anymore ?/
I'd pop her the Vet for a check up tbh to be on the safe side
Hope she settles well and 'adjusts' to her new happy and loving home x>>

 

[Claire1973]

As sure as we can be the woman didn't have more as she gave us the cage and bags of sawdust, hay and food with her (pity she didn't try using it herself!) she made some comment about not having enough time to bother with it! >>>>>>>>> I always think its worth collecting cages and equipment from people like this even if it all goes straight to the tip, purely to prevent some other poor animal having to live in it! :-/

 

[Lady Kelly]

oh the poor little girl, I would be tempted to give her a bath after a days settling in so that she doesn't feel all dirty and horrible (just thinking how I would feel kept in those conditions)

 

[Wiebke]

Good that you are having her checked by a vet. Hairloss can be due to stress, mites, fungal, malnutrition (scurvy)...
http://www.guinealynx.info/hairloss.html

Don't expect all food being eaten; she'll probably not have had much of a diet and won't know many foods. But it is a good sign that she is eating.

Many rescues would probably give a vetsect bath; that is a combined shampoo for fungal and parasitic skin complaints (including mites).