Poor balding Ginny

[Roclibrarian]

Poor Ginny started with a bald patch on her side along with lots of rumble strutting and mounting.



The vet felt a couple of ovarian cysts which had already ruptured so we left her for a week to see if she calmed down.
She didn't calm down so she went back today for an xray. She now has a bald patch underneath and is thinning a bit around her neck.



The xray didn't show anything obvious so she's being referred to a specialist for blood tests.

My question is how do they take blood from a guinea pig? I'm guessing she'll have to be shaved somewhere.

I'm still thinking it's hormonal, but could there be another cause for these symptoms? She's eating a drinking fine and still bright and alert.

 

[Wiebke]

Poor Ginny started with a bald patch on her side along with lots of rumble strutting and mounting.

View attachment 111860

The vet felt a couple of ovarian cysts which had already ruptured so we left her for a week to see if she calmed down.
She didn't calm down so she went back today for an xray. She now has a bald patch underneath and is thinning a bit around her neck.

View attachment 111861

The xray didn't show anything obvious so she's being referred to a specialist for blood tests.

My question is how do they take blood from a guinea pig? I'm guessing she'll have to be shaved somewhere.

I'm still thinking it's hormonal, but could there be another cause for these symptoms? She's eating a drinking fine and still bright and alert.

It looks rather hormonal to me, to be honest. The very active cysts are often not the large, fluid filled ones but small growing ones.

Here is what @Abi_nurse has written on her fb page dedicated to help other nurses, vets and owners not familiar with guinea pigs about the procedure of blood sampling: The Guinea pig Guru

 

[Roclibrarian]

Thanks. The guinea pig guru looks like a fantastic source which I will be using in future as well.

 

[Roclibrarian]

Just found out the vet we've been referred to actually lectures on guinea pigs at vet school! I'll have to find out her surname and add her to the specialist guinea pig vet list.

 

[Wiebke]

Just found out the vet we've been referred to actually lectures on guinea pigs at vet school! I'll have to find out her surname and add her to the specialist guinea pig vet list.

All the best for getting to the bottom of it!
Please tag sport_billy; he has the database.

 

[Abi_nurse]

Hey there,

Many thanks for the mention of my page.

I have recently posted about how we take blood. We do so from a vessel in the upper chest called the vena cava. We do have to shave I'm afraid as we need to clean the area prior to placing a needle through the skin.

I would agree that this looks hormonal to me. Ovarian cysts (even if ruptured - they often do refill and don't usually rupture) could cause this. Has she had the ovaries scanned? Potentially other conditions such as thyroid disease or adrenal issues can cause this hair thinning Ike this. Spaying may be the best next step if ovarian cysts are confirmed. If she is well you may be able to simply monitor.

x

 

[Wiebke]

Hey there,

Many thanks for the mention of my page.

I have recently posted about how we take blood. We do so from a vessel in the upper chest called the vena cava. We do have to shave I'm afraid as we need to clean the area prior to placing a needle through the skin.

I would agree that this looks hormonal to me. Ovarian cysts (even if ruptured - they often do refill and don't usually rupture) could cause this. Has she had the ovaries scanned? Potentially other conditions such as thyroid disease or adrenal issues can cause this hair thinning Ike this. Spaying may be the best next step if ovarian cysts are confirmed. If she is well you may be able to simply monitor.

x

The parsed link is taking you directly to your blood sampling post when you click on it.

 

[Roclibrarian]

Thanks Abi. I read your blood test post it's very helpful. I'm a bit more confident about the spaying option now I've been referred to a guinea pig expert. My own vet is great but she admits she hasn't done a massive amount of spays.