question about hair growth

[kez717]

if this is in the wrong place, then i apologize. a few weeks ago my sister brought home a trio of pigs (mother and a pair of mixed kids). made sure the boy got separated from the girls before he could do anything, that's not what this post is for. just had, what i hope, is a quick question. both the little ones have an odd pattern of hair growth. mom seems to have patches of longer (2-3 inches) hair mixed in with shorter hair, but her hair for the most part grows normally (from nose to rump). the kids on the other hand, the hair grow back from the nose until it reaches the shoulder then reverses direction (growing towards the nose) until it hits about 1 inch from the rump and then goes back to the typical direction. the hair on their bellies doesn't change direction though. when they were brought home all 3 seemed to have mites or were at least itchy and thin coated, but its cleared up with just clean housing and regular feeding.

my question is this: is it common at all for the hair to grow so oddly or is there something i can do to help it grow in a more normal manner? it does seem to cause some discomfort to both of them and want to relieve that if possible. i can try getting photos if needed.

 

[Sodapops]

if you can post some pictures it may help with the replies - it's difficult to imagine their hair growth from your description

 

[Suzygpr]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

If you could post pics it would help. Many abyssinian cross breeds have 'funky' hair styles and find being stroked against the direction of hair growth uncomfortable.

Do you know the ages of the babies? Boys should be removed at 3 weeks if they have reached 250g and showing interest in mating, baby girls are fertile from 4-5 weeks old.

HTH

Suzy x

 

[kez717]

heres one i just took of the little girl, each side and a top view...these 3 are the first guinea pigs ive taken care of, but i can see that their hair growing like this is a pain for them as it gets rubbed the wrong way just interacting with about anything and even while being handled. they love the attention but any grooming or petting has been a chore with watching which hair goes which way.

i can get a different angle if wanted.

 

[Suzygpr]

What a cutie! She is an aby, poss peruvian, cross breed, she is also a roan which means that she has white hairs mixed in evenly with the coloured. A pic of your other pigs is needed now - we all love seeing new piggies!

Suzy x

 

[Sodapops]

Very Beautiful little girl x)x)

She's an Abyssinian x - it's perfectly normal for her hair to be growing this way (i'd say the babies are Abyssinian x peruvian) - here's a pic of two of my guinea pigs - the first is my Abyssinian girl and the second is my peruvian boy:

 

[kez717]

since you asked for ones of the other two, here they are. first is her brother, hes more brown while shes more white. the other side of his front half is pretty much solid brown.

this one is their mother, solid white and brown swirled or blotched together with tufts of longer hair spread around randomly...going to need to trim soon i think, those tufts seem to love picking up bedding and all sorts of stuff and they are growing out much faster then the trims i do for similar reasons on my cat.

 

[Suzygpr]

Fabby pigs. Mum is has a lot of peruvian in her - you may find now that her diet and care has improved with you, that her hair grows to quite a length, if you let it. How old are the youngsters? They could both be semi long hairs, but at the moment look as though it won't grow as long as mum's coat.

Suzy x

 

[kez717]

dont really know how old any of them are. according to my sister someone left them in the bathroom at her work (she works are a fast food place) with a sign saying they (the old owner) couldnt take care of them anymore and that they were free to anyone who wanted them. she brought them home with hopes of finding someone to take them but no one would so i guess they are mine. my sibs and i were raised with a lot of animals and take care of whatever ones we end up with, id never take any creature to a pet store and the shelters near me have poor facilities for small critters and the several times ive been to the different shelters over the years i never saw more then a small handful that werent cats or dogs which are more popular then other animals. sooo, doing what i tend to do with something new to me (these 3 are the second group of guinea pigs ive ever seen and the first ive handled) and doing a ton of research and finding someplace helpful to ask any questions i cant find answers for.

bit of a long answer to how old they are, but then thats the shortest decent answer i could give. hate giving a "i dont know" without at least trying to say why i dont.

 

[CandyFloss]

Awwww they are real cuties ... I'm glad you and your sister were able to rescue these guys from the bathroom.... and theyve got a safe place with someone able to research their needs
Well done
xx

 

[Suzygpr]

OK - as you don't know their ages, please weigh the babies and that will give a guessitmate of the age. I'm more accurate with weight in grams.

As these guys are roan guinea pigs it gets a little more complicated if the females turn out to be pregnant, but fingers crossed they aren't. There will be a lot of advice and support available to you if there are babies on the way.

Suzy x

 

[Wiebke]

If the itchiness persists, you may need to treat for mites; the hair can grow in all directions and will not cause any discomfort. One my piggies (an aby/ridgeback cross) I have to stroke from back to front as that is the main direction her fur grows!

You have a gorgeous lot of piggies and I hope that they will have a very happy life with you!

 

[piglet_and_rogers_mama]

they're lovely!

 

[katiepops]

Aw they are stunning! Well done for giving them a home. As Wiebke said check them for mites as it might be a skin irritation that's upsetting them. As we're sharing pictures here's my abby x Spike mowing the lawn.

[/IMG]

 

[kez717]

was finally able to locate the only scale able to handle their weights (they are too light for the normal scales and too big for the little scale i had, had to snag my dads that can handle up to 2 lbs for it) luckily it also had grams listed on it like you asked about, not very well labeled so the weights are only approx. little girl is about 430 and her brother is about 390. he was bigger then her until about 2 weeks ago then he started getting scrawny while she remained healthy looking, he had a good sized belly at that time too and he isn't plump looking anymore even though he has just as much to eat as the other two.

about your comment on if they turn out pregnant, why would their being roan make any difference?

 

[flintstones]

Roan Guinea Pigs mating - Can produce 'lethal babies'.

A "lethal" usually has very small or missing eyes and missing or deformed yellow teeth. They often have internal problems that can cause pain (i.e., a deformed guinea pig). Their life span is typically short without very special care and attention.

A lethal may also be blind or deaf.

This is potentially what maybe produced if the females are pregnant - hopefully this will not be the case.

 

[kez717]

wow, never would have thought that could happen. but then the only thing i have experience breeding was rats (accidental ofcourse, friend of the family came over with hers and decided to let it play with my girls, before i got it under control i had 4 or 5 litters on the way...ended up with just over 30 when all was said and done. none were given away and all well cared for and loved) and to my knowledge there arent deadly genetics like that with rats. ofcourse from having so many i also ended up putting quite a few down for many reasons, mostly Mycoplasma (eventually deadly disease that all rats have) or tumors. hate doing it but if i end up with some that are obviously going to suffer badly i can do the right thing. grim, i know, but i only did it when nothing can be done to save them or ease their pain (living with a tumor 1/3 your own size isnt much of a life and there are no real small animal vets around here to have taken care of it before then...most wont even take care of tumors on dogs and cats).