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What hair loss is normal?

dannif_piggies

Adult Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone,

It was claw cut and health check time this morning, and everyone is doing great but I'm a little worried about the amount of hair which came from Misty as I picked her up. I wouldn't say it was excessive, and it certainly wasn't clumps, more like random strands, but it is definitely more than I've ever noticed with my other girls. There's no bald patches that I can see. Is this something that happens with Teddys? I'm also a little paranoid that it's the ringworm returning 🤦🏻‍♀️ Any suggestions or information would be great! Would people suggest a vet trip or am I just being paranoid?
 
Harry is shedding like crazy at the moment, but our otehr piggies less so.

Given the time of year I think a fair bit of shedding is normal, and some piggies seem to loose more hair than others.
As long as you don't see any scabs, sores or bald patches then I would think it is most likley to be normal, seasonal shedding.
 
Harry is shedding like crazy at the moment, but our otehr piggies less so.

Given the time of year I think a fair bit of shedding is normal, and some piggies seem to loose more hair than others.
As long as you don't see any scabs, sores or bald patches then I would think it is most likley to be normal, seasonal shedding.
Okay great, I'll keep an eye on it, just incase, thank you :)
 
Our piggies are shedding like crazy, think its a summer moult thing. They all look a bit scruffy and there's hair everywhere. If there are no bald patches or sore bits don't worry!
 
Hi everyone,

It was claw cut and health check time this morning, and everyone is doing great but I'm a little worried about the amount of hair which came from Misty as I picked her up. I wouldn't say it was excessive, and it certainly wasn't clumps, more like random strands, but it is definitely more than I've ever noticed with my other girls. There's no bald patches that I can see. Is this something that happens with Teddys? I'm also a little paranoid that it's the ringworm returning 🤦🏻‍♀️ Any suggestions or information would be great! Would people suggest a vet trip or am I just being paranoid?

Some guinea pig moult quite noticeably, but the seasonal hair loss should never result in bald patches. In some cases, you feel like the piggy should have lost its coat considering how much they are shedding, but that somehow never happens. ;)
Moulting can also occasionally happen as a stress reaction, in which case it is just a day or two whereas seasonal moulting, typically in spring and autumn, can last a week or longer.

In any case, seasonal moulting doesn't come with skin flakes and never results in bare skin patches.
 
Thank you both for your responses @Wiebke @PigglePuggle considering the time of year and weather I'm going to assume it's just a much heavier seasonal moult than I've experienced before with my pigs, but I'll keep an eye out for any change in the skin and bald patches, at the moment I don't have a reason to be worried 🤗 Thanks again :)
 
Thank you both for your responses @Wiebke @PigglePuggle considering the time of year and weather I'm going to assume it's just a much heavier seasonal moult than I've experienced before with my pigs, but I'll keep an eye out for any change in the skin and bald patches, at the moment I don't have a reason to be worried 🤗 Thanks again :)

Moulting can vary enormously individually. Some piggies hardly ever shed and others can outfit a whole yurt for felting with their hairs by the feel of it!

I always thought during moulting season that my Nerys surely must be bald by the amount of hair I was brushing out of her coat... but it somehow never happened! :)

I am having a lot more hair on my fleece and cosies at the moment, too.
 
Some pigs will do a spring shed, and some pigs shed more than others. Right now both of my girls (long-hair/short-hair crosses) are not that bad, but one of my previous short-haired pigs shed unbelievably, especially in the spring- you could pat her and end up with a ball of fur about the size of her body, we used to say it was a 'pat one Sundae, get another Sundae free!' deal. As long as you are not seeing bald patches or hair falling out in clumps and the coat still looks normal, I wouldn't worry.
 
My Piggies are moulting atm. Betsy is ways more noticeable as she has long fur. I find mine moult alot in the late summer/early autumn too where their thick winter jimjams are replacing summer dresses/T shirts and shorts as mine are outside Piggies. :)
 
My pigs moult more when it’s nail cut time, I think it’s because it stresses them out. Tonks is a nervous girl and practically starts shedding if you look at her for too long 😂 She sheds a lot more than the others if you handle her and I think it’s because she’s a bit more nervous.
 
@dannif_piggies i wouldn't want to panic you, but my short haired Pufu was also shedding like crazy. At the weekly health checks i never saw any bald patches, scabs or skin flakes. I went 2 weeks later at the vet for an unrelated issue, but i also mentioned the shedding and the vet immediately checked for a fungal infection. Unfortunately, my suspicions were true and he had a fungus. We are now half-way through the treatment.
He is still not showing any other issues with his skin, so i suppose that i was lucky that i caught it very, very early on.
 
@dannif_piggies i wouldn't want to panic you, but my short haired Pufu was also shedding like crazy. At the weekly health checks i never saw any bald patches, scabs or skin flakes. I went 2 weeks later at the vet for an unrelated issue, but i also mentioned the shedding and the vet immediately checked for a fungal infection. Unfortunately, my suspicions were true and he had a fungus. We are now half-way through the treatment.
He is still not showing any other issues with his skin, so i suppose that i was lucky that i caught it very, very early on.
Can I ask what you call "shedding like crazy" ? I know everyone has different ideas of what's excessive and what's not. I wouldnt call Misty's hair loss excessive in anyway, just more than I've experienced before
 
Can I ask what you call "shedding like crazy" ? I know everyone has different ideas of what's excessive and what's not. I wouldnt call Misty's hair loss excessive in anyway, just more than I've experienced before
It was much more than usual. Pufu was not really shedding before and now, whenever i was petting him, with every pet i would have lots of hairs on my hand and on my clothes.

generally, i would recommend a fast check with the vet...better discovering early on...my oppinion
 
It was much more than usual. Pufu was not really shedding before and now, whenever i was petting him, with every pet i would have lots of hairs on my hand and on my clothes.

generally, i would recommend a fast check with the vet...better discovering early on...my oppinion
Misty has only been with me since March, and initially she had ringworm so I wasn't really focusing on getting to know her as such, I'll see how it goes this week and if it's worse it comes with any symptoms then I'll take her to the vets just incase
 
Mine are constantly shedding! I've tried brushing, not brushing, makes no difference they just leave hair everywhere. My vet has commented on it, but their fur is so thick it doesn't seem to make any difference to their coat. They've been like this since they were babies (now 3) so I've just learned to have lots of lint removers round the house :nod:

Here are the hairy ladies in full begging mode.

20190421_103809.jpg
 
Mine are constantly shedding! I've tried brushing, not brushing, makes no difference they just leave hair everywhere. My vet has commented on it, but their fur is so thick it doesn't seem to make any difference to their coat. They've been like this since they were babies (now 3) so I've just learned to have lots of lint removers round the house :nod:

Here are the hairy ladies in full begging mode.

View attachment 116030
Absolutely stunning piggies, I was wondering if it was Misty's thick coat that I'm just not used to, I've only ever had short coated piggies before her, so another learning path in terms of coat types. I'm just going to keep an eye on it for the time being and if any other alarm bells crop up then she'll be straight to the vet! Honestly Misty is so fluffy 😱😱 she probably needs to just get rid of some of those jumpers and trousers and put her bikini and cover up on instead 🤣🤣
 
That's probably what's happening.
She's changing from thick winter jimjams to her summer frock.🙂
How long does it usually take for a piggy to change to their new moult? Seeing as my other girls have been so minimal I have never really noticed. Like how long should I give Misty until maybe I should be a little more concerned?
 
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