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worried about bubba

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shortfuse

got a male guinea pig around 2 years old seems to have lost quite abit of hair around his lower back area over last couple of days i have seen one of the other pigs biting his bum alot lately and he seems to be drinking alot of water lately does anyone have any suggestions as to what this may be thanx
 
Welcome to the forum, I am sorry you are worried about your piggie! I'll have to ask you some more questions so I can get more of an idea of his condition, as the symptoms you describe could be down to any number of problems. I'm also not a vet (no-one on the forum is), and the advice given on the forum shouldn't replace experienced veterinary attention. I do hope some people can give you some ideas though as to what might be causing Bubba's symptoms. :)

Can you describe the hair loss in more detail, please? Is it small patches of hair missing, or an overall thinning and larger patch of hair loss? Have you seen the other guinea pigs biting Bubba? How is the skin underneath - is it clean and clear or does it seem flaky, red or scabby at all?

What is his diet like? Sometimes coat condition can be affected by diet.

How much water is he generally drinking per day?

And finally, have you taken him to a vet recently to have him checked over?
 
i would describe it as hair thinning in a large patch the skin seems abit flaky underneath but not red or sore there is 4 pigs in total and there water consunption was quite small i presume due to there diet which mainly consists of spinach tomato cucumber lots of other greens then dried pig food and processed grass and hay but over the last couple of weeks there water bottle is empty after 3 or 4 days and it seems to be him who is constantly drinking
 
Do you refresh the water daily? It's a good idea to get into the habit of emptying and refilling the bottle every day. It can be surprising how much food they spit up into the spout and bottle on a daily basis. rolleyes

The hair loss may be down to mites, although other causes cannot be ruled out. Their diet sounds quite varied although the spinach is rich in nutrients that are perhaps best not fed every day. Do they enjoy various herbs? You could routinely replace the spinach with a sprig of parsley a day, or a good handful of coriander. These are still nutritious foods and would help you feed a wider variety.

In terms of the hair loss, it may be a good idea to have him treated for mites at least; ideally you need to visit a vet, who (if he is skilled enough with the species to diagnose) can prescribe Ivermectin, or consider treating for a different cause.
 
think they have all been treated at some point for mites but **** a good idea to get them done again so you think spinach is not a good idea for there main source of food cos they love it and its been there main consumption for a long time there are a few little black spots on his skin too dont know if this helps in understanding the problem seen a few posts around which have me wondering if there is anything up with his kidneys so think a vet might be in order just didnt want to go if it was something minormallethead
 
Spinach is not recommended for guinea pigs. There is evidence that it may encourage the formation of kidney and bladder stones. I realise that some pigs like spinach, unfortunately, they do not know which foods are good and healthy and which foods should be avoided.
 
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