Guinea pig hair loss....  

I'll check out these websites...thanks so much! I checked him for mites also and I didn't see anything.....maybe they're too small for me to see?

Just wanted to comment on this that if he did have mites, bathing would NOT be a good idea. It often aggravates the mites making them dig deeper into the skin. Not a good thing for the piggie!

His hairloss is all over, it's like shedding but more hair is falling out than it should be. Thanks for the link!

Please hurry with treatment! If it's all over, can you tell me if there is any dandruff as well? Or any crustiness? If so, what color dandruff or crustiness?

I'd start treatment with ivermectin immediately as it won't hurt if that's not it. But mites can kill. And cause huge problems in the future if left untreated now.

A whole bottle to treat like 300 guinea pigs for mites cost $50. If you don't want to spend that much, borrow some from a farmer or ask a guinea pig rescue near you. You can also find a tube of horse paste ivermectin for only $10. The info is on Guinea Lynx for how to use that as well.

Mites are extremely painful, sooner treated the better.

If you can take a photo, please do. I've rescued so many pigs with mites, fungus, and various things, I could probably give you an idea better from a photo. If something doesn't start working fast though, hurry and see a vet! With guinea pigs, you don't have long.

Make sure to keep weighing with a gram scale too to make sure there is no weight loss.

By like shedding, do you mean there are no bald patches? Even without bald patches it could be mites though, you don't want it to get to the bald patches stage.

I use the horse paste. Dosing with it isn't as complicated as it looks. I just use a blob about the size of the cottony end of a Q-tip. I use my finger and push it to the sides where the molars are.

I would treat for mites to be on the safe side. No harm if it isn't that. But do get your little one into the vet and try to rule out anything else.

But do not bathe him as that can add to the aggrevation of the itching.

Thanks for your comments. I can't take a photo as my digital camera is broken. It's like shedding. There's no weight loss and he's eating like normal. How would he get mites? We have 2 piggies in this cage and the other one doesn't have these problems. If it were mites, wouldn't both the piggies have them? Thanks for all your input it's really helped!

Both pigs might have them, it sounds like you've just caught it early.

How long ago did you get them?

It's easier to get mites home than you'd think. Even though they're species specific, if you went in a pet store lately, maybe you brushed by the guinea pig enclosure. Pet store guinea pigs often have mites. Maybe you brushed by a guinea pig owner who held their pig that has mites. Held any other piggies recently? Could have had mites. Or if you just got them, you could just now be seeing the signs because stress can give mites more of an opportunity to attack, and a newly moved pet would be under stress.

I usually treat all guinea pigs for mites upon entry because it's safe to do anyway and if I have 10 piggies, I don't want to have to treat them all. :) Even right now with just two, I change my shirt after handling strange cavies just to be safe.