Frost's New Hobby: Barbering

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Lynx
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Post   » Wed Apr 11, 2012 11:13 pm


It looks pretty clean - I would not guess fungal though it can cause hair loss. Do you think it bothers him? I would think if there was itching, you might see some self mutilation.

TwoWhitePiggies

Post   » Wed Apr 11, 2012 11:57 pm


Honestly, the skin looks pretty healthy. It's not scaly, dry, scratched or otherwise chewed. He's just attacking the fur.

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PinkRufus
Contributor in 2020

Post   » Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:18 am


It may only be the lighting, but his abdominal area looks squishy to me?

This may not even be related to the affected area of skin and hair. If he is anxious or in pain, he could just be barbering because he is nervous (kind of like when people bite their nails or wring their hands).

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TWP_2

Post   » Fri Apr 13, 2012 1:39 am


I felt around all over his abdomen and limbs, and I don't feel anything out of the ordinary. Nothing more squishy than normal, nothing harder than normal, etc.

He seems to be a lot less itchy, and we have not seen him doing any obvious barbering.

We'll continue with the ivermectin (second and maybe third treatment) and see if his hair regrows without further barbering.

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PinkRufus
Contributor in 2020

Post   » Fri Apr 13, 2012 2:12 am


That's a relief. I guess it just looked strange to me because of the pattern the hair is barbered off in.

I would be suspicious of mites showing up out of the blue. Since mites are opportunistic it may not be a bad idea to get Frost a senior check-up. I always take mine in for that when they turn five.

Talishan
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Post   » Sun Apr 15, 2012 3:14 am


Ditto PR. I'd be very suspicious of mites turning up out of the blue, especially with good husbandry. If there's an underlying stressor that's giving mites an advantage, you'd want of course to find out what that is.

Ours will eat their final feces obsessively for a day or two if they get emotionally upset, but I've never seen this in ours (and we have some very emotionally delicate pigs ;-).

TwoWhitePiggies

Post   » Sun Apr 15, 2012 4:08 am


During the past few months, we lost Tom and Linus (both shared a cage wall with Frost) and we moved to a new city and built a new cage - a change considering Frost had lived in the exact same space for almost five years. So there are definitely some potential stress triggers there.

Still, I think he should see a vet. I am just trying to find one closer than K-State (and less expensive, too, as our K-State trips can easily hit the $500 to $1,000 range) that is cavy savvy.

TwoWhitePiggies

Post   » Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:06 pm


Some good news: I think I've found a good exotics vet in Lawrence, which is only a half-hour away. Friends of ours with rats highly recommended them. I've got an appointment to take both Frost and Milo in next Friday. Other than the fact that he's still chewing on his hair, Frost seems fine. His weight is steady, his appetite is fine and there haven't been any changes in his behavior. Milo is the one we're a little concerned could be exhibiting signs of heart issues. I decided to take him in now and size up the new vet before we had a major emergency.

I'll post again when I know more.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Apr 20, 2012 11:23 pm


I hope the vet works out well for you guys!

Talishan
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Post   » Sun Apr 22, 2012 1:56 am


Ditto. That would be an enormous relief all the way around.

TwoWhitePiggies

Post   » Fri Apr 27, 2012 11:38 pm


We made our trip to the exotics vet in Lawrence today. I'm really excited about this vet...she is very much a guinea pig specialist and Milo and Frost took to her right away.

She feels very sure that Frost's issues are allergy related. She said his skin is healthy and that the hair is healthy and strong. She is going to start him on an antihistamine after -- surprise -- she fixes his teeth, which become maloccluded at some point since we moved.

Milo, on the other hand, concerned her. She noted all the things I brought up - the feet hinting at bumblefoot, the hint of pea eye, the gunk in one ear, the boniness in his hips. She said his heart and lungs were great, though. She wants to really thoroughly check his teeth and do some blood work, so he's going back with Frost next week.

Incidentally, she was thrilled to see the GL weight chart and said she wished all owners kept them. She's also familiar with GL.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Apr 28, 2012 8:47 am


Glad to hear you found a good vet! They make such a world of difference!

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