Guinea pigs are easy pets to take care of and this makes them popular with families. Guinea pigs are also living longer lives because the advances in guinea pig care have increased over the past years. This is due to public demand and also of the determination of vets who see them as valuable experimental subjects. One of the main reasons people have to take their guinea pigs to the vet is because they suddenly lose their hair. Hair loss causes in guinea pigs tends to be indicative of a more serious problem, but guinea pigs usually regain all of their hair once they are successfully treated.

Itchy Pigs

There are many hair loss causes in guinea pigs. One comes from parasite infestation. While guinea pigs rarely get fleas or ticks, there are specific parasites that only attack guinea pigs and rabbits, but won’t harm other pets or animals. However, they do get around by traveling on people’s hands and pets in order to find a guinea pig that they can infest. Even the cleanest home can become susceptible to guinea pig mites.

Guinea pig mites are extremely small and hard to spot. They look somewhat like tiny grains of rice and tend to leave eggs in the guinea pig’s hair that look like grey dirt. Once the pig is infested, it starts scratching and continues until it rips out patches of fur. It looks bad, but the guinea pigs can now easily be treated at the vet’s with prescription medication. This usually involves a shot and then updates that can be given from a dropper.

Ringworm is one of the other hair loss causes in guinea pigs. It is not actually a worm, but a fungus. The guinea pig will not only have bald patches, but have thick crusty material on its skin where the hair is missing. The guinea pig scratches the places to the point where it starts screaming. The beginning stages of ringworm are hard to detect, but like mites, hair loss causes like these are easily treated at the vet’s.

Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is one of the other leading hair loss causes in guinea pigs. It can be detected by missing fur on the sow’s sides, and on the belly. The treatment usually required is a hysterectomy. However, if the guinea pig is in good health before going into surgery the chances for recovery are great. Although this is one of the most severe hair loss causes in guinea pigs, it is not necessarily life threatening and in many cases, completely curable.