Guinea pig owners - is this something to worry about?

[Bearsinmotion]

We’ve got four new guinea pigs, about three months old. We’re not handling them much as they aren’t used to us yet. However I noticed yesterday that one has this noticeable bald patch, about the size of a 10p piece. It doesn’t seem to be bothering him. Should I be worried?

Did one of the others cause that?

Not that I know of, it would take quite a dedicated effort to get that large a bald patch ☹️

You need to take the guinea pig to see the vet. It could be a parasite that's causing this or a fungal infection.

I will call the vet tomorrow. Just worrying in the interim!

I agree with the above, vets tomorrow.
Wear gloves when you handle incase it’s dermatophytosis, as that is zoonotic

I don't have piggies any more, but I remember when one of my boys had a similar thing when we got him.

Weirdly, the vet couldn't find any evidence of mites, fungus etc and it didn't seem to have been caused by his brother either. It grew back eventually but I could always spot where it had been because the fur pattern was a wee bit different.

Definitely get him checked out though, and in the meantime please make sure you wash your hands very carefully afterwards if you're handling him, just in case.

As he is so young you should take him to the vets to be checked. Are your four piggies all boys from the same litter or different ones? It's highly likely all four will be affected and need to be treated too even if no symptoms. You will also need to thoroughly clean their cage and run until the problem has cleared up.

It's not normally recommended to keep four male guinea pigs together they will fight, particularly when they are older. You might need to bond them into two pairs and each pair will need their own cage/ run. Do you have the spaces for this? Were you sold them as a group of four guinea pigs? If so, that's incredibly irresponsible of the seller.

If you are new to guinea pigs I would suggest searching to see if you have a guinea pig rescue local to you. Mine has a Facebook group for adopters and fosterers and there's lots of help and advice.

Find a guinea pig savvy vet - a guinea pig Rescue can recommend, or check local vets. This is very important to get the best treatment from someone knowledgeable about guinea pigs.

Subscribe to Guinea Pig Magazine - lots of info and advice for owners.

Some advice about treating skincare issues can be found on Gorgeous Guineas under Piggy Problems and Resources. But check before using any products on your baby pigs.

Mumsnet has a dedicated Small Pets section

Could be the grease gland in this area as long as not red scabby or sore

If its right above where his butt crack would be it could be a grease gland build up.

Cleaning with washing up liquid and a thorough rinse works well.

I’m not new to guinea pigs, but it is the first time I have seen this. They are all littermates, and get on well but we have space and plans to separate if we need to.

It’s definitely not scabby and doesn’t seem sore, but it doesn’t look like a grease gland issue to me. I will see what the vet says.

Thank you all by the way!