2 Causes Make Guinea Pig Losing Hair Around Eye

Any sudden change or unusual behavior in your beloved guinea pig can have you scratching your head. For instance, guinea pigs losing hair around the eye is always concerning.

Many people have encountered this problem with their piggies but, unfortunately have no idea what to do or help their poor pets.

Several causes can make a guinea pig lose hair around its eyes. While some causes, in most cases, are minor, there could be an underlying problem that requires you to see a vet.

Further in the article, we’ll detail the top two causes of guinea pig losing hair around eye and the proper treatment. Enjoy reading the article!

Top 2 Reasons That Make Guinea Pigs Lose Hair Around Eye

You will want to know if the conditions causing guinea pigs to lose hair sound scary at first. Anyway, it’s a great concern to ensure that your pet animal is in sound health at all times!

Anyone whose piggy suffered from hair loss around the eye can tell you how ugly it looks on your pet, plus other annoying symptoms may accompany the condition.

Although uncommon, a guinea pig losing hair around its eyes could be due to constant wetness. These animal companions are stressed when wet and may scratch themselves often.

Moreover, mites and ringworms are also an underlying cause of hair loss in guinea pigs. Thankfully, it’s easy to diagnose and treat a piggy with mites and ringworm.

Below is a detailed discussion of the top two causes of guinea pigs losing hair around their eyes.

Signs of Mites

The mite parasites can burrow into the skin or live in the piggy’s hair and are hated for their itching and inflammation effects. 

It shouldn’t frighten you that you will get mites from your piggy; these nuisance parasites are species-specific. They will develop and multiply on one species or a group of closely related animals.

You can’t spot a mite with naked eyes, but their symptoms are pretty obvious. Mites will consume your piggy’s hair, cause extreme itching, skin irritation, scabs, dandruff, and in severe cases, seizures.

If left unaddressed, mites will multiply and burrow into the skin. This exposes your pig to Mange disease and also seizures or death.

Tip: After your pig receives treatment, you will need to clean your guinea pig’s cage and beddings since mites and mite eggs could still be present.

Sign of Ringworm

Your beloved piggy will also lose hair if it has ringworm. Ringworm is a fungal infection primarily associated with losing hair in a ring shape or circular pattern around a guinea pig’s eye.

Apart from hair loss, a guinea pig with ringworm will likely show scaly dandruff symptoms, darkened skin, crusty skin, itchiness, and ulcers. The round ring shape from ringworm makes it easy to diagnose this infection.

Untreated ringworm may disappear on its own in healthy guinea pigs, or it may not. It will also spread to the entire body, and your piggy risks spreading the disease to other household pets and even you.

Owners should clean and sanitize their piggy’s cage, accessories, and environment to prevent the spread of ringworm. Also, isolating a guinea pig with ringworm from the rest is essential to curb the spread.

What Happens with Guinea Pigs Hair Loss Around the Eye?

Hair loss in guinea pigs is typically a symptom of a root cause; hence, you should reach out to your vet to pinpoint and solve the problem.

If your pet loses hair and, on top of that, shows signs of eye injury or irritation, keep an eye out since any delay in treatment could result in lasting damage or vision loss (in severe cases).

Ringworm can be the reason for darkened and scaly skin around the eye after hair loss. It’s always a sad thing to see your cute pet lose its face fluffiness and beauty. But it’s likely to happen with ringworms.

Hair loss due to mites also subjects a guinea pig to constant itching, stress, and discomfort. Eventually, your piggy may refuse food, sleep more often, and this affects its general health.

Sometimes, hair loss can be very irritating and painful. If your piggy is in pain, observe signs such as flinching, refusing food, reluctance to move, eye winking, etc.

Hair loss in guinea pigs can spread to other body parts if you don’t get to the bottom of it. Although very slowly, the hair loss around the eye will grow back after treatment.

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How Do You Treat Losing Hair Around a Guinea Pig Eye?

Mites and ringworms are two top root causes of hair loss in guinea pigs. The treatment for hair loss varies depending on the underlying cause.

You can address the mite problem at home by spraying or washing the pig with mite shampoo or seeing a vet if the infestation is severe.

Ivermectin does treat mite problems after a couple of its applications (once every week or even more in severe conditions).

A vet is the best person to go to if you suspect your pet has a ringworm. He may prescribe antifungal medication in more severe cases or antifungal cream or shampoo in mild cases. The best creams for guinea pigs are clotrimazole and miconazole.

Remember that hair loss in guinea pigs may also result from other causes. Taking your curvy to the vet is the best course of action anytime you notice a hair loss around the eye.

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Wrapping Up

Guinea pigs can experience hair loss around their eyes due to several reasons. Mites and ringworm are the two leading causes of guinea pigs’ hair loss.

If you notice your piggy is losing hair, you should go to the vet for assessment and treatment. The vet will prescribe something stronger, and the pig should recover soon.

Untreated ringworm and mite can be dangerous in guinea pigs; you might risk losing your pet or being exposed to other health issues.