Guinea Pig Belly Hair Loss

Question
We just noticed that one of our guinea pigs that is about 4 years old has lost most of the hair on her belly. We have 3 piggies in one cage, all are female and all get along well. Diet has not changed. Why would the hair fall out all of a sudden.....there is really no hair on her underside at all.

Answer

Bag Balm   I've seen this in my own sows that were seniors, and it's usually those who are particularly pudgy. Oddly enough mine all seemed to have white hair on their bellies. For some reason the skin under white hair, because it is pink usually is more prone to skin issues.

Is it all over the belly or fairly limited to the lower half? That's the part that most often is making contact with the floor, thus staying warm and moist and not getting as much airflow. One of my most dependable standbys is Bag Balm. It's available at any drug store and also at many grocery markets that have skin products.

Here is a picture of the can so you can recognize what you're looking for. It's a very old product and is the only thing this company makes. It was originally formulated for us on the udders of cows whose poor teats would get bloody chapped from milking in the cold winter months.

That's not its only use today. It is excellent for dry skin on literally anything for calloused feet, elbows, etc on not just animals but humans as well. It's very thick like axle grease and has a mentholated smell. It takes very little to do the trick, and it comes in many sizes from very small to very large.

Try rubbing that on her bare belly where the hair is gone. If this is from chapping or a fat belly it should help.

There is one other thing that can cause this but is thankfully fairly rare in guinea pig sows and that is ovarian cysts that are sometimes, but not always, associated with ovarian cancer. Usually a sow with that problem will have a lopsided belly, which the cyst making the affected side much fatter and more protruding.

There isn't anything you can do for that other than expensive surgery. But at four years old I wouldn't put any sow through that. So let's just go on the assumption that this is something that is far more simple and try the Bag Balm. Rub just a little in once or twice a day.

If the hair grows back you can discontinue the use. If it does not then continue a daily treatment to keep her from getting chapped on the bare skin.