HELP!!! My baby guinea pig is losing hair!!!

Question
Dear Kat-
I've been raising guinea pigs as an FFA project for about a year now, so I have some experience. Anyway I have about 16 guinea pigs, most of which are my original ones offspring. But I have this one female that is about 2 1/2 to 3 months old, she is kept in a cage with the 2 other females from her litter, her older sister ( 3 litters before her), and a chocolate teddy. But today I went out to feed them after school and noticed that she has lost alot of weight and is really skinny and has been losing hair, I'm not sure whether she has an illness or not so I separated her just incase. By the way I have been feeding them Mazuri Guinea Pig food and I use Pine shavings for litter PLEASE HELP ME!!!!
-Anne-

Answer
Hello Anne,

I would take her to the vet. Weight loss in piggies always indicates a problem. Hairloss could be caused indirectly by stress from the illness or directly from the illness itself. With just the weight and hair loss as symptoms, it's difficult to say what the cause may be, but she does need a vet. The first thing piggies often do when they become ill is stop eating which, of course, causes weight loss and defiencies from not eating cause hair loss. There is a problem though. It could be something very minor that can be easily treated or it could be something much worse. Taking her to the vet soon is the best idea. If she is not eating, force feed her. It's important that she continue eating and pooing so she won't bloat. Good luck.

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs