豚鼠脱毛

虽然有两种豚鼠品种它们天生没有完全被皮毛覆盖，如果它们开始脱毛，那就表明有问题。脱发可以是局部的，也可以是全身性的，可以是缓慢的，也可以是突然的，可以是明显的，也可以是隐性的。了解豚鼠脱毛的原因可以帮助您避免脱毛，并帮助您了解需要采取哪些措施来识别和治疗脱毛。

什么是脱发？

脱发是指正常头发或毛皮数量的减少豚鼠有。当豚鼠身上某处的毛发脱落时就会发生这种情况。这会导致豚鼠的毛发变薄或出现秃斑，并且可能发生在豚鼠身体的任何地方。它在医学上被称为脱发。

豚鼠脱毛的症状

脱发有多种原因，但所有症状通常都非常明显。

如果豚鼠脱毛，您可能看到的第一个迹象是大量脱毛。当您与豚鼠玩耍、抱着和抚摸豚鼠时，您和地面上会留下比平常更多的豚鼠皮毛。您还可能会在笼子里看到过多的皮毛。最终他们的毛皮不会像以前那么厚，你会在皮肤上看到秃斑。

脱发的原因

豚鼠的脱毛通常分为自体引起的或非自体引起的。自身引起的脱发是指豚鼠出现问题导致其发痒或啃掉毛发，非自身引起的脱发是指豚鼠在没有瘙痒或咀嚼的情况下毛发脱落。

• 螨虫侵扰
• 虱子侵扰
• 癣（真菌）感染
• 理发（咀嚼头发）
• 卵巢囊肿
• 甲状腺功能亢进症
• 坏血病（维生素 C 缺乏症）
• 库欣病
• 怀孕
• 产后
• 皮肤淋巴瘤

诊断豚鼠脱毛

由于豚鼠脱发的原因有多种，因此可能需要进行多种测试才能诊断其原因。这些测试可能包括以下内容：

• 拔毛的三方图
• 血汗工作
• 皮肤细胞的胶带条
• 皮肤细胞学
• 真菌培养
• 细菌培养
• 皮肤活检
• 超声波
• X光检查

将获得完整的病史，以确定是否发生了繁殖、出生、自身或其他豚鼠的毛发外伤或营养缺乏，但如果怀疑有外部寄生虫、癣或细菌感染，将建议进行毛发和皮肤测试。如果没有发现这些原因的证据，可能需要进行活检、血液检查、X 射线或超声波检查来确定脱发的原因和根本原因。

治疗

Depending on the cause of the hair loss, the treatment for it will vary. Medications may be needed to kill mites, lice, fungus (like ringworm), or bacteria as well as treat Cushing's and hyperthyroidism, but sometimes environmental and dietary changes will also need to be made. If your guinea pig is diagnosed with ovarian cysts, surgery may be needed to remove them. Of the aforementioned causes of hair loss in guinea pigs, cutaneous lymphoma is the poorest prognosis of all of the possible causes.

Prognosis for Guinea Pigs with Hair Loss

The prognosis for a guinea pig with hair loss is usually good, but a diagnosis will be needed to ensure any necessary treatments are received. Some medications may be needed lifelong in order to manage some serious underlying causes of hair loss, but other medications are only needed temporarily until the cause is cured. Some causes of hair loss, like pregnancy, will disappear on their own and have a very good prognosis.

For example, parasites and skin infections have short term treatments but Cushing's and hyperthyroidism will require lifelong treatments or may entail radiation therapy or surgical intervention. Hair loss from ovarian cysts have a good prognosis if surgery is performed, and dietary changes can easily fix scurvy. Cutaneous lymphoma though, unfortunately does not have a good prognosis but is also not as common as some of the other causes of hair loss.

How to Prevent Hair Loss

There are some easy things you can do to help prevent hair loss in your guinea pig. To prevent your guinea pig from getting mites and lice that cause them to itch and develop hair loss, freezing hay, pellets, and bedding before putting them in the cage will kill off any unwanted pests that may be lurking in these items.

Next, quarantining any new guinea pigs for four weeks before they will be interacting or living with your guinea pig will help prevent them from spreading any fungal or bacterial infections they may be harboring to your guinea pig.

To help prevent scurvy, you can give guinea pig pellets that have vitamin C, but ensure that it is not older than 90 days past its manufacturing as this type of vitamin rapidly degrades.

Finally, if you have a female guinea pig, you can prevent ovarian cysts, pregnancy, and postpartum hair loss by spaying them.

Is Hair Loss Contagious to Other Animals?

Hair loss itself is not contagious but the thing that causes the hair loss can be. Ringworm and mites are particularly contagious to other animals and lice is contagious specifically to other guinea pigs. These causes of hair loss are why quarantining any new guinea pig before introducing them to your current guinea pig is important.

Is It Contagious to Humans?

Most causes of hair loss are not contagious to humans but there are a couple of them that are. These causes are called zoonotic because they can be transmitted from an animal to a human. Ringworm, a fungal infection, is one zoonotic cause of hair loss in guinea pigs so it can easily spread from a guinea pig to a human. The other zoonotic cause of hair loss in guinea pigs is a specific type of mite called Trixacarus caviae which causes sarcoptic mange.