It is absolutely wonderful having a guinea pig as a pet. They can easily become your close companion and can sometimes even feel like family.
Therefore, it can be very concerning when their behavior or health starts to change. You will probably start to panic and try to figure out the cause of the issue. In today’s article, we are going to cover a common issue among guinea pigs: hair loss around their eyes.
Why do guinea pigs lose hair around their eye?
The main reasons guinea pigs lose hair around their eye are scratched corneas, bacterial/fungal infections, parasites, and tumors. Below we will go in dept on each of these issues.
Scratched Cornea
Unfortunately, scratched corneas are very common among guinea pigs. They usually occur when a stick of hay pokes them in the eye. It can also happen when another guinea pig scratches the other. A scratched cornea occurs when an object breaks through the cornea, which is located on the outer layer of your guinea pig’s eye.
When a guinea pig has a scratched cornea, there will usually be some discharge in their eye. It is also common for their eye to turn red. This is a result of inflammation, and results in itchiness in and around your guinea pig’s eye. Therefore, your guinea pig will try to scratch their eye to relive the itchiness. This excess scratching can cause dry skin around the eye, and eventually lead to hair loss.
Related Article: Blue-Eyed Guinea Pigs
Bacterial/Fungal infections
It is also common for bacterial and fungal infections to cause your guinea pig to lose the hair around their eye. One common fungal infection, ringworm, causes a round sore to grow somewhere on the guinea pig’s face. A lot of times, the ringworm patch will be located in or around their eye. You can see guinea pig ringworm pictures here.
Aside from hair loss, infections can also cause swelling in and around your guinea pig’s eye. It can also cause inflammation of your guinea pig’s eye lids. If the inflammation gets very bad, your guinea pig might not be able to open their eye.
Parasites
Parasites can also cause your guinea pig to lose hair around their eye. The most common parasite to affect guinea pigs are mites. These small critters can burrow into your guinea pig’s skin and lay eggs. In most cases, mites will cause your guinea pig’s skin to become dry and flakey, which usually results in hair loss.
If your guinea pig gets infected by mites near their eye, it will almost certainly cause hair loss.
Tumors
Lastly, tumors can also cause hair loss around your guinea pig’s eye. Tumors usually result in a bulge or swelling on the guinea pig’s skin. If located near the eye, the tumor can damage the skin and prevent it from growing hair.
How to prevent your guinea pig from losing hair around their eye
The solution to your guinea pig’s hair loss is dependent on the cause. For example, if your guinea pig has mites or a bacterial infection, the best thing to do might be to give them a shampoo bath. If your guinea pig has a fungal infection or any other issue with their eye, you should maybe give them a medicine called Terramycin.
However, the key is prevention. There are plenty of measure you can take to prevent hair loss around the eye. The most important is to always maintain a healthy cage. You should clean it at least every other week.
You should also make sure you feed your guinea pig a balanced meal. Also, don’t overfeed them, as uneaten food can lead to bacterial/fungal infections. Lastly, you should always check in on your guinea pig daily to make sure they are acting normal and are healthy. That way you can spot a problem quicker while it is still easy to fix.