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Post by homesick742 on May 8, 2011 23:55:13 GMT
OK, my piggy, Lily, is a Peruvian. She's been doing well but now something strange is happening. Normally I have to trim her hair because it grows so long. Normally it looks like this:  But recently her hair started getting shorter and shorter and now it's so short. I was shocked when I saw her like this: Face:  body:  What could this be? |
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Post by mrpiggy on May 9, 2011 0:06:07 GMT
I don't have any experience with long haired pigs because both mine are short haired(see my avatar). What popped in my mind when I saw it could be sick or just old.
Sick: if it was sick you could look for unusual food likes and dislikes. Like if he used to eat lettace and now doesn't care for it. Or try and see to how active he was. If he is sick he would stay a little quieter and not be as hyper.
Age: if he is old he might not be able to produce the amount of hair that he used to.
Hope it helps,
MrPiggy
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Migs and her Pigs
Newbie
Don't worry, 10% of the time im listening to you talk ;)
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Post by Migs and her Pigs on May 9, 2011 2:12:36 GMT
does she live with any other piggies? If she does, the other pigs might have chewed her hair off. I know it sounds crazy, but its happend to me too. My Texel pig got his hair chewed off by his brother. But it grows back. So don't worry! I can't think of any others reasons. It cant be sickness of age because it looks as if it has been cut, not falling out. Hope this helped!
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Post by homesick742 on May 9, 2011 9:28:10 GMT
Yes, she does live with one other piggy. I wondered if she had been chewing her hair and I thought, no way! They've lived together over a year and this just recently happened. But it really started when a third piggy I had passed. (who was the dominant one). I checked her over and didn't see any signs of trauma. (Like maybe she had been bitten by the other one or something)
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Post by newpig on May 9, 2011 9:31:38 GMT
It's classic barbering. Doesn't do them any harm and very difficult to stop. Some theories I've read say they need more hay, more toys etc but mine have all that and it still goes on. It took me a long time to figure out that Anya was the culprit in my herd and she is the least dominant and quietest of all my piggys. You can try bitter apply spray on the coat of Lily to see if it helps break the habit of chewing.
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Post by yodelpig on May 9, 2011 10:47:14 GMT
It looks like a text book case of piggy barbering! I have seen two of my longhaired piggies nibble at each other to some extent (they happen to be original group mates of Anya's) and Caron's locks have also been under attack lately. But I have also come across cases of barbering from other guinea pig owners and rescues. Often, the perpetrator has been a youngster that was newly bonded with an older piggy. One rescue has a blind/deaf girl who barbers the rest of the resident herd she now lives with, with the result that all the piggies with the expcetion of the barber are looking very moth eaten due to the extremely haphazard way of the barber striking! Here is more info on barbering: www.oginet.com/pgurney/barbering.htm |
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Post by jolovespiggies on May 9, 2011 14:50:18 GMT
I have a piggy who was sitting behind me on the bak of the chair. She started chewing my hair and I thought it was cute, untilI reallised just how much she had taken LOL!! It has grown back now though.
Hugs
Jo xx
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Post by Canadian Comforts on May 9, 2011 15:40:23 GMT
Barbering, for sure. I have noticed that when my pigs are stressed, sick or other they tend to do it more. Clover on the other hand has barbered herself for years. Shes started to do it to Eve other the last few months. Though they both leave pixie alone for some odd reason. If you can just get the vet to check them both over in case there is any issues.
In the summer I trim my girls really short, because it gets very warm here. I personally LOVE the fact that I have a barber in my herd, keeps me from spending too many hours trimming every month.
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Post by 3piggles on May 9, 2011 16:19:37 GMT
I vote for barbering, too. The barber should get paid for that funky hairdo, lol!!!
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Post by homesick742 on May 9, 2011 22:37:40 GMT
It looks like a text book case of piggy barbering! I have seen two of my longhaired piggies nibble at each other to some extent (they happen to be original group mates of Anya's) and Caron's locks have also been under attack lately. But I have also come across cases of barbering from other guinea pig owners and rescues. Often, the perpetrator has been a youngster that was newly bonded with an older piggy. One rescue has a blind/deaf girl who barbers the rest of the resident herd she now lives with, with the result that all the piggies with the expcetion of the barber are looking very moth eaten due to the extremely haphazard way of the barber striking! Here is more info on barbering: www.oginet.com/pgurney/barbering.htmThis is very interesting because she is my youngest (just turned 1yr in Dec) and she just started right after Sophie (my oldest and most dominant died) so I wonder if they are related?! I'm going to read that link you gave now. Thanks everyone! The plus is now I don't have to brush her every day or trim her every few weeks!  |
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poshpiggy
Bronze Member
The caption says it...
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Post by poshpiggy on May 9, 2011 23:05:21 GMT
Barbering. Your piggy is cute, though!
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Post by 3piggles on May 9, 2011 23:29:22 GMT
Stress causes all sorts of different behavioral reactions in pigs, and barbering can be one of them. Loss of a pig pal/dominant pig is a huge upset to the herd, even if the herd is only the one remaining pig. They do mourn, and they do have to sort out how they are going to deal with life without their friend and leader.
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