Why is my guinea pig's coat dry? How can I make it soft again?

Question

One of my guinea pigs has a dry coat how can I help him the other ones coat is soft. Pet's info: Small Animal | Guinea Pig | Male | unneutered

Miranda Sadar, DVM, DACZM · Accepted Answer

Thanks for your question about Theo and Leo. I didn't see how old your boys are. The reason I bring this up is that there are some parasites and fungi that can result in a dry coat and/or flakey skin. If you are noticing any hair loss, flakey skin, or redness to the skin in addition to the dry coat, I would recommend taking the boys into a veterinarian for evaluation. I also didn't see what breed Theo and Leo were - for some of the guinea pig breeds, their hair will be more coarse, so if they are different breeds this may also be an explanation of why they are different. Examples of breeds that can have a more coarse coat include Teddy and Abyssinian. Alternatively, nutrition can affect the coat. An ideal adult guinea pig diet is made up of about 80% grass hay (Timothy, orchard grass, etc.), and supplemented with 1-2 teaspoons of grass based pellets (Timothy) per day. In addition, guinea pigs require vitamin C - a lack of vitamin C can result in a dry and rough hair coat in addition to more serious problems with the teeth and joints. To provide vitamin C to your boys, you can utilize a specific supplement for guinea pigs, such as the Oxbow vitamin C supplement. You can also feed produce items that are rich in vitamin C - one of the most reliable is 1/8 of a red bell pepper per guinea pig per day. This will provide them with their daily requirements of vitamin C. The pellets that they consume, if specifically formulated for guinea pigs, will also have a small amount of vitamin C in them. I don't recommend water supplementation or feeding human vitamin C supplements as they are degraded quickly over time or have sugar additives, respectively. I hope this gives you a place to start, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Why is my guinea pig's coat dry? How can I make it soft again?

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