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1 Small Scab On My 8 Week Old Pig's Back! Help!

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Sammi14

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Help please! Hopefully you can see the picture attached. They have just come to us the other day so it could be stress related from the move. One pig as you can see has developed 1 small scab on his back. It feels raised slightly and rough possibly flakey. The pig feels marginally smaller than the other however runs around and is eating and drinking normally. We have booked him in for a health check next week however wanted your expert advice whether we should book him in before then?

Does anyone know what this could be? I am worried about my baby

x

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One other think, the noise he makes doesn't sound like the other pigs we have. His sounds more like a clicking noise, sort of like breathing through a nose blocked with phlem. He doesn't have a runny nose nor dried snot on his paws. Is this a baby thing?
 
Hi and welcome. I'm not an expert and someone will be along soon who is more so. I would get this checked out sooner than next week. With that warning that I am not an expert, my first thought in seeing that photo was that it looks a bit like ringworm, which I have had on several piggies before. But the back isn't the most typical first place for it to appear and the photo is a bit blurry so it could be a scratch or something else.

If it is fungal, the sooner seen by a vet, the better. There is a vet locator on this forum that you can use to find a cavy-savvy vet.

Have a look at the threads at the top of the health and illness section on fungal infections too to give you some more help.
 
at a guesse l would say 1 ring worm 2 a bight
pesonaly l would see you vet tomrow !

if he is making a clicking sound there could be a respiretory problem .

a run down imune systim would invite both uri and fungal conditions , vit c boost would do no halm (red Pepper) but l would defo see vet !
 
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Sammi14 said:
Help please! Hopefully you can see the picture attached. They have just come to us the other day so it could be stress related from the move. One pig as you can see has developed 1 small scab on his back. It feels raised slightly and rough possibly flakey. The pig feels marginally smaller than the other however runs around and is eating and drinking normally. We have booked him in for a health check next week however wanted your expert advice whether we should book him in before then?

Does anyone know what this could be? I am worried about my baby

x

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Hi!

It looks like either ringworm (transmittable fungal) or mange mites which can look very similar in the early stages; my money is slightly more on the first. Both are not at all uncommon in new shop or breeder bought guinea pigs, as they have likey had exposure and their immune system is lowered through all the stress of having their lives turned upside down.
Your vet will also check the clicking. Respiratory infection is another typical new guinea pig issue, and he will want to make sure that that is not the case. The clicking can just be from a slightly blocked nostril and nothing else untoward.

Please have them seen by your vet promptly in the next couple of days if possible; the sooner you can treat, the better, so it doesn't get any worse than it has to while it runs its due course. Please do not be tempted to treat with low dosed shop products on spec, as you can easily do more harm than good!

As we have got members from all over the world, we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/provice or UK county to your details, so we can always tailor any advice as to climate, available brands, vet and rescue access etc. straight away. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you!
We have got a recommended piggy savvy vet UK vet locator on the top bar, but can also provide a link for recommended vets in other countries if wished.

Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
Guinea Lynx :: Mange Mites
 
Book him in sooner if you can just in case his crackle is a respiratory problem, the sooner you treat it the better.
 
Dindypig said:
Book him in sooner if you can just in case his crackle is a respiratory problem, the sooner you treat it the better.
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We have got him booked in :) we also spoken to a friend who is a vet and he said it could be a bite from when at PAH the older guineas (18weeks old) have tried to mount him and bit him whilst doing so. Unsure though but will keep you posted :) thanks all
 
Sammi14 said:
We have got him booked in :) we also spoken to a friend who is a vet and he said it could be a bite from when at PAH the older guineas (18weeks old) have tried to mount him and bit him whilst doing so. Unsure though but will keep you posted :) thanks all
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To be honest, a bite looks different - it is usually a slash or two from a glancing blow or two deep pinpricks from a deep, full-on bite. Both ringworm and mites can cause a piggy to bits its own skin and are in my experience the cause nearly all shop bought guinea pigs.
 
So an update, we got home today after work and the scab has got bigger and there are 2 of them now. It has also gone bald a little which may indicate mites. See the pic.
We have got an appointment booked for tomorrow evening.
Is this fairly simple to treat? I am worried about him.

Thanks

20151110_184413.webp
 
If Ringworm is diagnosed treatment ideally should be with on oral medication called Itrafungol. Imaverol dips are also effective (the pig is dipped and the Imaverol is not rinsed off). If it is mange mites, treatment is with Ivermectin, usually a round of at least 3 injections approximately a week apart, though some vets use Spot on. Injections are more effective though for mange mites.
 
Hi to reassure you, both mites and ringworm are treatable. I've experienced both (ringworm more than once actually).

If it is ringworm, it can transmit to humans so until you know be careful about washing your hands and for peace of mind maybe invest in some F10 handgel for yourself. Normal antibacterial handgel won't kill ringworm.

Helen has listed the main and best treatments for each. If ringworm, I highly recommend dipping as well as the oral medication for most effective and quickest treatment. The imaverol dip that is licensed for Guinea pigs is called enilconazole and can be bought "over the counter" from the Hyperdrug website. Dipping has to be done every few days for about 2 weeks from memory - check again with Helen or Wiebke don't rely on my memory, if you do end up finding out it is this.

For mites, if you can get the injection, I'd say do that. I may have been lucky but only needed one injection done at the vets to resolve the mites we had.

We're all here for you so ask anything you are unsure about. Don't be afraid to suggest the mess Helen mentions to your vet if your vet diagnoses either of these. I use a vets for pets vet and he is good but I think it has helped a couple of times that I have gone armed with suggestions.

Good luck tomorrow. Let us know how it goes.
 
There are 2 schools of thought for the dipping, the bottle says every 2 or 3 days but I was advised once a week for 4 weeks as it carries on working in between due to it not being rinsed off. I think some of us do it one way and some do it the other way.
 
Hi all thanks for all your help. My two boys, Ceasar and Zeus, went to the vets today. The vet has put both boys on itrafungol to take care of any ring worn issues. Ceasar (who has the scabs mentioned above) he has also been put on baytrill as the vet believes that the sore on his back has become infected. Vet has advised us to go back after a week to check the progress.

It all seems to be moving in the right direction slowly....after all rome wasnt built in a day haha sorry about the pun, been dying to use that one!

Once Ceasar is fighting fit and a little more confident i will have to introduce you all to my family.

Thanks
 
Fingers crossed the Itrafungol kicks in quickly. Have a read of the guide too for the hygiene measures that are needed.

If he is on Baytril he will need probiotics at least an hour after each dose. Did the vet mention that? Baytril can be harsh on the gut and the probiotics help the gut bacteria.
 
Glad that you've got things on the road to recovery. Hope the giving the baytril works out fairly easy.

F10 that I mentioned before also makes a disinfectant for cage cleaning and soaking any wooden toys you have if you don't want to bin them to get rid of fungal spores. Check a few different places online as prices do vary. If you buy the neat stuff that you dilute at home, then it works out fairly economical.

In the past, I had thought anigene disinfectant also killed fungal spores from ringworm but another forum member got the detailed info on it and let me know that it doesn't so do beware and check carefully - any disinfectant that says it kills fungal you need to make sure it's the particular type of fungal that is ringworm (really sorry, I can't remember the formal name to give you to check for).

Also am doubly glad I started reading this thread and have been following it as I've got a piggy on baytril at the moment and the vet didn't mention probiotics to me and I feel terrible because I should've remembered that and didn't - at least I can start it now. Thanks @helen105281 !
 
No she didnt mention probiotics! Where do i get them from? Pets at home are open late so if they stock it I will get it from there on my way home from work! Is there anything in particular i need to get?
 
Pets at Home sell one called Pro C in a yellow tub. I can post the link at lunch if noone beats me to it. It is best given by syringe so you can control when they have it and how much as opposed to going in the water bottle.
 
Your a star cheers helen! I will stop by on my way home from work tonight to get one. Is it best to use one of the oral syringes that i got from the vets to administer it?
 
Sammi14 said:
Your a star cheers helen! I will stop by on my way home from work tonight to get one. Is it best to use one of the oral syringes that i got from the vets to administer it?
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Yes that's perfect.
 
So, Caesar has been on baytril for 4 days now out of 7 and there appears to be no change to the scab on his back. Is it time to stop the antibiotic and go back to the vets for a different treatment? Itrafungol maybe?
 
I would have expected at least some improvement by now. Could you call then vet and ask over the phone?
 
Just phoned, they said the worming medication is a 2 week dose so the likely hood is there will be little improvement after just 4 days, should see it about 7+ days
 
Here are the 2 babies, ceasar on the left and zeus on the right

20151114_234128.webp
 
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