2 baby piggies potentially having mites?

[Talkingfishes]

Hi, I'm new to guinea pig owning and I've noticed that both my piggies have these bald patches on their backs. I'm not sure if it's fungal infections or mites. I've treated them with anti fungal creams for 3 days now, it was working for a few days but recently one of them started to become irritated (e.g. trying to run away, trying to nibble my hand) when i was trying to apply the cream in one of the spot behind his head (he has 3 bald spots, one on each sides below his ears and one behind his head). I've noticed that they also have hay mites from what I've researched throughout the forums. Can someone help me what to do? I don't trust vets much (their mom died because of them) and vet's here in my country is not that familiar with piggies.

Attached is an picture of the bald patch behind his head before applying cream and after applying cream

 

[Siikibam]

I really don’t know, but wouldn’t recommend treating without getting a diagnosis from a vet. Can you try another vet?

Please also add your location to your profile so we can (hopefully) help you better

 

[Jellyfish]

I really don’t know, but wouldn’t recommend treating without getting a diagnosis from a vet. Can you try another vet?

Please also add your location to your profile so we can (hopefully) help you better

Hi! @Talkingfishes is someone I know quite well and both of us live in Brunei and I know his piggies too. Currently they just turned 4 weeks old yesterday so we are not sure if it is okay for them to take medicines or injections? We were still quite saddened by the death of their mum, although we are trying to find better vet (as he said, here there are lack of vets that have knowledge and experience on guinea pigs which is unfortunate)

 

[Piggies&buns]

I understand the situation regarding lack of vet, but unfortunately the only way to get a diagnosis and treatment is to see a vet. Applying creams yourself without a diagnosis can be very risky and in some cases harmful.
Please ensure that your cage is given a thorough clean down with a veterinary grade disinfectant and any fabric bedding is washed on a hot wash. We can’t diagnose anything so can’t know whether you are dealing with mites or fungal, but ringworm (fungal infection) can spread to humans so it would be best to err on the side of caution until you have a diagnosis.

Please be aware that all guinea pigs have a bald spot behind each ear. While I can’t see pictures of those on the pictures you’ve posted, do double check that you may in fact be dealing with one bald spot as the other two behind the ears may be the normal ones which don’t require treatment.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Ouch that does look sore. In my experience fungal tends to be more scabby than bald spots so I would be inclined to think mites but I'm not a vet. Going to tag @Wiebke given the lack of access to decent vet care and because I have no idea what different medications are called in your country

 

[Talkingfishes]

Hi! @Talkingfishes is someone I know quite well and both of us live in Brunei and I know his piggies too. Currently they just turned 4 weeks old yesterday so we are not sure if it is okay for them to take medicines or injections? We were still quite saddened by the death of their mum, although we are trying to find better vet (as he said, here there are lack of vets that have knowledge and experience on guinea pigs which is unfortunate)

As said by @Jellyfish they just turned 4 weeks old and I'm not sure if they can be given oral medicines or injections and due to vets here aren't that experienced with piggies... I'm too scared with how they might treat them and how they could just inject strong medicine or overdose them with medicine. I've experienced a few of the vets here with my cats and some of them have died before due to misdiagnosis or overdose of medicine.

I understand the situation regarding lack of vet, but unfortunately the only way to get a diagnosis and treatment is to see a vet. Applying creams yourself without a diagnosis can be very risky and in some cases harmful.
Please ensure that your cage is given a thorough clean down with a veterinary grade disinfectant and any fabric bedding is washed on a hot wash. We can’t diagnose anything so can’t know whether you are dealing with mites or fungal, but ringworm (fungal infection) can spread to humans so it would be best to err on the side of caution until you have a diagnosis.

Please be aware that all guinea pigs have a bald spot behind each ear. While I can’t see pictures of those on the pictures you’ve posted, do double check that you may in fact be dealing with one bald spot as the other two behind the ears may be the normal ones which don’t require treatment.

As said above, I've had bad experience with vets here in my country and there are limited amount of vets and they don't have much experience with piggies. One example is their mom, she died after giving medicine prescribed by the vet. I'm trying to avoid vets as much as i can from my experience with their mom.

The bald patch on both of his sides aren't normal because only one of them have the bald patch on their sides while the other only has one side.

Also attached is a picture of what i think is hay mites.

 

[Wiebke]

As said by @Jellyfish they just turned 4 weeks old and I'm not sure if they can be given oral medicines or injections and due to vets here aren't that experienced with piggies... I'm too scared with how they might treat them and how they could just inject strong medicine or overdose them with medicine. I've experienced a few of the vets here with my cats and some of them have died before due to misdiagnosis or overdose of medicine.



As said above, I've had bad experience with vets here in my country and there are limited amount of vets and they don't have much experience with piggies. One example is their mom, she died after giving medicine prescribed by the vet. I'm trying to avoid vets as much as i can from my experience with their mom.

The bald patch on both of his sides aren't normal because only one of them have the bald patch on their sides while the other only has one side.

Also attached is a picture of what i think is hay mites.

Hi!

That is indeed looking like hay mite eggs!

Please take the time to read these link here. They contain information on both parasites and ringworm/fungal skin infection, including treatment and further links if you are in a country with limited vet access.
Here in the UK with good vet access it is against the law to treat on spec without a vet diagnosis, and as a public place promoting good standards of welfare we are keen to comply with this, especially as we have seen more than once what treating wrongly or with inadequate cures can do to a poor piggy - up to a very slow agonising death after weeks and months of suffering.
New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites
Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures

Have you creamed the big bald patch already because I can't tell whether it is fungal or mites once you have put something on it and kind of wiped the crime scene. There is a risk that your little baby could suffer from both fungal and hay mites if there has been exposure at the place the babies have come from.

 

[Talkingfishes]

Hi!

That is indeed looking like hay mite eggs!

Please take the time to read these link here. They contain information on both parasites and ringworm/fungal skin infection, including treatment and further links if you are in a country with limited vet access.
Here in the UK with good vet access it is against the law to treat on spec without a vet diagnosis, and as a public place promoting good standards of welfare we are keen to comply with this, especially as we have seen more than once what treating wrongly or with inadequate cures can do to a poor piggy - up to a very slow agonising death after weeks and months of suffering.
New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites
Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures

I will try to follow the instructions given in the link as we don't have really good vets here. I might just try my luck to see if going to the vet is going to help them in any way.

Have you creamed the big bald patch already because I can't tell whether it is fungal or mites once you have put something on it and kind of wiped the crime scene. There is a risk that your little baby could suffer from both fungal and hay mites if there has been exposure at the place the babies have come from.

Yes, i have use some cream on the bald patches but the first picture above is the picture where the bald patch is not yet given any cream.

If it's any help, i have a neighborhood cat that's infected that likes to come into the house.(they live outside and occasionally can come in at day time) I'm not sure what she's infected with but she has crusted ears with crack wounds and some hair lost. I remembered that she came into my room before, near my piggies and I've lifted her out of my room. That's when the bald patches stared to appear if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Wiebke]

I will try to follow the instructions given in the link as we don't have really good vets here. I might just try my luck to see if going to the vet is going to help them in any way.



Yes, i have use some cream on the bald patches but the first picture above is the picture where the bald patch is not yet given any cream.

If it's any help, i have a neighborhood cat that's infected that likes to come into the house.(they live outside and occasionally can come in at day time) I'm not sure what she's infected with but she has crusted ears with crack wounds and some hair lost. I remembered that she came into my room before, near my piggies and I've lifted her out of my room. That's when the bald patches stared to appear if I'm not mistaken.

Crusty ears are more of a sign of a fungal infection (especially ringworm but in tropical countries, fungal infections of all kinds tend to be more common). Please have a look at our ringworm picture link anf the ringworm information in the links I have given you so you can judge for yourself.

The treatments mentioned are the good quality ones we know work; I have tried to formulate the guide so the medical information should help you find you appropriate medical brands in your country. You may have to do some googling to work it out; if you know somebody with medical/pharmaceutical knowledge, this would be a great help...

It would help us a lot if you please added your country to location in your account details. this makes it appear on the left of every post of yours and helps us to tailor any medical advice accordingly straight away. We have members and enquiries from all over the world but without any information to the contrary our advice will be UK based. You access your account details by clicking on your username on the top bar. Thank you!

 

[Talkingfishes]

Crusty ears are more of a sign of a fungal infection (especially ringworm but in tropical countries, fungal infections of all kinds tend to be more common). Please have a look at our ringworm picture link anf the ringworm information in the links I have given you so you can judge for yourself.

The treatments mentioned are the good quality ones we know work; I have tried to formulate the guide so the medical information should help you find you appropriate medical brands in your country. You may have to do some googling to work it out; if you know somebody with medical/pharmaceutical knowledge, this would be a great help...

It would help us a lot if you please added your country to location in your account details. this makes it appear on the left of every post of yours and helps us to tailor any medical advice accordingly straight away. We have members and enquiries from all over the world but without any information to the contrary our advice will be UK based. You access your account details by clicking on your username on the top bar. Thank you!

I will try to bring them to a vet for better diagnostic as they do look like they have some fungal infection or ringworm infection. But I'm not that keen to bringing them there.

I don't really like to share my country but I have added my location, as stated by @Jellyfish i live in Brunei, it's a tropical country located at the North part of the borneo island.

 

[Wiebke]

I will try to bring them to a vet for better diagnostic as they do look like they have some fungal infection or ringworm infection. But I'm not that keen to bringing them there.

I don't really like to share my country but I have added my location, as stated by @Jellyfish i live in Brunei, it's a tropical country located at the North part of the borneo island.

Thank you too!

Thank you, I know where Brunei is! Having your general location appearing with every post just makes it easier to support you in the coming days and weeks, or with future issues. We usually jump between lots of different threads in a day and will not necessarily remember all details some time on. We all do this for a free in our own free time next to our jobs, family life and looking after our own guinea pigs.
Being able to check with just a quick glance to the left that you are in a tropical country without any piggy savvy vet access will hopefully make it easier for both sides to work out the best solution and information for you more quickly in the future.


I do try my best to include internationally available brand names or active ingredients in medications into any health/illness guides in order to make it easier for vets (or members without vet access) to find a locally available comparable product as brand names often vary from country to country.

 

[Talkingfishes]

Thank you all that has help me and for those who are concerned with my piggies

Thank you @Wiebke for the help too and for the links you've shared. It's abit of a relieve that i roughly know what they're infected with. I hope they recover from their illness because i don't want to lose any of them.

I'll keep you guys updated with how they're doing and how their vet visit goes. It's tuesday today and I'll bring them to the vet on the weekends.