A Very Poopy Question!

[Dilly's Piggies]

We have some very strange poops all around here, my herd of 3 have small and short poops, almost ball like (they've had this for a very long time), and my herd of 5 have soft poops with a tail which is a new development since I changed them to orchard grass a few days ago. One girl does have a digestive issue for a few weeks now, vet said it was a sensitivity to oxbow urinary tablets, so I don't feed her those anymore, she no longer has a growling stomach but her poops are still the same (soft with a tail) and now all my other pigs have the same thing.

My main concern is that this is not just because I've changed the hay, I fear it's a systemic fungal infection that's now affecting digestion. The piggies have mites and are in the middle of treatment, I had them skin scraped for yeast a few months ago and they were negative, however I'm still worried as this is the third round of ivermectin and they still have a skin problem.

Can anyone give me some advice about the poop situation and also the skin issue?

 

[Tinkoz]

I'm sorry to say my knowledge is not the best on this issue but to help have you weighed them to see if they ate weight?

 

[Poppy'sMum]

Fungal might not necessarily be on the skin, there can be overgrowth of yeast/fungal in the guts as well. Only sending a stool sample off will diagnose; Mary at Chester Zoo does the most comprehensive tests as far as I know, a fecal float would not be enough.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

Fungal might not necessarily be on the skin, there can be overgrowth of yeast/fungal in the guts as well. Only sending a stool sample off will diagnose; Mary at Chester Zoo does the most comprehensive tests as far as I know, a fecal float would not be enough.

I've just been reading the fungal topic on guinea lynx again, and it says "A culture can be used for positive diagnosis. Harkness and Wagner recommend cultivating aerobically for at least 10 days at room temperature onto an agar culture medium suitable for growth. Scrapings from the edge of the infected area and examined by microscope may also aid in diagnosis."

My vet only looked at the scrapings under the microscope, they weren't sent off or cultured, could this be why?

 

[Poppy'sMum]

I think there are only certain types of skin fungal can be diagnosed like that; I was referring to an internal gut issue with fungal, usually Nystatin or Intrafungal is used then which would also treat any skin fungal.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

I think there are only certain types of skin fungal can be diagnosed like that; I was referring to an internal gut issue with fungal, usually Nystatin or Intrafungal is used then which would also treat any skin fungal.

Intrafungol is what I want, the vet is just iffy considering it hasn't been diagnosed and that drug is crazy expensive, I'm just looking for ways to ultimately diagnose it or rule it out. Do you know how long a bottle of Intrafungol would last 10 pigs at all?

 

[Deleted member 114675]

Intrafungol is what I want, the vet is just iffy considering it hasn't been diagnosed and that drug is crazy expensive, I'm just looking for ways to ultimately diagnose it or rule it out. Do you know how long a bottle of Intrafungol would last 10 pigs at all?

Without sounding too obvious - it depends on what dosage your vet prescribes - and how long the course is for .
My sow, Bess is currently on Intrafungol. She is on .5 ml for a week - then a week off , week on , week off and 3rd week on. She will therefore take 10.5 mls in total . I was supplied with a 50ml bottle. The instructions say it keeps for 5 weeks after opening .

 

[Elwickcavies]

From my experience, internal systemic fungal infections are very rare (I've never seen one myself). Itrafungol is very useful for some fungal skin infections that do not respond to other treatments (easier for the pig), like Imaverol, which is my go-to treatment for any kind for fungal skin infection. You haven't mentioned any fungal skin symptoms, only the mites. Are there any flaky greasy patches where the hair comes out with a gentle tug? Most fungal infections in guinea pigs do not fluoresce, which is usually what the vet would look for with a skin scraping.

Regarding the mites, has the vet been giving ivermectin injections? Spot on treatments don't work with mange mites because they burrow under the skin, so injections are necessary. If you have been using spot on, then this may be why the condition hasn't cleared up.

The change in poos to soft with a tail is most likely to be diet related, especially if the others have it too. Try going back to your previous hay and see if it clears up.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

From my experience, internal systemic fungal infections are very rare (I've never seen one myself). Itrafungol is very useful for some fungal skin infections that do not respond to other treatments (easier for the pig), like Imaverol, which is my go-to treatment for any kind for fungal skin infection. You haven't mentioned any fungal skin symptoms, only the mites. Are there any flaky greasy patches where the hair comes out with a gentle tug? Most fungal infections in guinea pigs do not fluoresce, which is usually what the vet would look for with a skin scraping.

Regarding the mites, has the vet been giving ivermectin injections? Spot on treatments don't work with mange mites because they burrow under the skin, so injections are necessary. If you have been using spot on, then this may be why the condition hasn't cleared up.

The change in poos to soft with a tail is most likely to be diet related, especially if the others have it too. Try going back to your previous hay and see if it clears up.

Their symptoms are severe itching, discomfort when touched, shedding excessive hair all over the body but mainly on the rump, greasy coats that come back within a couple of days after a bath, tufts of hair that come out with skin attached at the end sometimes (not all the time), skin that is hot to the touch and appears inflamed/red, large flakes of heavy scurfing, lots of loose large flakes throughout the coat, general thinning of the hair and some have small bald patches on their rump however they are barely noticeable, although they are there! My shelties coats especially look terrible, short coats don't look as rough but are very greasy.

The vet did use the UV light but nothing showed up, nothing also on the skin scraping besides mites, they said they didn't have mange mites, to be specific they said 'It's not the horrible mite' so I assume it's not mange, not sure. They have been using spot on, pharmaq Ivermectin 1% 2 drops per 500g on the back of the neck every week for 4 weeks, this did not clear it, so they have the exact same treatment for another 6 weeks now and are currently on week 3 with no change.

They undoubtedly have mites, I'm still going to continue the remaining 3 weeks of topical treatment and if it's not cleared again after that, I will ask about injections. I was just concerned that they may have a mild fungal infection as well as mites as they do have symptoms of it, I want them treated for both as a precaution.

 

[Elwickcavies]

It is relatively common for mites and fungal to appear at the same time and the symptoms you describe certainly sound like fungal. I would reccommend using Imaverol dip - it is very effective and gentle on the skin, and you leave it on rather than washing it off so that it continues to work between applications. It used to be available online without a prescription, but having tried to get some myself recently, I've found that unless you say it's for a dog, horse or cow, the online suppliers want a vet prescription for use in a guinea pig. I have used it for years on my pigs, but you may want to get the vet to prescribe it.

Regarding the mites/lice - another alternative to ivermectin (for which there are increasing reports of lice that are becoming resistant to it) is to use an antiparastic shampoo (e.g. Lice n Easy from Gorgeous Guineas, or even human head lice shampoo). You need to lather up and leave it on for 10 mins, then rinse thoroughly. Repeat the treatment weekly for 3 weeks to be sure to get all the eggs.

Hopefully these two treatments will help, but don't do them at the same time. Get rid of one problem first