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Any advie appreciated!

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Lolly&Bubbles

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Hi, I am new here!

Loving the forum and have been reading lot's of threads!

Just not loving the poorly nose my new Guinea has now got! :(

We got 2 8 weeks old Guinea Pigs 5 weeks ago called Lolly and Bubbles (boys but named by my 2 daughters) . Last week Lolly's nose didn't look right, the fur started to look a little sparse and there was a sort of bite like looking mark so I guessed that maybe there was a little squabbling going on and Bubbles had bitten Lolly.

His nose has become sore and angry looking all of a sudden yesterday, and from looking on here and various other sites like GG (who I have e mailed with pics hoping for some advice) I think it is fungal. My daughter had ring worm earlier in the year on her face (this was well gone by the time we got our Guineas so it's not contracted from her) but it does look very similar. His brother Bubbles looks fine, no sign of any problems.

I have attached some pictures (which I hope works).

I have Daktarin 2% cream in the house from my daughters ringworm and have applied this last night and twice today. He does mind and seems happy for me to do this.

I will of course take them to our vet if neccesary on Monday, but being the weekend I thought it best to do a little investigation in the meanwhile. And also, in my pet owning experience sometimes things can be solved at home. Also a read a post on here saying vets will want to sking scrpae and that this isn't a good idea as it's distressing?

I just want my lovely little Guinea to be ok!

Any advice greatly appreciated!
 

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ouch poor piggy hope he is ok sorry i cant help but I'm sure someone will be along soon who can. could just let the vets have a look just to be on the safe side.
 
Obviously I'm not a vet and no expert but it does look like fungal exactly like GL's pics.

Link attached - http://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html

Daktarin should work against fungal.

Skin scraping's are normally to check for mites, what they can do is a skin Culture where they take a quick tug of hair then brush them with a sterile tooth brush this test takes roughly 5 days to come back.

I would never advise anyone not to seek medical attention - see how the Daktarin (I'm not sure about the 2% - I believe it should be 1%?) goes as it does have fungal properties can't remember the active ingredient if it doesn't clear up then obviously visit the vet and confess your sins as they need to know you have already attempted to treat your pig.

I don't wish to jump on you but did your pigs come from Pets at Home? There have been a few pigs from there with Ringworm recently.

Welcome to the forum.
 
Thank you for replies!

I will definately be going to my vets if I don't see some pretty immediate improvement, I can't stand the thought of it getting worse! And yes will take the Daktarin with me. I have removed their willow ball as it is wooden and have thoroughly cleaned their home.

The Daktarin says Miconazole Nitrate 2%, I have not seen 1%, this is from my daughters ringworm on here face (she is 3 yrs old).

Yes they are from Pets at home!
 
Lolly&Bubbles said:
Thank you for replies!

I will definately be going to my vets if I don't see some pretty immediate improvement, I can't stand the thought of it getting worse! And yes will take the Daktarin with me. I have removed their willow ball as it is wooden and have thoroughly cleaned their home.

The Daktarin says Miconazole Nitrate 2%, I have not seen 1%, this is from my daughters ringworm on here face (she is 3 yrs old).

Yes they are from Pets at home!
Click to expand...

Pets at Home should refund your vets bills, so go to town! :))

You should invest in some F10 disinfectant - this kills everything, including fungus. A small bottle will last ages as you dilute it right down. I get mine quite cheaply from here http://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/rep...fectant-range-f10sc-disinfectant--162934.html

If you've got them in an indoor cage, then daily cleanings with the F10, and treating poor piggy should sort the problem out nicely.

Edit: If P@H are going to pay your vets bills, get the external testing done on the samples. They may be able to test "in house" i.e. in the vets own lab, with whats called a Wood's lamp. This detects ringworm, but it's easy to get false negatives.
 
Great, will be getting some F10 disinfectant, yes they are indoors so I can clean their home easily.

I thought P @ H would tell me to b***** off if I went back?
 
As Amanda says - Wood lamps are for Dogs and Cats choose your own vet and take the bills to them. Do not give the pigs back for them to treat - I really don't like this idea.

Good Luck - Pet's at Risk strike again (Love this moto - only jealous I never invented it :)))!

It's very sad how there stock is raised and surely the amount of Ringworm pigs should say 'something is very wrong' nothing worse than getting a 'new' sick animal!

Welcome to the forum - I'm sure you've already realised why we always recommend rescue if I had my way Pets at Home wouldn't sell animals! grrrr
 
Lolly&Bubbles said:
Great, will be getting some F10 disinfectant, yes they are indoors so I can clean their home easily.

I thought P @ H would tell me to b***** off if I went back?
Click to expand...

No, no, no take them to your own 'independent' vet on monday - I'd even get a fungal culture done, ask the vet to write a statement and go back with your receipt (fungal culture is £34) mind and get that refunded! {:|

I think an animal has a 14 day guarantee!
 
I will take both of them to my Vet and will definately keep the receipts and write to Pets at Home, I have had them for 5 weeks so will probably go for Head office rather than my local store.

It doesn't help my stress levels as when my daughter had it it took over one whole cheek and didn't respond to creams, she had to have a strong dose of anti fungal tablets and I hated very minute! I took my Cocker Spaniel and my cat to the vet when she had it to check it hadn't come from them, the vet said they were both fine.

I guess it's just co-incedience but ringworm is becoming the bane of my life!

Needless to say there is lot's of hand wash being used in this house at the moment!

Before I can get F10 here, what is best to use to wash out their plastic bottomed house?
 
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Make sure you handle them with gloves - I don't know how true this is but my vet did say if you have had Ringworm once you won't get it again!
 
Any kind of disinfectant will do for now, just to keep hygiene levels up. The good news is that swell reptiles deliver quite quickly.

If you've had them for 5 weeks I'd see if your vet could write a statement to say that this started while in P@H's care. They can't argue with that then. Also, DON'T mention your daughter had ringworm or they'll use that as an escape route. I'd go to your local store manager 1st, and if no luck, then to head office. Also I imagine that talking loudly about this in ear shot of customers, particularly ones looking at piggies, and mentioning how expensive your vets bills are, will get you a nice refund quite quickly :))
 
Lolly&Bubbles said:
Before I can get F10 here, what is best to use to wash out their plastic bottomed house?
Click to expand...

Hi,

F10 is definitely the stuff to use. In the meantime, if you're just going to use a 'high street' cage cleaning spray then I'd look for one which is antifungal as well as antibacterial/antiviral (surprisingly many cage cleaners don't contain antifungal ingredients).

I hate to say it but as far as regular pet shop cleaning products go, this Pets at Home one is one of the better ones I've seen because it contains Byotrol (used in hospitals etc and is antifungal).
http://www.petsathome.com/shop/cage-cleaning-trigger-spray-with-byotrol-500ml-by-pets-at-home-15840

Technically it may well be that few, if any, of the shop bought cage cleaners around are actually effective against the specific fungal spores which cause Ringworm in guinea pigs (thankfully F10 apparently is effective, by the way) but I'd want to at least give it a try until I could get the F10.

Just to add, I personally wouldn't recommend a diluted bleach solution, in case you're wondering....I've heard of people doing this but I'm not sure it's a good idea.

As others have mentioned, be aware that some Pets at Home stores have insisted on owners handing back their recently bought sick pets, for treatment. If you're able to use your own Vet then stand your ground and don't feel intimidated into giving them back!

Good luck with it all x
 
I have taken both Lolly and Bubbles to the vet. Luckily I got to see the one I always try to see with my dog and cat.

She couldn't be 100% sure if mites or fungal so suggested treating for both, which from reading on here, is pretty common practice?!

She said carry on using the Daktarin as it's beasically what she would have given me, the active ingredient the same.

She has also given both of them Ivermectin (which I also understand is commonly used) she said that most vets like to inject it but that in her experince (she's been a vet for 20+ years) it works just as well dripped onto bare skin (back of the ears) and is kinder for the Guinea, does anyone have experince of this?

Thank you all for help and advice :)
 
Sounds fine to me - generally you treat for both if you suspect mites or fungal.

Did you ask her about backing up your view, that the guinea's where already infected when purchased?

Topical Ivermectin is fine - I use that on my own pigs. Sometimes the injections are better for a serious mite infestation.
 
When mine had ringworm I was told to use canesten 1% as opposed to daktarin. I don't really know what the difference is though as they are both antifungal creams.
I hope it clears up soon.


P.S Welcome to the forum :)p
 
I've not come across Daktarin 1% only 2% and I dispensed in a Pharmacy for a time. Canestan is more for yeast infections that thrive in warm, moist areas but can also be effective in cases of ringworm.

Someone on here referred to P@H as Prats at Home which made me chuckle :))
Hope your piggy gets well very soon and sending healing vibes from us all here :)p
 
flintstones said:
Sounds fine to me - generally you treat for both if you suspect mites or fungal.

Did you ask her about backing up your view, that the guinea's where already infected when purchased?

Topical Ivermectin is fine - I use that on my own pigs. Sometimes the injections are better for a serious mite infestation.
Click to expand...

I did ask him already being infected, she said as I've had them for 5 weeks I would have seen signs before then?!

But I will still be challenging P@H about it .... to be continued

I just hope Lolly is better very soon.

I have learnt a very valuable lesson...It'll be rescue only for me from now on!
 
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