Claire5012
Junior Guinea Pig
Please excuse the long post. I'd never heard of this until today. I have, for the past 2 months been suffering with a skin complaint. It 1st started on my hand looking like a circular patch of dry skin which I never really thought anything of as I suffer from dry skin on my hands anyway, although normally in the winter months. I didn't go to the doctors until I found a patch on my leg that looked like ringworm. I started treatment straight away while panicking that 'here we go, another full disinfect of the pigs cage and medical shampooing' after 1 of my pigs had a fungal infection when I 1st had him. The anti fungal I was given for my leg didn't work and it spread to other parts of my body. I was diagnosed with eczema. After a 2 week course of steroid cream the skin condition was still spreading so I went back to the doctors straight away AGAIN! A skin scraping was taken and 2 weeks later I get my results. I have arthroderma benhamiae. I doctor said they weren't sure what it was and had to look through text books to determine what this fungal infection was. She said "I've got a strange question to ask you. Do you have Guinea pigs?" Apparently it's a fungal infection whose natural host is the Guinea pig and in recent years is becoming more common in Germany. It is fairly unknown. Thank you piggies! I do wonder how they might have it and how after a whole days disinfection of everything, albeit a while ago, they still have it. If indeed they do. I do occasionally hold my boyfriends piggy although he or the pig show no signs of infection. I've got a vets appointment at half 9 tomorrow and plenty of questions to ask. The poor boys will be getting a skin scraping too and I hope to god they don't have it, although that seems very unlikely even tho they have no visable signs of anything wrong at all. I also have 3 dogs to worry about. I am very anxious to say the least 
I guess I'll find out if they have it in about 2 weeks time.
