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Awaiting Ringorm Culture Results

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Burritopig

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Hey guys,

Brief bit of background - haven't owned any pigs since I was a child and just got a young (maybe 12 weeks) pig from Pets At Home (I know, I know, but we wanted her young to socialise with our rabbit).

Anyway, seems she may have come home with more than just her new cage - a nice dose of what looks like ringworm. Took her to the vet as soon as we could and we're awaiting the results of the culture, which should be around Friday.

Obviously 10 days is a long wait for diagnosis and treatment and I'm worried. I've been disinfecting her cage at least every other day, upping my cleaning after floor time to prevent the spread, making sure she keeps eating and drinking...but I'm wondering how anyone in a similar situation kept things under control during that horrid wait?

She seems to be a happy little pig, and it doesn't appear to be bothering her too much but of course she could be hiding it and I want to keep her as comfortable as I can until we know its ringworm for sure.
 
First of all, please please please! do not allow your guinea pig to socialise with your rabbit, it is VERY VERY dangerous, i don't wish to be alarming but the damage a rabbit can do in a matter of seconds to a guinea pig can be fatal, rabbits also carry a bacteria that is harmful to guinea pigs! Please keep them separated for the welfare of your guinea pig! Guinea pigs are much better with the company of their own species.

Other than that i've never personally had an animal with ringworm, so can't be much help on that front! Hopefully someone else can offer some good advice :)
 
Sorry, I didn't mean to cause alarm! I've researched guinea pig and rabbit cohabitance before we got her and have ensured they're kept in separate cages, given their own food and floor time (with sufficient clean up in between!) It was more so that they could be used to the presence of each other, they're kept in the same room with a good bit of space between the two.

And once he's more comfortable we can look into adoption of a buddy for her, he's an adopted rabbit so has his own little quirks and need to take it slow.
 
Seconded @twiams post, housing Guinea pigs and rabbits together is just asking for trouble! I have had experience with Ringworm but didn't get a culture, as the vet gave me treatments for Mites and Fungal, so all the bases were covered.

I tried not to let mine out for as much floor time (to lesson it spreading onto environment, I could have done that needlesley but I felt better about it) and kept the cage very clean, got rid of or deeply cleaned all wooden items and kept up with the treatment. It isn't as daunting as it sounds and it cleared up quickly :)
 
Good to hear you did some research, so many people just assume it's a good idea to house the two as they're often pictured together on products and once upon a time people didn't see a problem with housing the two together! But as mentioned it's like housing an elephant with a cat haha not a good combination.

I hope your pig recovers soon and you find out whether it is ringworm, ringworm is such a nuisance!
 
Thanks for the replies and well wishes!

I noticed there wasn't much in the way of education on buying her - fortunately my girlfriend is well versed in small animal care but I feel sorry for those who do think its a good idea.

I'll keep up with what I'm doing and wait it out. I think the problem is a quick search online and its treated like the black death. The vet didn't treat it with such urgency and I was worried it was just nonchalance.
 
I would ask vet for Imaverol as it would be best to start treating straightaway rather than waiting for more than a week
 
Glad to hear you aren't keeping them together.

For the Ringworm it is great that you are discinfecting regularly but it does need to be done every day, preferably with an anti-fungal discinfectant such as F10. You can also get handgel as you need to be careful with hygiene too as it can spread to humans and other animals.

Has the vet said how they propose to treat the ringworm? My preferred method of treatment is with Imaverol dips once a week and this can also be used topically daily in between dips.

http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Enilconazole-100mg_ml-100ml/productinfo/ENILCON/

It would also be a good idea for the vet to give oral medication such as Itrafungol so it can be treated systemically too. My vets recommend a course that is 1 week on 1 week off for a total of 3 rounds, and so it is a 6 week course in total as it continues to work on the week off. Other vets recommend a continuous treatment for 2 weeks so see what your vet suggests. The treatment with the gap between each week has been recommended by the company that make Itrafungol though as the most effective.
 
All the vets round here prescribe the stuff you gives cats and dogs for ear infections, seems to work. I wont pay for cultures if I don't have too. Although in the case of the dog I don't actually think it was ring worm as no one else got it!
 
@helen105281 topical treatment and good hygiene are usually sufficient. I'd not recommend using itrafungol oral lightly, especially before topical treatments have been exhausted, as it is very harsh on the liver and can cause an increase in liver enzymes which leads to jaundice and liver failure
 
It was mentioned by another poster on another ringworm thread which was why I mentioned it this time and was also recently given to another poster by a vet when ringworm was diagnosed. I know Simon uses it for Ringworm too. Each vet treats differently I suppose.
 
helen105281 said:
It was mentioned by another poster on another ringworm thread which was why I mentioned it this time and was also recently given to another poster by a vet when ringworm was diagnosed. I know Simon uses it for Ringworm too. Each vet treats differently I suppose.
Click to expand...

Liver failure is listed in the warnings section of the data sheet. Not something I'd use myself unless absolutely necessary. It also shouldn't be used in immunocompromised animals, and they can often get fungal infections when there's something else going on (my pig had a bout of fungal after surgery for example). His cleared up with some topical canesten
 
That's strange how you have to wait 10 days
When Cookie had it I was given medication, the stuff you get for cats and dogs for ear infections, stuff to bathe them in and to clean the cage with.
I got mine from Pets at Home too and they paid all the vet bills as I only had them a few weeks and I went to Companion Care vets within their store!
At least Ringworm is easy to treat!
 
Thanks for all your replies, I've not had a chance to reply myself but I've been reading them all and taking note!

Just an update - vet called the girlfriend today, it IS ringworm and we're starting treatment tomorrow, oral medication. As advised I've upped my cleaning regimen with fury. I also noticed she'd been scratching it a bit so it was rather sore and bloody, gave her a mild salt water bath to clean it up and prevent infection then applied a little bit of tea tree cream to soothe and keep it clean. Looks much better today and I think she's forgiven me for the trauma!

I've sent an email to Pets At Home, because really this should have been picked up before we got her. And it's horrible to think of her cage mates there potentially having it too and getting passed over or left untreated.

But as for some good news, I'm amazed how quickly she's opening up to us. We've only had her just over a week and she's become much calmer, very vocal and inquisitive. A happy piggy with an unfortunately scabby little face.
 
Bless her, it is amazing how tame they become when having to have daily treatment. Glad you have a diagnosis. Is it Itrafungol you are being given? Did the vet suggest Imaverol too?

You are right to email Pets at Home, they should give you the cost of the treatment, make sure you keep the receipts.
 
I'm not sure what the treatment is specifically, I'll have to ask when I'm home later - apparently it's the same they use to treat cats with ringworm? Supposedly they don't have anything for pigs and we have to sign a waiver in case of death which is a bit concerning...

I'll have to investigate further before we agree to anything tomorrow.
 
It is most likely Itrafungol as it is for cats and dogs. Lots of medications aren't licensed for pigs and it is not unusual to have to sign a disclaimer. I have had all 15 of my pigs on it at one point and there were no bad reactions.
 
Thanks for the clarification! I thought that might be the case but as I say I wasn't there for the call itself so haven't got all the details just yet
 
That would be par for the course with how fungal heals, it would not have been caused by the Itrafungol.
 
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