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Dry patch of skin. Tiny scabs

Wiebke said:
All the best! It is a lot of work, but it is worth being thorough now and not having any more ringworm headaches in the future.

But glad that you have now got a diagnosis and can hopefully prevent the companion from developing acute patches, too, which then have to run their due course.

Please be aware that the patches are going to get worse before the get better as the hair in the affected areas will all having to come out (ringworm is sitting at the root of hairs). You are out of the acute phase when the patches are no longer growing and forming exudate crusts.

Please still give a single bath once you are there (you can use the nizoral shampoo) in order to wash out any spores that sit in the coat before you remove your piggies into the deep cleaned cage to make sure that really nothing is carried across for a new - ringworm-free - start. I had twice carried a ringworm outbreak in that must have come in coat of a new piggy or a previous ringworm pig that had not got their 'sign-off' bath.
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Thanks for the advice. I was not aware that I could use the shampoo on the piggies (just intended to use on ourselves to minimise our potential of getting it). Although I think I'll need to get a much bigger bottle, I didn't read the size on the one I got from Amazon (assumed it was a decent size due to the price; my bad). Its like a travel bottle.

Don't know if I'm going over the top, but I've been disinfecting the plastic items daily (igloo, bowls, etc...), and just giving a small wooden chew thing each (replacing a new each day; cheap/see disinfecting wood and letting dry as a bit of a chore). I threw out stuff like their log bridge, straw woven hidey hole thing, etc... And will replace once I think there not contagious (cage looks a bit bare + boring, but will sort it out once they are better).
 
Sounds like you've got it covered, we were really paranoid and cautious too but you cant be too careful and you want to be rid of the dreaded ringworm once and for all!
Blodwen our former ringworm piggy sends healing wheeks, here is Blodwen looking miserable covered in antifungal spray and ointment a few weeks ago, and Blodwen looking happy now she's ringworm free :)

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Can we see some pigtures of your piggies, even if one is a bit scabby at the moment?
 
PigglePuggle said:
Sounds like you've got it covered, we were really paranoid and cautious too but you cant be too careful and you want to be rid of the dreaded ringworm once and for all!
Blodwen our former ringworm piggy sends healing wheeks, here is Blodwen looking miserable covered in antifungal spray and ointment a few weeks ago, and Blodwen looking happy now she's ringworm free :)

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View attachment 103998
Can we see some pigtures of your piggies, even if one is a bit scabby at the moment?
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That's lovely thanks!

I'm on an overnight/24hour shift (no worries, the other half is sorting the piggies out tonight). I'll get some pics tomorrow night (greasy and sulking), and post them.
 
AaronGav said:
Thanks for the advice. I was not aware that I could use the shampoo on the piggies (just intended to use on ourselves to minimise our potential of getting it). Although I think I'll need to get a much bigger bottle, I didn't read the size on the one I got from Amazon (assumed it was a decent size due to the price; my bad). Its like a travel bottle.

Don't know if I'm going over the top, but I've been disinfecting the plastic items daily (igloo, bowls, etc...), and just giving a small wooden chew thing each (replacing a new each day; cheap/see disinfecting wood and letting dry as a bit of a chore). I threw out stuff like their log bridge, straw woven hidey hole thing, etc... And will replace once I think there not contagious (cage looks a bit bare + boring, but will sort it out once they are better).
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Having worked my way through most possible ringworm treatments over the years, I find human anti-dandruff (i.e. anti-fungal) shampoos one of the harsher things for piggy skin. They are a possible and effective (and a cheaper) treatment, but not an ideal one.
A one-off bath at the end of treatment is however not a problem; I'm doing it myself with my own ringworm piggies after a course of oral treatment. One should never overlook the effectiveness of mechanical removal of germs and spores - what is not there cannot cause an infection. That is why careful handwashing before the hand gel is still pretty effective, too.
And yes, I have a bottle of F10 hand gel at home, not just for ringworm but also for human tummy bugs, flu and cold, as well as using F10 fluid to wipe taps, light and toilet switches, seats and basins and shower buttons as well door handles daily as they are the areas where infection through touch happens most likely.

Now that you have started treatment, you can relax a bit more with the disinfecting 'overkill' but keep changing the bedding and wiping the pigloos with F10 on the more frequent side of twice weekly rather than the longer side. For a deep clean you can dunk any plastic items into F 10 (the same goes for wooden tunnels) and let them dry without rinsing. If in doubt, err on the side the caution when it comes to ringworm spores. Hopefully the acute phase will be over by the end of next week. ;)
 
PigglePuggle said:
Sounds like you've got it covered, we were really paranoid and cautious too but you cant be too careful and you want to be rid of the dreaded ringworm once and for all!
Blodwen our former ringworm piggy sends healing wheeks, here is Blodwen looking miserable covered in antifungal spray and ointment a few weeks ago, and Blodwen looking happy now she's ringworm free :)

View attachment 103997
View attachment 103998
Can we see some pigtures of your piggies, even if one is a bit scabby at the moment?
Click to expand...

Sorry for the poor quality. I'm sure we'll get plenty of good pics of the piggies when their both healthy and happy. Mo and Shadow. Understandingly grumpy and greasy:

IMG_20190105_195119.webpIMG_20190105_200121.webp
 
They are absolutely gorgeous (even if they are grumpy and greasy).
Well done for getting them the treatment they needed, and being so proactive with their care.
And double well done for taking a stance with PAH, and keeping the boys to ensure they have a decent life with you.
 
They are lovely piggies. Good luck with the treatment. Do ask here if you need any further advice. Looking forward to seeing more photos.💕
 
AaronGav said:
Hi.

My first post on here so hope its in the correct location.

We got two piggies about 10 days ago. One with longish white and brown patchy hair (Mo), and the other with short black hair (Shadow). Both male.

The guy in the store went through the health check routine (checking; fur, eyes, ears, teeth, nails, etc...) beforehand, and said they were both had no visible signs of ill health.

Today I noticed that the short haired guy has a patch of rough skin in the middle of his back, slightly to the side and feels slightly raised. It is about the size of a fingernail, rough to the touch, lacking hair and has what I would describe as several tiny/pin prick scabs (best image I could manage attached).

After noticing this I searched his body for any other issues. And found a single larger scab, located behind his ear (about 1.5cm away from his ear)

After washing my hands and changing my shirt (maybe OTT), I checked the long haired piggy. It was obviously harder to check with the long hair, but I did not find anything similar to that of the other little guy. But I did notice that the long haired piggy had relatively large bald patches behind both ears. Although the skin there felt smooth and soft (I have read that this may be normal, but the black short haired piggy does not have this bald patch behind its ears. Hence my mentioning).

Back to the black piggy. Its quite obvious upon stroking it that the patch of skin mentioned is there (due to being slightly raised). So I don't think it would have gone unnoticed by the pets at home staff if it was there upon purchase, which he surely would have mentioned if evident at the time (regardless of weather it was an issue or not). So I'm wondering if its likely for such a thing to present in such a short space of time, and also what people on here believe it could be.

From what I have read it seems more akin to a bacterial issue (such as ringworm), than mites. But that does not seem to be consistent with the single larger scab found behind his ear.

The two of them live in a 120cm/45cm cage. There are two of everything (igloo, food bowl, water bottle, etc...) to help prevent fighting. Their room is of a good humidity (not too high) at a temperature between 18-20c. We wash hands before and after handling them. And clean visible soiled and wet patches 1-2 times a day (cleaning fully after a week). They are given unlimited fresh hay, the stated daily allowance of vitamin c enriched piggy pellets, and daily fresh veg (spinach, red pepper, Kale, etc...). Their cage consists of a deep layer of the appropriate chippings, with a top layer of hay (although we have just purchased a washable fleece bedding, specifically designed for piggies. Guinea Dad, I think the brand is called).

We have not handled them much since purchase, as was allowing time to settle into their new home (mainly talking to them and hand feeding veg while stroking them). Otherwise we may have been able to notice this sooner/follow its progression.

Neither of them appear to be itching, and upon touching the affected skin the piggy seems indifferent. I'm not aware of them fighting (not witnessed), but the little black guy does follow the other one around a lot (into its bed, then the long haired one moves into the other bed, black one follows, etc...). Initially we thought the black one was pestering/bullying the other, but it seems as though he just likes the company. Which may be getting on the nerves of the long haired one.

They are both still a bit skittish upon initially picking them up (giving us the runabout around the cage). But once we have them they are happy to sit eating and/or being stroked and don't attempt to run off if left untouched on our lap or belly/chest. The black guy is more hesitant to allow us to pick him up, but upon seeing the other get attention becomes more open to it.

Any help/advice would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

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Looks like a fungal infection get him to the vet asap
 
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