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Ear Mites

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Countrylass

Countrylass

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Sweep has been to the vets about his ear and they have said he has ear mites. We've been given some Xeno 450 spot on to treat it. Will this be effective on its own?
 
Where did they say to put the spot on on? when I have dealt with ear mites mine have had Panomec which is the injectible form of Ivermectin directly into the ear. I am sure some other members have had ear drops though aswell and the link from Guinea Lynx below mentions drops too.

http://www.guinealynx.info/earmites.html
 
Thanks. They said on the back of the neck. Can I put the ivermectin directly into his ear? The vet wouldn't give me panomec which my normal vet will give me.
 
I am not too sure if spot on can go in the ear. Does anyone know?
 
Short answer - No!
Xeno450 is for application to the external skin only (ie not to be used as ear drops in the ear cavity)
Ear mite damage within the ear is often accompanied by bacterial/fungal infection and inflammation/itchiness.
The solvents (excipients) the ivermectin is dissolved in are very harsh and could cause harm to an already inflamed ear/eardrum. Personally I wouldn't put panomec directly into an ear either as it is dissolved in propylene glycol (de-icer) and glycerol formal - (probably the same ingredients are in the topical Xeno but I can;t find information on the Xeno website)

The ear mites themselves are treated with ivermectin in a topical (skin) preparation such as xeno450 or an injection such as panomec. Any other itchiness/inflammation/infection is dealt with using Ear drops specifically designed for the purpose such as Otomax, Surolan or Aurizon (each contains an anti-bacterial, an anti-fungal and an anti-inflammatory steroid as active ingredients)

HTH
x
 
Thanks Pebble, will bear that in mind next time I am dealing with them, I didn't put it in myself, it was done at the vets.
 
I've managed to get some otodex drops. Is it 3-4 drops for a piggy daily as per the dosage on the box?
 
Did you get the authorisation of your vet to administer otodex?

Please detail exactly what treatments you have given to your piggie over the last 48 hours. Where did you put Xeno - into the ear, onto the outer ear or between the shoulder blades? If so did you use a whole pipette?

What have you done with the Otodex, how much have you applied, to where and is it cat or dog strength?

Have the patches appeared in the last 24 hours? If so I suspect you have put the xeno directly onto the outer ears and would suggest the blisters are a reaction to the chemicals (ie a chemical burn) in the xeno as they have a very deyhdrating effect on the skin tissue. You should first gently wash the external ear skin with warm soapy water, rinse, pat dry and take your piggie back to the vet today as it will be very painful and some type of soothing medical cream may be needed to prevent the ear tissue from any further damage.

HTH
x
 
The patches have been there for two days I put the xeno 450 on according to the instructions on the box so on the back of the neck and in a line down the back. The otodex I've used once putting one drop in the ear taking care not to get any on his skin. We used a tiny amount of coconeem melt on his hair around his ear as it was crusty but nothing on his ear itself as he doesn't like it being touched. I'll see if I can get him an appointment with the vets now.
 
If there have been no chemicals in contact with his ear then the yellow edging could be an infection that is killing of the outer margins of the ear tissue -In the top picture the area behind the yellow patch appears raised/red and swollen so perhaps his scratching has created a small abcess? I confess I have not seen anything quite like this before - although I have seen the outer ear margins become dark and die off in heart piggies with poor circulation...but with no infection.

If it is an abcess/infection, the vet may wish to take a swab for culture to determine what bug this is and the best anitbiotic to use which may need to be given orally They may also wish to prescribe one of the ear drops I mentioned above - (Otodex is an over-the-counter product for mainly dissolving wax that really isn't the most suitable for piggies).

HTH - Good luck at the vets

x
 
He has an appointment for 5:10 with the vets. Could he have transferred some of the coconeem from his hair to his ear and could that have caused a reaction there? The lump you can see in the first photo is a natural crinkle in his ear not a lump although we did ask the vet if his ear was swollen and she said no
 
It's normal temperature if that makes sense. It did turn purple earlier in the week. He's been given metacam and he's got to see the vet who gave us the xeno about the possible abscess. He doesn't like the taste of the metacam even if its for his own good. She said we can wash it with a very very mild solution of salt water - a pinch to a jug quantity
 
OK - normal temp makes sense. Turning purple is cause for alarm.

This is moving along the right direction...albeit rather slowly and I therefore have concerns.
Metacam is good. Salt water bathing as you describe is good...but this is just "palliative" and will nor CURE.

He needs to see the next vet pronto if he still hasn't been prescribed antibiotics.

Alternatively - you need a more cavy savvy vet in your area......please give the first three characters of your postcode.

x
 
I hoping to get an appointment with my usual vet who is a rodentologist instead of the xeno vet or the salt vet on Monday. If I can't see her I'll ask if she is ok with me giving some of the septrin I have left or with me picking up the remaining prescription from the chemist for zithromax until she can see him. I won't give him any antibiotics until I've spoken to her as she may think baytril is more suitable
 
Wow - seriously well done!

Seems like you have a vet who
a) has put zithromax on prescription for you and
b) has also studied Rodentology?

I am in awe! (please PM me their name if you feel comfortable)

As long as you emphasise the ear margins it sounds like you will get good diagnosis and treatment.

All paws crossed

x
 
Sweeps booked in to see Helen on Wednesday evening. She has said to give him septrin until then. The yellow bits had gone when I checked him this morning but he does look quite scabby
 
He has seen Helen and it's fungal. His wifepigs went with him and Loops has a fungal patch on her side with hair loss and Izwig has a scabby bit on the tip of her nose. We are to stop the metacam and septrin. They all have to be "dipped" every three days with imaverol to clear it up.

So I have a few questions
1) Is there an off the shelf anti fungal cleaner for their cage that I can use? I'm thinking that ordered virkon s online over Easter will take too long.
2) Can I use caneston cream on his ear or is it too harsh? Helen mentioned cocoa butter cream?
3) If we clean the cage and put fresh cardboard and hay in will this produce more fungal spores?
4) Should we treat this as ringworm even though it doesn't look like the rescue pigs we had 4 years ago?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated as the poor piglet is quite sore x
 
Am sorry it's a fungal diagnosis. It doesn't necessarily mean it's ringworm though as there are so many different types and this is the time of year for fungal issues to start appearing. Am glad Helen has advised Imaverol dips as they really are so effective. You can use Canesten but if it were my pig I would use topical Imaverol mixed at a ratio of 5ml Imaverol to 50 ml of water, apply with a cotton bud twice a day.

I am not sure of a cleaner that is as effective as Virkon or F10 and in this instance I would order F10 and the handgel too as soon as you can and in the meantime use the strongest pet discinfectant that you can. I think Citricidal may have slight antifungal qualities so you could rinse with a Citricidal solution in the meantime after discinfecting, you can get it in most healthfood shops. F10 is needed as soon as you can get it though. Also be very careful with hygiene between handling.

Has the vet prescribed any pain relief?

I am not sure about your fungal spore question but if you make sure you clean the cage every day and always put fresh hay and cardboard in this will minimise the risk. Also if you can please remove anything wooden though obviously if it is a hutch that is not possible.

Message me if you need anything, I have had a lot of fungal issues with my pigs over the years.
 
Hi thanks there's nothing wooden in the cage as the biggest house takes up most of the cage and they aren't into chews. I'm starting to itch now I know its fungal daft hooman that I am. I may nominate just one of us to treat Sweep and his ladies to reduce the possibility of the other pigs catching it
 
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