Eye Hairloss

[taroyukiponyo]

Sooo about a month ago my little Taro was adopted and introduced to yuki who was adopted the day before. Both males establishing dominance was to be expected. They are about 2-3 months old from my predictions. Anyway about a week later my wife and I noticed little Taro had a mini scratch on his eye along with a little hard crusted blood from the scratch. I think it was from yuki and taro horseplaying. They do not fight anymore because the dominant is yuki. My wife was worried and thought due to the hairloss around the eye it might be a fungal issue or maybe even mites. I on the other hand dont believe that is the issue but we scheduled an appointment to the vet just to make sure. The balding only occurd in the injured spot near the eye nowhere else on Taro"s little body. We checked thoroughly. We even checked yuki to see if there were any signs of balding or skin irritations. To my surprise there was not a single trace pertaining to that on yuki and the new comer ponyo who we adopted anout 2 weeks after we got taro and yuki. Now going back to the vet who wanted to perform a skin scraping which i dont recommend because she cut our baby Tato above his eye on his skin to make sure there was no fungal issues. She then came back shortly with no symptoms and applied an ointment which she perscribed to us to help the wound heal. The ointment is called vetropolycin. Taro is currently eating normally and happily playing with the other 2 piggies. Yet his eye still concerns me it has been since 11/11/15 since we applied the ointment and this is what little Taro's eye looks like now. If anyone knows what this is if it is infact mites or a fungal issue why hasnt hairloss occured on his other eye or on the other piggies? Please any help or advice will do. My wife and i ordered mites medicine over the internet and will be applying it to all our babies just in case... thank you in advance.

 

[Wiebke]

Sooo about a month ago my little Taro was adopted and introduced to yuki who was adopted the day before. Both males establishing dominance was to be expected. They are about 2-3 months old from my predictions. Anyway about a week later my wife and I noticed little Taro had a mini scratch on his eye along with a little hard crusted blood from the scratch. I think it was from yuki and taro horseplaying. They do not fight anymore because the dominant is yuki. My wife was worried and thought due to the hairloss around the eye it might be a fungal issue or maybe even mites. I on the other hand dont believe that is the issue but we scheduled an appointment to the vet just to make sure. The balding only occurd in the injured spot near the eye nowhere else on Taro"s little body. We checked thoroughly. We even checked yuki to see if there were any signs of balding or skin irritations. To my surprise there was not a single trace pertaining to that on yuki and the new comer ponyo who we adopted anout 2 weeks after we got taro and yuki. Now going back to the vet who wanted to perform a skin scraping which i dont recommend because she cut our baby Tato above his eye on his skin to make sure there was no fungal issues. She then came back shortly with no symptoms and applied an ointment which she perscribed to us to help the wound heal. The ointment is called vetropolycin. Taro is currently eating normally and happily playing with the other 2 piggies. Yet his eye still concerns me it has been since 11/11/15 since we applied the ointment and this is what little Taro's eye looks like now. If anyone knows what this is if it is infact mites or a fungal issue why hasnt hairloss occured on his other eye or on the other piggies? Please any help or advice will do. My wife and i ordered mites medicine over the internet and will be applying it to all our babies just in case... thank you in advance.

Hi and welcome!

Your issue can be fungal or simply a scratch from an accidental swipe from another piggy, which can easily happen during bonding. Both often start as a scabbed over bloody scratch, but whereas a simple scratch wound heals, fungal is typically going to spread from there in the following days. Vetropolycin is an eye ointment for cats, as far as I can see.

Have you got a well-lit and preferably clear picture that you can either upload directly into your thread or copy/paste into yur post from another online source?
How To Post Photos

It would also help us if you please added your county, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can tailor any advice as to what is available where you are. Please click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. We have got members from all over the world.

 

[taroyukiponyo]

this is little Taro's eye.

 

[taroyukiponyo]

Hi and welcome!

Your issue can be fungal or simply a scratch from an accidental swipe from another piggy, which can easily happen during bonding. Both often start as a scabbed over bloody scratch, but whereas a simple scratch wound heals, fungal is typically going to spread from there in the following days. Vetropolycin is an eye ointment for cats, as far as I can see.

Have you got a well-lit and preferably clear picture that you can either upload directly into your thread or copy/paste into yur post from another online source?
How To Post Photos

It would also help us if you please added your county, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can tailor any advice as to what is available where you are. Please click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. We have got members from all over the world.

Hello,

Thank you for the quick response and advice on posting pics! I was on my phone and could not access the upload file option for some reason... Anyway i posted Taro's little eye. It looks as if there are a couple of hairs starting to grow underneath. Now I am hoping that is a good sign he is getting better. Tell me what you think.

 

[Wiebke]

It is very difficult to say whether there is any fungal in there due to all the other treatment, but it is generally a good sign that the hairs are growing back.

The pattern looks more like a case of mild fungal (of which there are more varieties than ringworm, which is usually the one that is being lab tested for) and not like an accidental scratch.

 

[taroyukiponyo]

It is very difficult to say whether there is any fungal in there due to all the other treatment, but it is generally a good sign that the hairs are growing back.

The pattern looks more like a case of mild fungal (of which there are more varieties than ringworm, which is usually the one that is being lab tested for) and not like an accidental scratch.

Wiebke,

Thank you again for taking the time to look at baby Taro's eye. I really hope it isn't a fungal issue... I mentioned the Vet did a a skin scraping and found nothing about a fungal infection. Could it be that I sent Taro there during the very early stages of the fungal infection and that is why nothing popped up on the test results? I just don't want to have them do another skin scraping on poor little Taro. If there is anyway I can cure him without that option I am open to any suggestions. I also don't want the other piggies to get the fungal issue if it is infact that. I have been closely monitoring all their behaviors and none of them has shown signs of fur loss, appetite depletion, heavy itching, or lack of activity. Now they do tend to itch often but it is not a continuous itch nor do they start breaking skin because they are irritated. We changed their bedding from wood chips into a 3 layer absorbent fleece that my friend created for me 3 days ago. Hopefully his eye will heal faster now that there are no wood chips or dust going into his eye. Now the other piggies tend to lick baby Taro's eye sometimes and I fear that could cause irritation or infection. Should I quarantine little Taro until his eye heals? There doesn't seem to be any open cuts on his eye anymore but should I still quarantine him until his fur grows back? Since I am using a C&C cage now this should be possible.

 

[Wiebke]

Wiebke,

Thank you again for taking the time to look at baby Taro's eye. I really hope it isn't a fungal issue... I mentioned the Vet did a a skin scraping and found nothing about a fungal infection. Could it be that I sent Taro there during the very early stages of the fungal infection and that is why nothing popped up on the test results? I just don't want to have them do another skin scraping on poor little Taro. If there is anyway I can cure him without that option I am open to any suggestions. I also don't want the other piggies to get the fungal issue if it is infact that. I have been closely monitoring all their behaviors and none of them has shown signs of fur loss, appetite depletion, heavy itching, or lack of activity. Now they do tend to itch often but it is not a continuous itch nor do they start breaking skin because they are irritated. We changed their bedding from wood chips into a 3 layer absorbent fleece that my friend created for me 3 days ago. Hopefully his eye will heal faster now that there are no wood chips or dust going into his eye. Now the other piggies tend to lick baby Taro's eye sometimes and I fear that could cause irritation or infection. Should I quarantine little Taro until his eye heals? There doesn't seem to be any open cuts on his eye anymore but should I still quarantine him until his fur grows back? Since I am using a C&C cage now this should be possible.

Please leave Taro with his friends and don't worry about the licking! It is not hurtful, but means that they care about him. If it was infective, they would have caught it by now anyway. He would be a lot more stressed (and have therefore a stronger immune system) if he was separated.

If the hair is not starting to grow back normally over the next couple of weeks, I would consider gently dabbing the area with a cotton bud with enilconazole/imaveraol dip in the recommended strength; let it dry on the skin and try to avoid getting anything in the eye itself; do not treat with anything else before or after. This is an antifungal dip that is not stinging and is therefore the safest to use around sensive areas like eyes, mouth/nose and ears. It is also mild enough to be suitable for guinea pigs of all ages.

But I sincerely hope that he is now over the worst and the hairs are coming back in. The episode may always remain a bit of a mystery.

 

[taroyukiponyo]

Please leave Taro with his friends and don't worry about the licking! It is not hurtful, but means that they care about him. If it was infective, they would have caught it by now anyway, and he will be a lot less stressed (and have therefore a stronger immune system) if he was not separated.

If the hair is not starting to grow back normally over the next couple of weeks, I would consider gently dabbing the area with a cotton bud with enilconazole/imaveraol dip in the recommended strength; let it dry on the skin and try to avoid getting anything in the eye itself; do not treat with anything else before or after. This is an antifungal dip that is not stinging and is therefore the safest to use around sensive areas like eyes, mouth/nose and ears. It is also mild enough to be suitable for guinea pigs of all ages.

But I sincerely hope that he is now over the worst and the hairs are coming back in. The episode may always remain a bit of a mystery.

Thank you for your help

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for your help

PS: If you cannot get hold of enilconazole, here are other products that are available in the US. Please do not treat on spec and only if there really is no improvement. You may need to be very careful so close to the eyes, as some products can cause swelling and discomfort. Guinea Lynx :: Fungus
Here is the Guinea Lynx list of recommended piggy savvy vets for your state. There may be others, but like us with our UK vet list, they rely on recommendations from their experienced members: Veterinarians Florida - The GLX-Files

 

[taroyukiponyo]

Again you have been very helpful. Both my wife and I and our babies thank you for your kindness.

 

[taroyukiponyo]

And here's one of little ponyo