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Freckles Has A Bald Patch Around His Grease Gland And White Flaky Skin On The Hair In That Area.

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I noticed Freckles grease gland was getting dirty recently, it does from time to time and a quick clean usually keeps it at bay for a while. He's white in that area so easy to spot.

Yesterday I gave him a good check over and found there is cradle cap like white dry skin at the base of the hair around that area and a large amount of the hair has come out! It is quite a big patch and it has can only have happened very recently as I do pay attention to their coats and am sure I would have noticed unless it's been forming under the hair.

It's left a large bald patch with a few spec of blood where I'm guessing he has scratched it. As I worked through the area to see what was going on more clumps of hair came away with the dry skin attached to them.

I do intend to take him to the vet on Monday, as he seems in good health otherwise, but should I bath him meantime, or use the same sterilising fluid that the vet gave me to clean chewy's vasectomy wounds meantime? Will check what it's called but its the pink stuff you dilute.

Can't believe I didn't spot this happening sooner - the main reason I thoroughly checked was because I noticed there was a lot of extra white hair on the bedding and I thought that odd.

They are kept in a hutch in a shed, with fleece in the living area and also hay in the bed area - the fleece is brushed down and turned daily and every second daily replaced with clean ones and the hay is removed daily along with the puppy pad to ensure they are not sleeping in a damp area. The only piggie he lives in the same hutch with is Spud, who appears healthy, but should they be separated till it's treated?

Any help and advice would be appreciated.

cheers! :)
 
here are some pictures I took this evening - I've checked for mites but can't see them, but only because I am assuming they are dark in colour? But the pics show the way the skin is white and dry and also the way the hair is dropping out with the skin flakes. freckles bald patch1.webpthis is the area around the grease gland
freckles bald patch3.webp
this shows the dry skin and the scratch marks
freckles bald patch2.webp
and this is the hair I found on the bedding and also on him which is coming away at some rate.

I will be going to the vet on Monday but would like advice on quarantine if necessary or other treatments I can do to help until then. Checked Spud again and he has a very, very small area of dryness around his grease gland and a couple of scraps which is not normal for him so maybe they both need treated?

thank you!
 
That looks like it could be fungal to me. Sounds like a vet visit is in order to get an anti-fungal prescription. Sundae is prone to fungal infections that look like that and my vet has actually suggested that we just use Monistat external cream on her (in case the brand is not the same in the UK, it's the same thing that woman use for yeast infections- not the tablet, but the topical cream that comes with it.) However, I think a lot of fungals look similar so it's worth a proper assessment.
 
from the other posts on here I am thinking that way as I cannot see mites, but will still vet check. I think as the weather has turned damper I need to re access their bedding in the sleeping area as they are probably spending longer on their butts snuggling up, and though their hay is changed daily I am thinking I might go back to snowflake layer with some hay on top. Are fungal infections contagious between pigs? Would Freckles need to be kept separate till cleared up?
 
The humidity levels in the shed have also risen greatly with the change in the weather but I do have two large vents high and low to allow ventilation, but perhaps I will have to try to get the shed door open more to let the moisture escape better - just racking my brains on how to prevent this happening again if its fungal caused by environmental conditions :doh::hmm::)
 
gizzy said:
you could gat a de humidifier
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I think having looked last night that the shed is actually quite dry, even thought the weather is wet,. but will need to make sure the bedding isnt getting too moist with the boys sitting on it for longer periods all cosied up in the bedding area - maybe I am over stuffing their bedroom with hay!
 
think I am over worrying about the shed itself as its bone dry today (its insulated and ventilated - but not heated yet) and its raining outside again - it is only when its really cold that you see your breath - their hutches are totally dry though and all the hay in the shed is dry too - its tricky to try to keep them warm and cosy without over doing it, and my two boys pee and poop a lot and freckles is probably just sitting on his mound of poo over night thinking that's cosy! - hopefully once he's gone to the vet I can just keep a much closer eye on his grease gland area to nip it in the bud quicker.
 
think too if I got the electric to the shed the heater could be at low level and there would be less need for too much bedding and would that reduce the pigs stuffed in a box getting sweaty thing? hmm - am I over complicating this - its the first time the boys will have been in the shed over the whole winter - they came in last year in october, but now with 4 piggies they are all in the shed - so not sure what will work best!
 
I think it looks fungal too, best to get a vet diagnosis though. Only Ringworm tends to show up if a culture is done though and this doesn't look like Ringworm to me. Maybe Candida. Either way, I would recommend Imaverol dips and follow the hygiene measures in our Ringworm guide.
 
helen105281 said:
I think it looks fungal too, best to get a vet diagnosis though. Only Ringworm tends to show up if a culture is done though and this doesn't look like Ringworm to me. Maybe Candida. Either way, I would recommend Imaverol dips and follow the hygiene measures in our Ringworm guide.
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thank you for the great advice - will let my vet know what you recommend should they be unsure or if I think they are not treating for fungal - fingers crossed I will get this sorted soon - many thanks!
 
quick update - took both Freckles and Spud as Spud has now a few bit wounds where he is scratching his skin too, but very little compared to Freckles - they have been given drops on the back of the head and will again in 10 days to treat possible mites, but recommend I also treat for fungal infection incase that is it. Ordered some shampoo and cream from Gorgeous Guineas so once that arrives will scrub them both - she also said I can used the pink liquid sterilising wash I was given when Chewy had his op to clean any cuts too - so fingers crossed this, and increased ventilation in the bedroom do the job!
 
Make sure you leave at leat 48 hours between bathing and any mite treatment and vice versa. I can give you a link for Imaverol if you need it. I do find it more effective for fungal.
 
helen105281 said:
Make sure you leave at leat 48 hours between bathing and any mite treatment and vice versa. I can give you a link for Imaverol if you need it. I do find it more effective for fungal.
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that would be great too - how often do you need to do the Imaverol? There fleeces are washed at 60 degrees always and hay changed daily but I take it I need to thoroughly disinfect the hutch too? many thanks!
 
also forgot - normally I clean these boys first and hold them and after do Chewy and his Mrs Poppy so that her smells isnt on me to upset Spud and Freckles too much - I take it I should be careful not to transfer anything to them but should I just give them a bath too and do a total disinfect to be sure or is that overkill seeing they live in different hutches :lol!:
 
Here you go:

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

It is used as a dip and not rinsed off. The instructions on the bottle says to use at 3 day intervals, so that would be ok to do. I however, in the past have been advised to dip once a week for 4 weeks as it continues working in the meantime. You will need to patch test for 48 hours behind the ear before using.

I would invest in F10 handwash or gel and F10 cleaner and use that to clean the hutches and wash your hands between handling. You could also change your clothes to be extra careful. It would not hurt to give them a precautionary dip. Imaverol is gentle but effective.
 
Hi everyone!

Just wanted to get in an update on wee Freckles. He is so much better now, in fact I noticed his skin improving almost as soon as he had a bath which removed the flaky skin and hair, and when I changed from the thick hay bedding back to fleece as his main area to lie on.

I do think he got a fungal infection caused by snuggling on the hay and because my boys pee alot he probably sat on the moist bits for ages. I always change the hay daily so whether the hay just didn't stay dry long enough or the main bale I took it from had gone off, I am sure the hay was the problem. It wasnt creating much of a cosy bed anyway as the boys really flatten it down in no time!

Since then, I've had it confirmed it wasn't mites, and his hair is growing back nice and thick. He also nibbled a chunk out of the flaky skin around his grease gland but after lots of vet checks, and me dabbing with Hibby-scrub, its all healed. So I've decided not to keep buying the huge farmer bales from the pet shop and stick to the smaller bob martin packs as feed and use tons of fleece items for the main bedding, these are always turned over and replaced every two days.

Thought I would share as received so much great advice here and hope the pics and advice may help another piggie in the future. :cake::)
 
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