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Fresh Scab On Bald Patch

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katanamoon

katanamoon

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I think I might take up official residence in my vet waiting room... Tonight I have found this on Pixel's belly, about 1cm away from one of her nip-nips. I have bathed it in saline (hence the wet) but the area around the scabs feels a little hard to the touch - only a few mm either way. Any thoughts as to causes or what to do? :(

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It could be ringworm rather than mites, but as it is not in a textbook place it is more difficult to diagnose. Please make sure that you disinfect your hands thoroughly as ringworm is very easily to transmit (including yourself)! You often notice it for the bloody edge and the crusts (exudations). Ringworm like mites is an opportunist that often hits when a piggy has a smewhat lowered immune system for whatever reason.
http://www.gorgeousguineas.com/indentification.html
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/ringworm-hygiene-and-pictures.115402/
 
I know the feeling, having that particular t-shirt myself with then 16 piggies!

Ringworm spores can survive for 18 months in some nook or cranny, however careful you are... :( Just to add, that I had a return with a new piggy (rehomed in the interim) at the beginning of this year just after the 18 months after the last outbreak were safely past. :mal:
 
I would agree fungal or as Wiebke says ringworm. Hope it is highly contagious and you can get on top of it soon enough x
 
Well I did not expect that :( I love my piggies, but they have an uncanny knack for kicking me when I'm down.
 
Sorry to say I think it looks fungal too. Can't remember what you treated with last time but I would go with Itrafungol and/or Imaverol once you have a diagnosis from the vet.
 
katanamoon said:
Well I did not expect that :( I love my piggies, but they have an uncanny knack for kicking me when I'm down.
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Hey, have a virtual hug. We had a stubborn patch on cookie in a similar area that clear up with canestan cream over 2 weeks. I'd get it checked over a vets to find out if it could be RW as that is tougher to deal with, but fingers crossed you have caught it early
 
Well we went to the vet (again!) and after much prodding, squeezing and shining of some sort of light that makes ringworm glow in the dark, she is fairly certain that the scabs are the result of an injury (although from what we have no idea, but there are occasionally bits of wood in the Snowflake bedding so that's a possibility). She told me to apply Malaseb every other day for a week or so, and if anything changes or the lumpy bit gets bigger and/or squishy then to go back. She checked Pixel all over and couldn't find any evidence to suggest rigworm.

I just hope she's right!
 
The ultralight test is unfortunately not conclusive. Best treat for fungal to be on the safe side, whether it is imaverol or malaseb.

I am very sorry, these things are never good news and never come at a good time! :(
 
Yeah, she said Malaseb would be the best bet as it's anti-fungal and anti-bacterial so should mop up anything lurking. We shall see.
 
Ohhhhh I do hope you don't catch ringworm if it is a fungal infection! It took me two weeks to get rid of ringerworm that was on my chin. It was so embarrassing walking around with a band aid on my face, I had to say I fell off my bike so people don't avoid me. Ha ha ha.

Good luck! I hope it's nothing serious!
 
Gizi said:
Ohhhhh I do hope you don't catch ringworm if it is a fungal infection! It took me two weeks to get rid of ringerworm that was on my chin. It was so embarrassing walking around with a band aid on my face, I had to say I fell off my bike so people don't avoid me. Ha ha ha.

Good luck! I hope it's nothing serious!
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It is horrible; I had a patch on my arm last time ringworm did the rounds on my herd and it is the most awful itching EVER :(
 
katanamoon said:
It is horrible; I had a patch on my arm last time ringworm did the rounds on my herd and it is the most awful itching EVER :(
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Aww you have me scratching in sympathy . Hope it clears up easily for you. You certainly have had one hell of an introduction to piggy keeping! You'll be able to write a book about it
 
VickiA said:
Aww you have me scratching in sympathy . Hope it clears up easily for you. You certainly have had one hell of an introduction to piggy keeping! You'll be able to write a book about it
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Nah, it'd put people off :))
 
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