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Fungal,uri, Conjunctivitis

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PandoraPrimrose

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Hi all,
I'm new to this sight but have used it in the past as I find it a great source of info.

I'm looking for some advice about my 3 indoor guinea pigs as they seem to pick up so many infections.

I got them in march of this year as babies. Primrose had a full blown fungal infection around her eye and the other 2 soon came down with it on different locations. This was solved through treatment with malseb shampoo and many, many bathes. However, they contracted a Uri as a result of a suspected allergy of hay. This was treated with oral antibiotics. In april I switched them from hay to fleece but thick dandruff has been building up on primrose, so I took all to the vets today where I found out Pandora has conjunctivitis.

Thru have a good diet, lots of vit c from veg and good quality pellets as well as as much hay as they could possibly eat. There enclosure is large, (upgrading soon to an even larger 5x2 c&c cage with loft) kept indoors and is scrupulously clean.

My question is, why do they keep picking things up? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm really worrying over what I can do.
 
I am very sorry about your problems. It sounds like your piggies didn't come from a good place if they came with ringworm and have started life with you with a very much lowered immune system - this extends also to catching easily transmittable URI, which can break out in uinea pigs with a stress/illness/neglect lowered immune system once they have been exposed to the bacteria in their previous place - no fault whatsoever of yours! :(

Has your vet checked Primrose for a fungal skin infection or did he think that it is just dry skin? What breed is she? Some breeds like teddies are more prone to scaly/dry skin because of their thick and badly aired fur coat. This can become more prominent once indoors heating comes on and the air becomes much drier. Perhaps you might want to look into a humidifier or at least something to hang in front of your radiator?

Some guinea pigs seem to be more prone to conjunctivitis - even in the absence of any drafts. :(

PS: As we have members from all over the world, you can help us being able to tailor any advice more specifically to your climate, access to vets and the medical brands that are available in your country straight away if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thanks!
 
Thankyou for the reply Wiebke.

I think you may be right about the lowered immune system. The breeder was very nice and she offered to keep ahold of them until primrose was better. I thanked her and room them anyway. Within a month of purchase they all came down with the fungal infection, probably due to the stress of moving since they were babies and still are at only 10 months old.

Primrose is a teddy and Pandora and Zebidy are swiss, so I have done significant research regarding the dry skin issues they ate prone too etc..

We live in Scotland so there is moisture in the air all year round and we never really get heat above 25oc on a good day. Will look into the humidifier idea though and see if it will aid them.

Back in April I decided to take them to the vets for the fungal infection they had since the medication the breeder suggested wasn't working fast enough for me. I was using an anti-fungal spray and daktarin gold. The vet looked them over and looked at their skin under a black light? Anyway he couldn't see the colour the fungus produces under the light but suggested an off licence shampoo called malaseb with orders to bath them once a week for 4 weeks and gave them an invermectin spot on treatment. This cured the problem completely.

When I took them to the vets yesterday the vet suspected mites (spot on again) and said to bath them once a week for 3 weeks and document the improvement. I have also been given eye drops for Pandora. One drop twice a day for 1 week.

I live in a fairly rural community but do have access to a clinic with its own small vet facility.

As they grow up should they become stronger, thus experiencing less illness or because they have had a rough start will this forever be their lot in life?

Would it also be a good idea to (after treatment) continue with monthly baths. ?
 
PandoraPrimrose said:
Thankyou for the reply Wiebke.

I think you may be right about the lowered immune system. The breeder was very nice and she offered to keep ahold of them until primrose was better. I thanked her and room them anyway. Within a month of purchase they all came down with the fungal infection, probably due to the stress of moving since they were babies and still are at only 10 months old.

Primrose is a teddy and Pandora and Zebidy are swiss, so I have done significant research regarding the dry skin issues they ate prone too etc..

We live in Scotland so there is moisture in the air all year round and we never really get heat above 25oc on a good day. Will look into the humidifier idea though and see if it will aid them.

Back in April I decided to take them to the vets for the fungal infection they had since the medication the breeder suggested wasn't working fast enough for me. I was using an anti-fungal spray and daktarin gold. The vet looked them over and looked at their skin under a black light? Anyway he couldn't see the colour the fungus produces under the light but suggested an off licence shampoo called malaseb with orders to bath them once a week for 4 weeks and gave them an invermectin spot on treatment. This cured the problem completely.

When I took them to the vets yesterday the vet suspected mites (spot on again) and said to bath them once a week for 3 weeks and document the improvement. I have also been given eye drops for Pandora. One drop twice a day for 1 week.

I live in a fairly rural community but do have access to a clinic with its own small vet facility.

As they grow up should they become stronger, thus experiencing less illness or because they have had a rough start will this forever be their lot in life?

Would it also be a good idea to (after treatment) continue with monthly baths. ?
Click to expand...

What treatment are they exactly on and is your vet treating for mange mites or fur mites?

Mange mites are typically treated with either a good quality ivermectin spot-on (ideally xeno for the appropriate weight) or with (a more effective) panomec injection. Any mange mites treatment needs to be repeated at least twice between 1-2 weeks apart depending on the product in order to prevent a return.
We do not recommend monthly preventative treatments, as that only serves to make the eggs burrowed in the skin that are present in pretty much all guinea pigs and are usually kept in check by a functioning immune system resistent to ivermectin; there have been worrying reports that this is happening. Before ivermectin, mange mites could only be managed, but not cured, and many animals had to be pts because of it. Mange mites are invisible, but they cause intensive itching and baldness, typically in a triangle starting in the middle of the back. it is much better and effective to hit any affected piggies in real outbreak promptly with a full course of highly dosed ivermectin (not the usual low-dosed shop stuff). When treated promptly, mites won't get past nuisance level for a week or two.

Fur or hay mites (also known as static lice), appear typically in autumn via a hay bag. What you can usually see are the egg cases sitting on hairs at the bum end that look like somebody had churned a pepper mill over the piggy. They are comparatively harmless, fairly easy to get rid of and are often treated with lice shampoo.
Guinea Lynx :: Parasites
 
The vet treated them for fur mites with ivermectin as he suspects its from the hay. He also had a look under the microscope and there was no sign of any mites at all. I think he is leaning towards fungal because they have had it before, that is also why he suggested bathing them in malaseb an anti fungal shampoo. They have no baldness and at the moment everything is pointing towards fungal/ dry skin because of their breed.
 
PandoraPrimrose said:
The vet treated them for fur mites with ivermectin as he suspects its from the hay. He also had a look under the microscope and there was no sign of any mites at all. I think he is leaning towards fungal because they have had it before, that is also why he suggested bathing them in malaseb an anti fungal shampoo. They have no baldness and at the moment everything is pointing towards fungal/ dry skin because of their breed.
Click to expand...

Thanks for clearing that up! If your teddy girl continues to have dry skin symptoms despite the malaseb, then please do not be upset. I have been through the whole mites and fungal thing with my now 7 years old Nerys more than once, but in the end, it came down to her thick teddy fur. :(
 
That's ok. There was a lot of different info to get across. I can deal with the dry skin if she can I just don't want it turning into full blown fungal on all 3 of them as its a pain to get rid of and it must be painful and irritating for them. Is there anything I can do extra to up their immune systems?
 
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