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Help With Dry Skin - Fungal?

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LaurenSandford

LaurenSandford

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Could someone help me with what they 'think' these dry patches are on my werewolf skinny pig girl? She's been treated with ivermectin, I am now applying canasten to the real dry areas but I cannot smother her whole body in it. It doesn't seem to be just dry skin. I'm off out today to get some Nizoral or Tgel. I will take her to the vets if I cannot help her, but at the moment I want to try for myself. Thanks everyone

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Treating a skinny can be tricky. Ours had what we thought looked like fungal but actually turned out to be mange mites and they had Ivermectin injections. If it is fungal I would usually recommend Imaverol but I have not used this on my own skinnies. It is gentle though and is an emollient. For now I would try to get some Humilac spray as per the link below:

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/dog-shampoos-veterinary-shampoos-c-1124_637_889/humilac-spray-250mls-p-687

This is Imaverol and it is used as a dip

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

You could try it but please patch test behind the ear for 48 hours first.
 
The other option is oral fungal medication such as Itrafungol or Nystatin but these would need to be prescribed by a vet. They would most likely want to do a culture though but only ringworm shows up in the standard type of culture, however there are lots of types of fungal.
 
I know it's difficult to tell in a picture but does it look abnormal? I don't want to buy loads of stuff and panic if it looks normal. I was told werewolf skinny skin is dryer and thicker than normal skinny. Thank for your advice. I will look into those products
 
I can see why you would think fungal but I am thinking it could just be dry, do you moisturise usually?
 
I oil with pure coconut oil weekly. My other skinnies seem fine/slightly dry. Should I switch to a moisturiser or just oil daily
 
In my opinion that is mites. I had to take Poe back to the vets as he developed that again.. exactly the same. Ivermectin injections he has had. As poe is pink he developed Red blotches too but as your piggie is black you wont see that. If you have treated with Ivermectin spot on it wont work.i tried and it made Poes skin even dryer! Injections are def the way forward. As the mites are in the blood and flair up injections target the area more specifically I would imagine As @helen105281 says the H spray is good. I used cold pressed organic coconut oil to clean before I got that and found it too greasy for their skin. I only use it now to clean the grease gland. A vet visit is needed to properly determine however. If I am right and it is mites no matter how much you moisturise it wont get or look any better. Good luck x
 
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So if I get the spray, will she still need vets? How comes ivermectin spot on doesn't work? How do they get mites? How comes it's only her and my other 3 are fine? Sorry for all the questions x
 
LaurenSandford said:
So if I get the spray, will she still need vets? How comes ivermectin spot on doesn't work? How do they get mites? How comes it's only her and my other 3 are fine? Sorry for all the questions x
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spot on is doesnt work I think as there is no fur for it to sit in and absorb slowly. Get the H spray as that is used to moisturise but it is not a treatment for fungal or mites. I def think you need to get it determined by a vet. If it is mites it can eventually kill piggies. That is exactly what Poe had and I thought at first was dry skin or fungal after a second vet visit was confirmed at mites. Def go to the vets x
 
I just had a look back at my old photos and Katie's patch when she had mites looked just like the patch on the back in the 3rd photo. I agree that Ivermectin injections are the way forward as @GloriousGuineaGirl has said.

It would not hurt to use the Humilac weekly though to keep the skin moisturized.
 
I have 2 boys and Edgar hasn't got mites. maybe they are just lucky atm. Piggies carry mites in their blood and sometimes they flair up I think. If I am wrong someone please correct me :)
 
The stress thing def is a factor. Both my boys were perfect with their skin until they fell out and I had to split them, was moving them about whilst sorting the cage out and what not then thats when Poes skin started getting like that.
 
I will say Lauren don't use anything human on their skin as it can block pores. Sudocrem for any minor scratches or Bepanthen nappy barrier cream is ok as it lets skin breathe. I have heard some use Aqueous cream to moisturise but. .. even though it doesn't block their pores as it is water based it tends to dry them out even more! I met a girl last week who made her skinny quite dry from using this. X
 
Thanks everyone. Just checked they was all ok before bed and her skin looks a lot less dry. Thinking it was fungal I used Nizoral. Just ordered Humilac though. How often shall I use it? Is it just an animal moisturiser, sorry it doesn't give much info x
 
If her skin doesn't clear up very soon get her to a vet. After I moisturised Poe and used spot on it looked better. Within 2 days it was back to being like your pics again. Hope she gets better soon :)
 
Update on my girls skin.

Waiting for the Humilac to come.

I personally think her skin looks better (although it looks worse because it's dry) it doesn't look as raised and patchy. Hope others agree. Obviously I'm still monitoring her and will get her to the vets if it doesn't clear
 

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LaurenSandford said:
Update on my girls skin.

Waiting for the Humilac to come.

I personally think her skin looks better (although it looks worse because it's dry) it doesn't look as raised and patchy. Hope others agree. Obviously I'm still monitoring her and will get her to the vets if it doesn't clear
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I do agree it looks less raised for sure! I just got my H spray today and it really is wonderful! Poe was quite dry this morning but after one application looks amazing! Thanks to @helen105281 once again for this one! I sprayed it on my hand and stroked it on as its quite cold and prob spraying it straight on would shock them...just to bear in mind when you get yours :) glad to see that she is hopefully getting better. keep us posted :)
 
I got the spray today after all, used it and agree it's fab! It soaks in straight away. Glad you agree with her skin looking better :)
 
I've recently done some research on proper skin care for GPs and i found that Neem Oil is a universal skin and fur/hair treatment for all animals including GPs! It is really good at keeping away fungal/parisitic problems and is really safe! Fortunatly for me the Neem tree grows wild locally and i know a lady who makes the Neem oil organically and sells it with nothing added. I tip a little in my piggies wash and it cleared up a little dry patch that used to be on the tips of Caesar's ears. We even use it to treat my kids ezcema and mix it with water to spray the garden veg to keep away those little white bugs! It really seems to be some extrodinary stuff however, it does smell like garlic crap! :tu:
 
That does look a bit better and am glad the Humilac arrived ok and you like it.

Is your girl on any pain relief? It may just be the photo but in her eyes she looks like she may have some pain. If the problems with her skin continue it would be worth asking your vet about pain relief.
 
Also, I think she still needs checking by the vet, as if it is mange mites it will be very painful and they will not go away without treatment, the same applies to a fungal problem too. She needs an official diagnosis and then you can treat her as needed.
 
In my experience using the H spray the skin should become clear and completely smooth within a max of two days. Poe still popcorned and what not when he had mites. If she is scratching and turning her head around to bite at herself then is def mites/fungal. If she hasn't cleared up at all in the next few days a vet diagnosis is def needed. To be honest I've never seen a skinny with dry skin that scaly or flaky from it just being " natural dryness" however it does look better but anything you do to emollient their skin will make it look better in the first instance even if it is fungal or mites, again I'm only going on experience with my boy am not a vet so :) x
 
Hi Lauren. Did you know piggies do their best to hide any sign of pain or illness? The picture were her eyes half closed is a sign of pain. I really think she needs to see a vet. There is no harm having her checked out. In my experience with guinea pigs you can never be too cautious. Have you a guinea pig savy vet? This vet locater will help you find one
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-vet-locator/
 
She may be in pain but I can see her eyes aren't like this, it's just the time the picture was taken. I will get her to a vet if it persists
 
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