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Help With Symptoms?

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Rachel1111

Rachel1111

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Hello, I have just made an account here as I need some help with one of my pigs.

She is abyssinian and sheds a lot of hair with dandruff, she always has. Last night I saw her sneeze with white discharge, never before seen that. She also scratches a lot. Her behaviour is normal, although shes always been rather quiet and nervous. Her appetite is normal.

About a year ago I treated her with anti skin problem shampoo, it may be anti fungal. She also had two ivermectin treatments about a month ago, another a year ago so I don't think she has mites.

She lives with 3 other girls but I isolated her when i saw her sneeze last night, the other girls have also had the 60mg ivermectin.

I am going to watch her in regards to sneezing carefully and will probably take her to the vet, but I don't want to medicate her if nothing is wrong as I've read antibiotics for URIs can be deadly. She hasn't sneezed since last night.

Please excuse this long post but I want to know other owners opinions, am I paranoid or is there something wrong with her? Really appreciate any advice you can offer.

In summary; chronic dandruff and shedding, scratching, and white discharge sneezing (once) but healthy appetite and no sores or crustiness.
 
Hi welcome to the forum, please could you clarify your location as it will help us help you further.

The dandruff could be mild fungal and if you are in the UK it could well be weather related due to the heat and humidity we have at the moment. The sneezing could also be related to either the weather or dust. What do you use for bedding?

If she has no other symptoms in relation to the sneezing I would monitor for now and get her to the vets if you see any laboured breathing, further discharge from the nose and any crustiness. If you are in the UK we have a recommended vets locator.

Can you see if any of her hair is broken half way down the shaft? does her skin seem fluoresced at all?
 
Hello, I am in Ireland and we are having humid weather, though she has always had dandruff.
I use fleece bedding. I checked and her hair does not seem to be broken, it just comes out easily.
Not sure what you mean by fluoresced? She is black so it is hard to see the skin.
Thanks so much for your help.
 
That's ok. By fluoresced I mean is it quite bright red or pink? this can be a sign of fungal. Also does it come out easily when tugged gently?
 
Its hard to tell the colour but it doesn't seem red or pink, and it does come out easily when tugged gently.
 
It could be mild fungal. Ideally she needs to see the vet to rule out mites but for mild fungal I would use Imaverol dips once a week for 4 weeks, don't wash it off:

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

The product in the link is the unbranded version of Imaverol and is easy to purchase for Guinea pigs.

However, if she develops any more symptoms that point to a URI please see a vet before treating with Imaverol as I would be concerned about dipping her then.

Also, patch test it behind the ear for 48 hours before use and do not use within 24-48 hours of any Ivermectin dose.
 
Thanks for the info. I will take her to the vet soon as if she does have a URI it would be best to help her now, but if I do have to treat for a fungal problem, should I treat my other pigs as well? They stopped scratching after the ivermectin a month ago but have started again, maybe they have developed a fungal problem with the humidity. I assume if one pig has it they all do, hopefully the vet can tell me what is exactly is wrong as they don't show any other symptoms but scratching and biting frequently.
 
Yes I would treat all pigs that live together.

Please note that if the vet tries to test for fungal it only shows positive if it is ringworm whereas there are many other types that only show up on a different type of culture such as Candida which thrives in humid conditions and can also be caused by a large amount of grains in the diet too.
 
Okay thanks, if the vet can't find a skin problem I will do the dips.
Really appreciate the help ^ㅅ^
 
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