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I am Worried

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Tayz

Tayz

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Ok, pancake has a scab on her nose. It's been getting bigger a lot. But that's not all. The other day she was on the grass eating when all of a sudden some type of liquid began pouring out of her eyes. It was a milky colour and it kept sliding down both her eyes and into the grass.
I am really worried...
 
The white milky liquid is likely to be "eye milk" which is quite normal in guineas, take a look at the last paragraph here: http://web.onetel.net.uk/~petergurney/e.html#_EYES

The scabbing on the nose could be Cheilitis perhaps: http://www.guinealynx.info/cheilitis.html or a fungal problem.

Either way I would recommend getting him seen to by a good guinea vet or rodentologist just to be sure. If you can upload a picture it may also be worth emailing it to Chrissie at www.gorgeousguineas.com as she is great with skin problems and may be able to help.
 
The white liquid is eye cleaning fluid, so you don't need to worry about that - she might have caught some dust in her eyes and washed it out, as guinea pigs can't blink the way we do.

The scab is worrying. Does it look a bit like this?

http://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html

Be careful - ringworm is very infective and not only your other guinea pigs can catch it, but you as well!
 
This looks like it
vgqwr4.jpg
 
I'm not sure - from the pic it's unlikely to be Cheilitis as it's that is mainly found around the lip area. It looks like it could be fungal but I would hate to say as I am certainly no expert. Fungal is easily treatable but must get sorted as it can cause all kinds of problems including fitting and even death if left untreated. I would still email Gorgeous Guineas as they may have seen something like it before.
 
This s their website: http://www.gorgeousguineas.com

It is based in Britain, so it might take ten days for the products to reach Australia. But they could help with the diagnosis.

For fungal medication available in Australia, you'd best pm KingBoris&HisFollowers, she knows best and will be willing to help you.
 
Hello,
I completely agree that its fungal some possible treatments are

aloe vera spray gel(if possible)until you can get to the vet to sooth itching skin
Bepanthen
betadine is a very good option and is how i cured the worst of my piggies fungal condtion
iodine is also a good one but is alot stronger so best be careful with its use
all as you probably know are available from chemists.
GG products would be the lavender and Myrrh lotion & Bathed in the micro neem
i hope i helped a little x
 
forgot to add,how long has your piggy had this because it can easily turn to internal fungal as well,if so intrafungal worked well on Boris,also 0.1ml twice daily of metacam for pain,if you can't get metacam right now let me know as there are other alternatives x
just had to edit,for safe amount of pain relief considering i don't know the weight xx
 
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Cheapest and most effective option if you cannot get to a vet is
a few drops of betadine put into a bath and just wash as usual but be gentle.
if possible do this every day but if you can't every 3 days is fine with betadine applied directly to the affected areas twice daily every other day.
0.2ml of baby nurofen twice daily for any pain is the safe amount for a pig weighing 800gm,if she weighs more i would just give her the same amount as her pain wouldnt be unbearable xx
 
Ok, we try one of these.
I don't know how long she's had it. But it keeps coming back. She got rid of it at one stage but it's back now...
 
If it is not taken seriously, fungus can spread throughout the body and kill. The sooner you can treat it, the easier it is to cure.
 
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Tayz said:
Ok, we try one of these.
I don't know how long she's had it. But it keeps coming back. She got rid of it at one stage but it's back now...
Click to expand...

have you taken her to the vet for this? fungal conditions are quite serious,i would get the intrafungal just in case,it usually has to be ordered from chemists,its a human product but one of few available in oz thats safe for piggies,the downside is that its $154,but if it is fungal and its not treated eventually it results in fits and in the long term death so its crucial that its treated x
 
Intrafungal is a supposed to be quite a strong medicine so I would definately seek clarification that it IS fungal and there is a risk of internal fungal before giving it.

I would also check with someone knowledgable if a painkiller like Metacam is needed as you don't want to be administering medicines if they are not necessary.
 
Yeah, Pancake had a fit last time she had the scab on her nose. We took her to the vet immediately afterwards and he said it was mites and gave her an injection every week for four weeks...
 
Does it keep coming back in exactly the same place and does she live with other pigs? Just a thought because i thought one of mine had fungal when she had a scab on her nose but it turned out her sister has swiped at her and the scab had got a bit infected, it fell off before the GG stuff came. If she keeps getting scabs it could maybe be a cage mate scratching or nipping her? Mine still live together it was nothing serious. Just pointing it out because one of mine had fungal a week or two ago and the scab seemed to sit different on the fur than your piggy looks but mine is white so i suppose it wouldn't look the same :S x
 
Yeah, she lived with two other females. One is always nipping at her bum. It was the excact same place except it's larger now...
 
Tayz said:
Yeah, Pancake had a fit last time she had the scab on her nose. We took her to the vet immediately afterwards and he said it was mites and gave her an injection every week for four weeks...
Click to expand...

Mites are completely different to fungal, and the Ivermec treatments that your vet gave would not have treated any fungal, likewise, fungal treatments won't help mites, so many vets tend to treat for both if they are not sure!

Good point them, it's always possible!
 
The vet only treated her for the mites though. I think her took a bit of the scab off and took it and had a look under a microscope...but he said he couldn't find any mites, but still gave her the injections..
 
Well I'd say it's unlikely to be mites if she's been treated recently, from what i remember mites tend to go within one course of treatment unless it's severe and this doesn't look like severe scabbing. If the scabs are in the same place as where she's being nipped it could just be that she gets a small cut and then it gets irritated as she scratches it etc. I'd keep an eye on her with her friends, make sure they have one each of everything in the cage and just observe them to make sure she isn't being bullied. I think i'd take her back the vets and tell them she keeps getting scabs and see if they suggest anything? x
 
It definitely doesn't look like mites! Mites make a guinea pig squirm when you stroke gently over the affected area - only don't do that with your bare hand if you're not sure whether it could be ringworm as well, as you could infect yourself that way.

If Pancake's had a fit with the other scab, it's worth following up the fungus link with your vet. But it doesn't hurt to get as many ideas as possible, so you can find a proper solution this time; especially as your vet doesn't seem to be guinea pig expert.
 
KingBoris&HisFollowers said:
Hello,
I completely agree that its fungal some possible treatments are

aloe vera spray gel(if possible)until you can get to the vet to sooth itching skin
Bepanthen
betadine is a very good option and is how i cured the worst of my piggies fungal condtion
iodine is also a good one but is alot stronger so best be careful with its use
all as you probably know are available from chemists.
GG products would be the lavender and Myrrh lotion & Bathed in the micro neem
i hope i helped a little x
Click to expand...

Apart from the GG products all of the above are only very basic moisturisers/antiseptics and I wouldn't use any of them for fungal. Bepanthen is a barrier cream/antiseptic and if anything will prevent air getting to the skin and make the problem worse. Betadine is intended for wounds, not generalised fungal infections.

I would try and have it confirmed with a vet as Vicky advised before you spend a lot of money on things that may or may not work.
 
daftscotslass said:
Apart from the GG products all of the above are only very basic moisturisers/antiseptics and I wouldn't use any of them for fungal. Bepanthen is a barrier cream/antiseptic and if anything will prevent air getting to the skin and make the problem worse. Betadine is intended for wounds, not generalised fungal infections.

I would try and have it confirmed with a vet as Vicky advised before you spend a lot of money on things that may or may not work.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry,its just what i had recommended to me,the betadine was recommended by a rescue here that uses it on all of there piggies with fungal infections and when i emailed GG they confirmed it to be good for fungal,it seemed to work for Boris's skin x
 
Povidone Iodine does help for fungal, Lorna - in my own experience, anyhow! A few drops mixed with shampoo has worked very well for Saffron, she has ongoing trouble but the P.Iodine wash has cleared up a problem patch better than anything I have found yet.

As the others have said, do check with a good vet, but to me from the picture you posted it looks like a "fungal nose stripe". I did have a great link on it but I can't find it now, will keep searching! I had one sow with this for years, it caused no trouble but was removed/treated eventually. (It was not until I got to the CCT that she advised I deal with it, no other vet mentioned it!)

Gorgeous Guineas Lavender & Myrrh lotion is safe for use on faces and treats fungal, may be worth looking at.
 
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Yeah, thankyou everyone. This morning Pancakes eyes were really red underneath the black pupil. When she looked upwards it was very red and she has lost a bit of hair underneath her back legs. Perhaps she is over grooming?
 
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