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In need of advice

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tandt

Hey Everyone,
New to the site and owning gunieas, had them for about 5-6 months now. When we first got our babies they both had eye infections, which we promptly treated with a vet treatment and eye drops.
We have two males, Tommy and Tibolt, about 2 weeks ago I noticed Tibolt was not himself at all, and upon closer inspection found a small patch of flaky/scaly skin. So we took him to the vets in this order:

1) Vet visit: checked for ringworm etc in uv light, nothing turned up so they gave him an antibiotic injection
2) Vet visit: As above
3) Vet Visit: Upon Tibolt scratching and damaging himself we took him back. Thedy have now said they think it is ringworm/fungal infection and have given us a spray to deal with the infection.

So we have been spraying both piggies (Tommy has similar patches now.) However Tibolt is becoming more and more aggressive with each treatment. We have been using watered down tea tree oil to sooth his itching, but he keeps threatening and biting us everytime we try to help him.
I was wondering if anyone has any tips to help him stay calm when applying his treatment, as this situation is becoming upsetting not only for our piggies but for us as well. Also does anyone know if when scabs form over this type of fungal/ringworm infection if thats a good sign for healing? I just want my babies to get better and if anyone can help in anyway with advice, please let us know.
Many thanks
Andy :red
 
A UV light test on gp fungus is a waste of time because the particular fungus will not show, so you get a false negative response.
Antibiotics have no effect on fungal problems.
I would not use TT oil.
Your pigs need a specific anti-fungal drug, such as Itrafungol, it is not licensed for use on a gp so you may have to "persuade" your vet to prescribe it!
In the meantime start bathing the pigs with Nizoral shampoo.
Be warned, you will be more stressed than the pigs!
 
When Nacho had a fungal infection, it took a good 4 weeks for him to get back to normal, the vet treated him for mites too, with an injection of panamec. twice in 4 weeks. i used Daktarin cream and Nizoral for the first 2 weeks and then used gorgeous guineas manuka and neem melt and their manuka and neem shampoo.
 
Yes, treat for mites. Sometimes it can be difficult to differentiate between mites and a fungal infection.
 
Jusdt wanted to say thanks for the advice guys, was not sure bout the tea tree but someone suggested it to me. I thought they should be treating them for mites as well......bloody vets....
Will get onto the shampoo etc asap. Thanks again :(|)
 
Stop using the tea tree oil straight away. There was a big discussion on here the other day about it and it's potential harmful effects.

You can use a product called Xeno 450 for mites and personally I would try it straight away. You can buy it online, its very easy - a pipette spot on, definitely worth a try. Mine have had hair loss and I have used this along with an anti fungal and it cleared up - who knows which worked.

The shampoo recommended by AP (Nizoral) is supposed to be really good.
 
The comment I would make about Nizoral is that, in some pigs, it seems to leave the hair feeling rather coarse. Easily overcome by finishing the shampoo session with a conditioner, don't forget to leave the Nizoral on for 3 minutes, it is treating the skin not the hair.
 
I would highly recommend Xeno450, you will need to do one pipette per piggie (instructions are on the leaflet in the box) and then 2 weeks later do another pipette and 2 weeks later do another. Buying this on line is cheaper than at the vets. This product kills lice and mites.
 
hey guys,
just wanted to thank * so much for the advice. Tibolt is well on the way to being better and healthy, and Tommy is doing just fine!
In fact the aggressive behaviour Tibolt was showing has gone all together. I think he was just grumpy with the tea tree oil, as soon as we stopped that he started getting back to his old self. Ill keep * guys posted but it seems that they are on the mend!
Thanks again x>>
 
Hi

I just picked up on this thread, I'm really glad to here your pigs are feeling better tandt. :)

I was interested to read about the Xeno 450, my pigs don't have lice or mites but wondered if this treatment is only for when they actually have them or can be used as a preventative measure? :^-

Thanks
 
Yes I believe you can. Some people do and some don't

I have heard that every 3 months is normally enough (You can do it every month)
 
tandt said:
hey guys,
just wanted to thank * so much for the advice. Tibolt is well on the way to being better and healthy, and Tommy is doing just fine!
In fact the aggressive behaviour Tibolt was showing has gone all together. I think he was just grumpy with the tea tree oil, as soon as we stopped that he started getting back to his old self. Ill keep * guys posted but it seems that they are on the mend!
Thanks again x>>
Click to expand...

That's brilliant!

Have you considered finding a vet that knows a bit more about guinea pigs incase you need professional help with them in the future. There is a list of recommended vets on here and / or you could put a post asking for one in your area that understands guinea pig care.

I had to move vets when I found out that mine didn't know what they were doing with guineas and have found one who has studied them and knows alot about their care. It's scary that something that can be sorted so easily was overlooked by someone who is supposed to be the expert.
 
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