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Is It Fungus?

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gloec

gloec

Junior Guinea Pig
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Dear all,
Today when I was watching one of my two piggies, I noticed that some hair was missing right above her eye and that the skin at this spot is flaky.
Fina is a 1,5 months old sow I have her for two weeks and unfortunately there is no vet near me specialized to small animals in order to visit him for a proper diagnosis.
Currently there are no other bald spots in her body apart from the top of her right ear that it has been like that since she was born.
The bedding of the cage is wood pellet and I change it twice per week.
I am attaching a photo from her eye and one from her ear and any advice will be much appreciated.
The other thing that worries me is than in case this is fungus I know that it is contagious and I am worrying for my wife who is pregnant.


Thank you in advance,
Nikos
Athens, Greece
 
The ear is perfectly fine. Most piggies have bald ears because they regulate the body temperature via the blood flow through the ears.

It is a bit early to say, but it could be the beginnings of fungal. It would be best if your wife didn't handle him in case it was ringworm, which can be transmitted to humans and other mammals. The incubation period is 10-14 days. Use good hygiene and get hold of an antifungal disinfectant (most regular ones are only antibacterial). You may also get hold of an antifungal hand gel to use before handling and after good hand wash after handling. Wash every fabric in contact with him at at least 60 C.

With fungal, a series of antifungal bath/dips is recommended. Can you get hold of imaverol dip via the internet? that is the most efficient. A bath every three days is needed; also for his companion to prevent an infection. Please be aware that fungal often gets worse before it gets better as all hair in the affected area around the bald spot needs to come out.

http://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html
 
Thank you very much for the advice Wiebke!
I am not sure if I can find imaverol in Greece and if I order it from the Internet it might take something like 7-10 to receive it.
Is there any other alternative? What if I use the creams proposed in the Guinea Lynx article (Miconazole or Clotrimazole)?
I also read somewhere that Canesten could be another option.
Should I separate my two girls? What worries me though is that after almost two weeks they have used each other and we will need again a new introduction period however I do not want to risk anything.
Thank you,
Nikos
 
I would not separate but treat the other preventively. It is not quite as effective as imaverol, but you could try a dandruff/fungal medicating shampoo from the pharmacy that contains one of the mentioned antifungal agents. Bathe every 3 days for three times and let the shampoo soak for at least 5 minutes or longer before rinsing. Make sure that you work it gently into the hairs and skin around the affected area.

I have used canesten 2% for ringworm myself. Daktarin gold is good. The problem with just using just cream is that it you do not treat the full affected area. fungal often sits at the base of hairs, so any affected hairs need to come out n order to prevent a recurrence. Ringworm is unfortunately quite common in shop piggies.

Here are pictures taken from guinea pigs of mine when I had ringworm carried in three years ago. these guinea pigs were treated promptly and healed off well:

Start:


Furthest extent with the last affected hairs just removed:


Hair growing back in the order it came out:
 
A rescue I got my pigs off used anti fungal cream for humans on her guinea pigs and it worked. Might work in the meanwhile while you wait for the dips to arrive? A normal vet will be familiar with ringworm and could have something for you though.
 
The active ingredient in Imaverol is Enilconazole, maybe speak to your vet, they may know it under a different product name. I would also recommend oral fungal medication such as Itrafungol (active ingredient is Itraconazole).

Shampoos in the UK that are effective are Nizoral and Alphosyl. Active ingredient in Nizoral is Ketoconazole. The shampoo would be much more effective in conjunction with the dip if you can get it though, as the dip is left on and not washed off.
 
I will take her to the vet today and hopefully he will have some knowledge in small animals. The infection is spreading and I am afraid that if I do not act immediately Fina and the rest of the family will go through some difficult times. :(
As soon as I have the proposed treatment from the vet I will pass it to the forum in order to have your expert opinion too since I do not feel confident with the vets here in Athens that they can treat anything other than cats and dogs.
 
I just returned from the Vet who was a general one, not specialized in rodents or small animals and to be honest with you I do not feel confident that he knew what he was doing. Of course he has graduated from veterinary school and I haven't but...
The first thing he did was to put Fina under an infrared lamp in order to see, as he said, the nature of the infection.
After that he was almost 100% sure that this was not fungal but definitely mites or scabies. He gave her an injection of ivermectin and prescribed an ointment, called Tobradex and asked to apply it twice per day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobramycin/dexamethasone
He asked me to visit him again in ten days and give her one more injection of ivermectin.
Now, I am officially confused...
I was 100% sure that this infection was fungal but this came in contradiction with what the vet said.
In any case I got a shampoo called Fungoral (active ingredient is Ketoconazole 2%) and I will give both my girls a bath this evening. Fungoral is the Greek brand for Nizoral that is recommended as a treatment option for fungus by Guinea Lynx.
The Vet also asked me to separate them and this is what I did, but now I have two unhappy and miserable girls who miss each orher... :(
I know that I must be patient and wait but...
This is a today's photo of the infection. Just to mention that I cleaned it yesterday with water and chamomile and it looks cleaner...

The vet searched her body and he did not find any other bald spots. Also, he asked if she was scratching and I said yes.
What do you thing? How should I go on?
Thank you,
Nikos
 
The vet is not wrong to give the Ivermectin as it is possible she has mites aswell, however as she had the injection today I would wait 24 hours before bathing as it limits the effectiveness of the injection. Ideally the vet should have given both girls the injection as they live together. Was it an ultraviolet lamp he used? This is a common test for looking for ringworm. I would be inclined to make sure you get the second injection, and a third if needed but do the baths aswell. If you could get the Imaverol dip that would be great, am wondering if the UK companies ship to Greece. I buy it from Hyperdrug.
 
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Thank you Helen.
Yes it was an ultraviolet lamp. Unfortunately, I had only the one girl with me and this why he gave the injection only to Fina. I will call him and ask him to take the other girl there to give her an injection too.

I visited the site and the good thing is that they post to Greece but there is a link at the bottom of the page saying that if you are ordering for Guinea Pigs or Hamsters then select another product.
Which one to I select? IVAMEROL 100ML that is only for cat, dogs and horses or Enilconazole 100mg that is for Guinea Pigs?
Thank you!
 
As far as I know they are both the same. I used to order the Imaverol for a horse but I think they have realised what people are doing so have added the product for guinea pigs so I would order that one. Spoke to a lady I know who runs a piggy clinic and she thinks it may be for legal reasons. The active ingredient is the same. When it arrives post on here and I can give you instructions.
 
gloec said:
Thank you Helen.
Yes it was an ultraviolet lamp. Unfortunately, I had only the one girl with me and this why he gave the injection only to Fina. I will call him and ask him to take the other girl there to give her an injection too.
Click to expand...
If you are getting the vet to treat the two then there is no reason to seperate is there? Maybe I'm wrong?
 
Germaine said:
If you are getting the vet to treat the two then there is no reason to seperate is there? Maybe I'm wrong?
Click to expand...
I do not really know Germaine since I am not sure whether this is fungus or mites/scabies.
Unfortunately I could not visit the vet again tonight therefore I will have them separated at least until Monday.
 
It appears that Fina's eye is getting worst.. :(
It is more swollen and her eye is closing, but it is clean and the skin in the bald spot is pink.
I am thinking that it could be from the ointment the vet prescribed.
I have to decide whether I will continue with it or not.
The good thing is that she is quite active and she is eating good especially her favorite red bell pepper. :)
Could this swollen eye be a reaction to the ivermectin injection?
 
I would think that the swollen eye is from the ointment, not the ivermectin. Personally, I would stop the ointment.

I've never experienced a bad reaction to an ivermectin injection.
 
I don't know about side effects of ivermectin. I know that sometimes it gets a bit worse before getting better. My pig lost a bit more hair before it started to regrow. It could be swollen from the scratching either. I was told to use daktarin on her bald patches when we thought it was fungus before we got to vets. It didn't work as it was mites but it seemed to stop her itching as much. Do you have any 100% aloe that could soothe the area? I'm not an expert at all though! I'm only trying to think of something that could help her until the vets.
 
I agree that it is unlikely to be a reaction to the Ivermectin. It is a good idea to treat for mites anyway as she is likely to run down from the fungal and that is when mites and other parasites can strike.
 
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Today is the day three since we discovered the bald spot and the infection.
I gave both my girls a bath with the shampoo Fungoral (active ingredient is Ketoconazole 2%) and I checked her body and apart from the fact that she is now a very fluffy girl fortunately there are no other signs of infection. :)
Here is a latest photo of the bald spot


and this is also a video


I also use water with chamomile in order to wash the spot twice per day. I stopped the ointment the vet prescribed as per your advice and I do not know if I should use any of the creams recommended in Guinea Lynx like Miconazole or Clotrimazole.
What do you think?
Thank you
Nikos
 
I would not put any creams round the eyes as it will irritate and make her scratch. When the Imaverol arrives you can apply it topically. In the meantime can you get hold of Povodine iodine? Mix 1ml with 50ml of water and apply gently with a cotton bud or make up brush.
 
gloec said:
Today is the day three since we discovered the bald spot and the infection.
I gave both my girls a bath with the shampoo Fungoral (active ingredient is Ketoconazole 2%) and I checked her body and apart from the fact that she is now a very fluffy girl fortunately there are no other signs of infection. :)
Here is a latest photo of the bald spot


and this is also a video


I also use water with chamomile in order to wash the spot twice per day. I stopped the ointment the vet prescribed as per your advice and I do not know if I should use any of the creams recommended in Guinea Lynx like Miconazole or Clotrimazole.
What do you think?
Thank you
Nikos
Click to expand...
Ah the poor little thing! She looks a bit sorry for herself there. I think you should ask the vet to give you treatment for both mites and fungus. Three ivermectin injections for mites two weeks apart, antifungal meds and painkillers too. Poor thing! Hope she feels better soon!
 
I agree on pain relief, as it does look sore, especially on the edge of the bald patch. Agree on oral fungal meds too but appreciate that may be easier said than done with your vet.
 
helen105281 said:
I would not put any creams round the eyes as it will irritate and make her scratch. When the Imaverol arrives you can apply it topically. In the meantime can you get hold of Povodine iodine? Mix 1ml with 50ml of water and apply gently with a cotton bud or make up brush.
Click to expand...

I used Betadine that has as an active ingredient Povodine iodine with a cotton bud and she did not liked it at all...
It was like she was in pain but the same happened when I applied water with chamomile before that. It appears that the spot becomes rather painful and probably is getting worst.
Now I gave her a piece of red bell pepper and she is eating it with pleasure!
Pure thing... :(
 
Oh bless her it must be sore. If you can speak to your vet about pain relief that would be good.
 
I decided to act fast with her treatment until Imaverol arrives, hopefully by the end of this week. I found another bald spot at the back of her neck and I did not want to "waste" any more time.
I went to the Pharmacy last night and I bought Daktarin with Miconazole and applied to her this morning.
I did some research in the forum and in other forums (including Greek ones) and this cream is used by many Vets with very good results.
She accepted it alright and left it on the bald spots without touching it. Also I gave her 0.2 ml of Nurofen for kids and she absolutely adored it! :)
This morning I saw some red spots on the infected area above her eye and I assumed that it could be from the Betadine I used last night.
Currently I am at work and I do not know how she is but I hope that she will be OK.
Tonight I will take a photo when I get back home and post it in the forum.
 
I can see why you wanted to act quickly and yes Miconazole can be effective, just keep an eye out for any irritation as creams can create a humid atmosphere which can make fungal worse. When the Imeverol arrives I can give you the ratios for applying it topically.

The red spots, do they look like a reaction or more like staining? as iodine can leave an orange tinge to the skin.

Glad she seems more comfortable and hope she is ok when you get home.
 
I appears that Daktarin is working and I can see that the bald spot is clearer today but at the same time it looks like she lost some more hair.
Here is today's photo


As Helen mentioned, the red spots were probably Betadine stains and now have disappeared.
She is quite happy, I weighted her today and she gained something like 25 grams from the day we discovered the fungus.
Unfortunately they have not posted the Imaverol yet and that means that I won't have it till next Monday... :(
 
That's good news it is working.

Are you saying it hasn't been posted because there has been no despatch email? if so, I think they will have posted it already as am sure I never get a despatch email from them.
 
Hello everyone!
Five days after I discovered the infection and it seems that it expands and is getting worst.
I currently use Daktarin and from today I started Nystamycin as per the advice given by the breeder where I got Fina, who has experience in Guinea Pigs.
I gave her 1 mg and I will repeat with the same dosage the day after tomorrow. Also, today I will give her again a bath with Fungoral.
I know that the obvious thing to was would be to take her again to a vet but unfortunately any vet I called in Athens has zero experience in guinea pigs...:(
It feels like a dead end here but we won't give up...
Today I got an email that Imeverol was shipped and probably I will have it by next Monday.
The problem is what I do until then...
Here is a photo taken this morning

She looks miserable but she isn't. In fact she is quite active and happy. A lot of pop-corning especially when she hears my younger son or the hay bag! :)
Any ideas?
 
gloec said:
Today is the day three since we discovered the bald spot and the infection.
I gave both my girls a bath with the shampoo Fungoral (active ingredient is Ketoconazole 2%) and I checked her body and apart from the fact that she is now a very fluffy girl fortunately there are no other signs of infection. :)
Here is a latest photo of the bald spot


and this is also a video


I also use water with chamomile in order to wash the spot twice per day. I stopped the ointment the vet prescribed as per your advice and I do not know if I should use any of the creams recommended in Guinea Lynx like Miconazole or Clotrimazole.
What do you think?
Thank you
Nikos
Click to expand...
Well done it looks very clean x
 
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