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Itchy Scaby Skin- Help!

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Piggy mum

Piggy mum

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Hi

My pig porky has been living indoors in a new cage since february. He's been treated for mites as have his cage mates and itching etc stopped. It then started again and I took him back to the vet as I noticed some bald patches and scans from scratching on his rump- the vet said she thinks it's fungal as he's been treated for mites already. So she gave me some shampoo and for a few days his skin started to look better with no new scabs. However, today I noticed a lot of new scabs! I've been using the shampoo for a week. I'm just so frustrated and I'm so concerned for him as he's so unhappy. His cage mate has been bullying him recently as well and concerned this is making him worse. Any suggestions please? The vet said next step is allergy testing...
 
Hello, sorry you are going through this. It is horrid to watch them itch.

What treatment did he have for mites? I always suspect mites on back. Are there any white patches, flakey skin?

Shampoo for fungal is often hit and miss Imaverol is a much more successful treatment Imaverol 100ml - Animed Direct Well worth speaking to your vet about.

Can they send a sample away for culturing to make sure it is fungal?
 
He had xeno 450, and worked very well at the time but two weeks later scratching and scabs again! There is a couple of white crusty patches on his back, the itching it worse today than ever! I gave him another xeno today just to make sure.. he was treated with 3 doses so thought it would've cleared up!
Thanks for the advice
 
Sorry you are going through this.
We had a similar issue with one of our pigs a while back.
We treated with Xeno first, and the itching cleared up, but came back within weeks, with small scabs too.
It turned out that Eddi had fungal, and we treated this with a cream which we applied twice a day directly to his skin. The vet clipped the fur in the worst affected areas (his bottom) so it was easier to rub the cream in.
After 2 weeks using the cream twice daily all of itching stopped and no skin issues since.
 
Thanks!- I might mention this cream when I go to the vets, do you remember what it was called?
 
The very best treatment for fungal infection is oral treatment (intrafungol or sporanox). Both work well. Your vet can prescribe either.
However as an interim measure while waiting to see the vet you could use a bit of canesten fungal cream on the affected area. Poor little soul. It looks and feels so itchy and sore for them. But with the right treatment it will clear quickly.
If it is fungal you will need to deep clean the cage and all houses with F10 cleaning solution. Soak all wooden structures in it. Hot wash (60 or higher) all bedding. Throw away anything you cant soak or hit wash as you need to kill the fungal spores. A deep clean is the only guaranteed way to kill all spores.
 
Thanks for all your help! Been to the vet this morning and I mentioned itrafungol and she rejected the idea and said shampoo was enough :no: kind of disappointed but she gave me some Baytril to put in his water and I've separated him from the others.. cleaned all the house etc with f10, I just wish she would have given me the oral treatment
 
Hi piggy mum, did you do both treatments. Shampoo can't be enough if he's still scratching & has scabs. You can get the canistin over the counter I would try that it's not going to do any harm. I would be inclined to get a second opinion rather than let the poor thing suffer.
 
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@Piggy mum I agree with getting a second opinion. Suggesting that you put Baytril in their water indicates that the vet isn't specialised in pigs.

You might as well just pour it down the sink as:
A) Pigs HATE Baytril so adding it to the water will stop them drinking as they'll taste it
B) You can't monitor the dose they are getting which is necessary for antibiotics.
 
I wasn't keen on the idea with the water either, and when I said he doesn't drink much anyway so won't get the antibiotics she said to put squash in it! The vet I saw for his skin last time was a lot better. It she wasn't there yesterday. Think I should try a different surgery- do you have to be registered somewhere to use a surgery?
 
No, you can use any vet. On weekends it's harder as you can only use the emergency vet for the area, and for me that it a different surgery to my usual one.

But during normal hours you can use any surgery. You'll need to register with them at your first appointment and give them the name of your previous vet so they can have your pigs notes transferred across.

I've swapped vets a few times.
 
I've got an appointment Monday with a small animal dermatology specialist after some googling and researching- fingers crossed my boy will have the itchy skin cleared very soon!
 
Piggy mum said:
I've got an appointment Monday with a small animal dermatology specialist after some googling and researching- fingers crossed my boy will have the itchy skin cleared very soon!
Click to expand...

That's good news that you've found a dermatology specialist. Hope Monday brings some answers and some much needed relief for your boy.
 
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