learned something new from vet

[sharonS]

Hi all, been to the vets with my herd today, we have been having a problem with mites. To be doubly sure we were not dealing with a fungal outbreak the vet used an ultra violet light on the areas that looked scaly, he said that if it was fungal it would show up whiter in his light. I hadn't seen this done before, but was impressed, better than them going through a skin scraping. Has anyone else heard of this before?

 

[claremw92]

Hi all, been to the vets with my herd today, we have been having a problem with mites. To be doubly sure we were not dealing with a fungal outbreak the vet used an ultra violet light on the areas that looked scaly, he said that if it was fungal it would show up whiter in his light. I hadn't seen this done before, but was impressed, better than them going through a skin scraping. Has anyone else heard of this before?

yeh.... when nuzzle had mites my vet did it...
i looked at her like a crazy lady...!
haha...
x

 

[Wiebke]

Sadly, it is not always as conclusive as you might wish and it doesn;t necessarily replace a skin scrape. I have come across people who'd got the wrong diagnosis and had problems because of that.

 

[Pebble]

Sadly, it is not always as conclusive as you might wish and it doesn;t necessarily replace a skin scrape. I have come across people who'd got the wrong diagnosis and had problems because of that.

It is now relatively well known amongst cavy savvy vets that UV ("Woods Light") is not the best way to diagnose ringworm as it is "old" and unreliable technology. and often only detects 50% of ringworm cases..so a skin scrape is best but is obviously more costly as samples have to be sent off to a lab

Be cautious of the vet who thinks UV diagnosis for ringworm is "new" and "conclusive"....it means that whilst they may have the best of intentions, their understanding of guinea pigs/ringowrm diagnosis is clearly limited and outdated.


x

 

[sharonS]

I am 99.9% sure that mites are what we are treating here, I was in the same boat about a month ago. Unfortunetly I had a sow from someone who unbeknown to me had mites, the vet treated her and she made a good recovery, the lesions healed up and her coat grew back, but I don't think we completely got rid of them so we are now on our second lot doses of ivermec, hoping this time to completely clear them. Finger crossed.:{

 

[Abi_nurse]

Its called a woods lamp. Not used all that often these days. I would agree in saying that skin scrapes show the best results. Still helpful with diagnoses tho.

x.

 

[Mother Hubbard]

Blimey, you gened up gals put me to shame with your knowledge, thank goodness I come here often. xx>>>

 

[ellie_jo3213]

aahh wood's lamp. Another problem is that it takes 15-20 mins to warm up before you can use it for a diagnosis. but most consults are 10mins long, so normally hasn't had long enough to warm up before it will show up a positive result. Therefore giving a false negative result.
Skin scrapes are better.

 

[sharonS]

This is something I hadn't heard of before, all the vets I have used before this one, didn't seem to have a clue when it come to diagnosis. I have faith in this vet, he seems very confident. Only time will tell I suppose. We are not very fortunate in our area to get a vet that knows anything about guineas, I am hoping I have dropped lucky with this one.