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Mites/fungal infection/irregular heartbeat

Winniepeg

Adult Guinea Pig
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Hi folks. I took my boy Frankie to the vets on Friday after noticing a small bald patch. The vet has said that it could be mites or a fungal infection. All my boys have now been treated for mites and I am being meticulously clean. While being examined the vet said that Frankie has an irregular heartbeat and to monitor him. Subsequently I have three questions and would be grateful for advice/comments

Should I chuck out all the hay I have been using?

I haven’t been prescribed anything for a fungal infection as the vet wants to treat for mites in the first instance. Should I go back for fungal cream?

Has anyone any experience with a piggie with irregular heartbeat ? I am so worried that I am going to lose my boy .

Many thanks for any support you can give?
 
Hi, great you already took your piggy to the vet, treatment for mites is usually with 3 doses of topical medication applied to the back of the neck given 2 weeks apart, did your vet give you or book you in for extra doses? And did they actually take hair and skin samples to look at under the microscope and give a definite diagnosis of mites? Did they say if this is fur/hay mites or the more serious mange mites?
Its a good idea to hot wash any fleeces, give your cage a deep clean with F10 disinfectant, throw away any hay and cardboard houses, treat with F10 or throw away any wooden houses, as basic good blitz clean cage hygiene for anything like this.
If there may be a fungal infection then antifungal cream rarely is effective, you would ideally be getting an oral antifungal treatment and/or a treatment like miconizole spray to treat the whole fur to kill any spores.
Hope someone else can advise about the heart condition, healing wheeks for your piggy x
 
:agr: With everything @PigglePuggle has said above about mites and fungal and cage cleaning etc.

I’ve had piggies in the past with odd heartbeats, but they only needed medication when they were failing to thrive (losing weight despite looking otherwise healthy - eating, drinking etc) or when they got chesty due to fluid build up. If the vet doesn’t think the heart is an issue, then I think that’s a good thing. Just keeping a watching brief and remaining vigilant to changes is good.
Hope you see some improvement soon.
 
Thank you. I have enough dosage as you describe above. No skin sample was taken at the time. The bald patch is very small and the vet said if more patches occur they will do a skin test. I am checking all four over regularly but they are all very fluffy . It is possible the patch may be a result of a bit of scuffling between the two boys. Fingers crossed
 
:agr: With everything @PigglePuggle has said above about mites and fungal and cage cleaning etc.

I’ve had piggies in the past with odd heartbeats, but they only needed medication when they were failing to thrive (losing weight despite looking otherwise healthy - eating, drinking etc) or when they got chesty due to fluid build up. If the vet doesn’t think the heart is an issue, then I think that’s a good thing. Just keeping a watching brief and remaining vigilant to changes is good.
Hope you see some improvement soon.
Thank you. Poor Frankie has had such a sad start to life. All my boys are precious but he is that little bit extra special.
 
Hi, great you already took your piggy to the vet, treatment for mites is usually with 3 doses of topical medication applied to the back of the neck given 2 weeks apart, did your vet give you or book you in for extra doses? And did they actually take hair and skin samples to look at under the microscope and give a definite diagnosis of mites? Did they say if this is fur/hay mites or the more serious mange mites?
Its a good idea to hot wash any fleeces, give your cage a deep clean with F10 disinfectant, throw away any hay and cardboard houses, treat with F10 or throw away any wooden houses, as basic good blitz clean cage hygiene for anything like this.
If there may be a fungal infection then antifungal cream rarely is effective, you would ideally be getting an oral antifungal treatment and/or a treatment like miconizole spray to treat the whole fur to kill any spores.
Hope someone else can advise about the heart condition, healing wheeks for your piggy x
Hi, great you already took your piggy to the vet, treatment for mites is usually with 3 doses of topical medication applied to the back of the neck given 2 weeks apart, did your vet give you or book you in for extra doses? And did they actually take hair and skin samples to look at under the microscope and give a definite diagnosis of mites? Did they say if this is fur/hay mites or the more serious mange mites?
Its a good idea to hot wash any fleeces, give your cage a deep clean with F10 disinfectant, throw away any hay and cardboard houses, treat with F10 or throw away any wooden houses, as basic good blitz clean cage hygiene for anything like this.
If there may be a fungal infection then antifungal cream rarely is effective, you would ideally be getting an oral antifungal treatment and/or a treatment like miconizole spray to treat the whole fur to kill any spores.
Hope someone else can advise about the heart condition, healing wheeks for your piggy x
Hi, great you already took your piggy to the vet, treatment for mites is usually with 3 doses of topical medication applied to the back of the neck given 2 weeks apart, did your vet give you or book you in for extra doses? And did they actually take hair and skin samples to look at under the microscope and give a definite diagnosis of mites? Did they say if this is fur/hay mites or the more serious mange mites?
Its a good idea to hot wash any fleeces, give your cage a deep clean with F10 disinfectant, throw away any hay and cardboard houses, treat with F10 or throw away any wooden houses, as basic good blitz clean cage hygiene for anything like this.
If there may be a fungal infection then antifungal cream rarely is effective, you would ideally be getting an oral antifungal treatment and/or a treatment like miconizole spray to treat the whole fur to kill any spores.
Hope someone else can advise about the heart condition, healing wheeks for your piggy x
Many thanks. I have looked on amazon and there are several f10 products. Is it the vet spray one? I know it may seem a bit obvious but I just want to double check. 🥴
 
Thank you for sending me the link. It’s kind of you to take the time. Much appreciated.

You’re welcome. There are different types of F10 so it’s easier to give a link than to try to describe it. But it’s the best cleaner and disinfectant by far you can get because it kills fungal spores.
 
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