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Mystery Mites And Funny Hair Loss On Foot.....

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Tewdric

Tewdric

Teenage Guinea Pig
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My boys have been into the vets this evening.

Yesterday I noticed that one of Telford's back feet has lost it's hair. No obvious flakes of skin - to be honest it looks smooth. No obvious scratching etc. He's fine in himself and charging around like a lunatic. I've never had to deal with even a potentially possible fungal before, and having seen nothing like it before whipped the pair of them in to see the vet after work today.

Upon examination my boys have continued to be a bit special and have presented with unidentifiable mites of some description and Telford's foot.

The vet's first reaction was 'that's very odd'! She put a couple of hairs from Telford's rump under one of their microscopes and came back into the consulting room saying she'd never seen anything like it on a pig before. I was given the chance to go and have a look and saw the little brown things and eggs on his hair. He'd shown no signs of itching or scratching and his coat is nice and glossy. No obvious hair loss apart from his one back foot.

It turns out little Brunel also has the same mites. Again no obvious itching from him, and if anything his coat is even glossier and softer than Telfords...

So some samples were taken from Telford to try and establish what's going on with his foot and whether it is fungal. I should apparently get the results in about 10 days. In the meantime I've been sent away with some Surolan to put on Telford's foot, which I was informed was anti fungal and anti bacterial so hopefully that'll start improving soon.

I'd dosed both boys with some 'spot on' mite treatment when I noticed Telford's foot on Wednesday evening as a back up. I've also been given some Seleen Shampoo for both of them (they weren't very impressed with their first bath) which will hopefully shift the mysterious mites.

I've got some F10 on order to disinfect their hutch; it'll arrive tomorrow and then I can start again with fresh bedding and boxes etc. as a precaution until we find out if the foot thing is fungal.

So, have I covered everything I possibly can given the information I have at present?

Would love to know where it has all come from. Their hay if fresh meadow hay and any grass I've been picking for them has come from fields without livestock in.
 
I think you have everything covered. The only addition I would make is Imaverol dips if it does turn out to be fungal. The test they are doing though would only prove positive for Ringworm as other types tend not to culture.

I have only heard of one bald foot before and that was suspected Cushings I think.

Any shampoo that you use you need to patch test behind the ear for 48 hours first, same with Imaverol.
 
Thanks Helen.

I'll admit to not spot testing the shampoo - I didn't think and just trusted that as the vet had prescribed it, it should be fine. The boys were both chomping away happily as darkness fell, so hopefully we're past the time when if they were going to react to it they would have shown a reaction - does that make sense. Will remember to spot test in future!

What is Cushings? What problems does potentially cause a pig?
 
What the vet saw were hay lice/mites I'm surprised a vet didn't know what they are! Spot on won't treat these, you shouldn't shampoo for 48 hours after using spot on anyway. Never heard of Seleen but I use Flea or Die or Gorgeous guineas Lice n Easy or I think Helen has had success with a human headlice shampoo which I am sure she can name. Please get rid of any hay you have & get new hay & thoroughly clean their hutch/cage & wash hideys etc in hot soapy water to get rid of eggs.
 
I do use Lyclear Creme rinse and I had typed it all out then deleted it as you had Seleen but I recommend it. Apparently though the only way to get rid of them sometimes is to clip off the infected hair. My comment on patch testing was more for the Imaverol as you had already shampoo'd.

Cushings is this:

http://www.guineapig-info.co.uk/cushingsdisease.html

I think in the pig I mentioned it ewas never officially diagnosed and they later passed away from an unrelated illness.

I have had hamsters with Cushings though.

I would think it is more likely to be skin related.
 
Poppy'sMum said:
What the vet saw were hay lice/mites I'm surprised a vet didn't know what they are!Please get rid of any hay you have & get new hay & thoroughly clean their hutch/cage & wash hideys etc in hot soapy water to get rid of eggs.
Click to expand...

I'd hope a vet with the amount of experience the one I saw last night has would recognise hay mites - but I suppose if she was looking for something else it may not have crossed her mind.
I've removed all their hay from storage and will take it down to the tip tomorrow. Hutch disinfecting will happen with the F10 when I get home later and I'll buy a fresh bale of hay on the way home from work. I'm guessing it was just random luck that meant that the mites were potentially in the last lot.

helen105281 said:
I do use Lyclear Creme rinse and I had typed it all out then deleted it as you had Seleen but I recommend it. Apparently though the only way to get rid of them sometimes is to clip off the infected hair. My comment on patch testing was more for the Imaverol as you had already shampoo'd.


I would think it is more likely to be skin related.
Click to expand...

If it comes to it - would it mean getting my husband's hair clippers out for the boys on a number 1 cut?
 
Yes it would am afraid. I am useless with clippers, though have only ever had to clip Mrs Fuzzy who insists on popcorning while being clipped which is not very helpful.
 
Oh heck, I really hope it doesn't come to that. Hope the Seleen works.

Have F10'd the hutch tonight as per strength directions on the bottle. Binned all the cardboard boxes, stashed their hay tunnel things in plastic wrap in the spare container well away from anything that goes into their hutch just in case the foot turns out not to fungal....

I assume I'm right in treating the F10 like human disinfectant, in that I need to rinse anything they chew on or eat/drink from, but not rinse the hutch out?

Thanks for all the advice. My last two sets of boys have been very easy and never had anything wrong with them until dental issues hit them in old age. This is all completely new to me.

Feel bad for them as I'm always so careful with hygiene hutch, run and food wise.
 
If you need to get some more anti fungal disinfectant, I can recommend Anigene. I bought both F10 and Anigene recently to deal with a fungal outbreak. They both are effective, I don't mind the smell of the F10 at all (I have also got the F10 handgel to use myself after handling fugal piggies) but the Anigene one is lavender scented which I think is even nicer and as bonus the Anigene is cheaper than F10. I did wonder if it was less concentrated or you had to use more Anigene than you would F10 in a dilution as the Anigene comes in a larger quantity but that doesn't seem to be the case.
 
An update and follow up query to this one.

No results back from the vet yet.

Telford is re-growing hair on his once bald foot. The bald patch didn’t spread anywhere, and Brunel hasn’t developed any bald patches.

Do you think I’d be right in guessing that it wasn’t a fungal problem due to the speed of the hair re-growth and the fact is hasn’t spread anywhere else? I phoned the vets last night and they hadn’t had the tests back from the lab. The sample was taken two weeks ago.
If as I now suspect the bald foot wasn’t fungal related, would I be ok to give the boys back their willow and hay tunnels that I’ve had in quarantine in a sealed bag in the second storage bin that doesn’t contain any pig supplies, or should I still throw them out? I got rid of all their old boxes, and the bale of hay I was using at the time, but couldn’t bring myself to throw their toys out just in case it wasn’t fungal…. So I quarantined them instead. Should I use them again, or should I be cautious?

I won’t know if I’ve also shifted the mites until the vet calls me back in with the boys for the results of the fungal test….. Their coats are very glossy after all their baths – but then they were before they started the treatment!
 
I would be hesitant as the result would only likely show positive for Ringworm if anything as the other types of fungal don't show up on a standard culture so does not necessarily mean it wasn't fungal. I would throw them out and start again just to be safe.
 
Just had a phone call from the vet. He's tested positive for ringworm. :( Out go the hay tunnels! I'll leave them sealed up and take them down to the tip tomorrow.

The vet seemed to think that I had everything in hand after following the advice here. As the ringworm hasn't spread anywhere else on Telford and Brunel is showing no signs of developing anything it's been suggested that I carry on with the Surolan. His foot is re-growing hair, and the bald spot never spread up his leg or onto any other part of him. If there is even the slightest hint of it spreading then I'll be provided with a dip treatment.

So far so good though.

Can pigs catch it twice? Or if they're cured once will their immune system protect them if they should happen across the spores again?
 
Thanks. Have read the guides and have been following them the best I can with a large wooden hutch and an unavoidable trip to Cornwall. Hubby continued to medicate the boys whilst I was away but couldn't deep clean and disinfect the hutch every day. I didn't want to move the boys to either of my usual boarding possibilities in case it was fungal and I spread the infection any further.

I think I/we may be winning as the bald patch is showing no signs of spreading anywhere. There is hair re-growing on the infected foot. My younger boy isn't showing any signs of infection. Shall continue to monitor very, very closely.

Dip ordered from the link - thanks for the info. It would be better done now rather than when it gets any colder as my boys have to live outside in a well insulated hutch due to my husband's severe asthma and allergies.
 
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Yes, I would do now, (you will need to patch test for 48 hours behind the ear first though) and put loads of hay in the hutch after to keep them warm.
 
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