Not having a lot of luck with my pigs recently...

[Wiiiiieek!]

Hello again all...

Here is the 3rd installment of my "oh no..." posts as I'm going to call them. 1st a few days ago was the post about two of my boys fighting, 2nd a couple of days ago was the post about finding out one of my sows is pregnant and now...

FUNGAL INFECTION OR MANGE?

I adopted Rasher, my Teddy boar as his last owner didn't want him anymore. He's the orange and white boar (for those who've seen the pics). When I got him, he had a brown spot of fur on his bum, which I assumed was his grease gland. I asked the woman and she said yes, that's what it is - it's been like that since she's had him and it's never caused him any trouble and that he's just a big boar.

ok... well, I've had him since 10th February 2011 and today, I had my hand under his bum, as you do when you hold them, and when I took my hand away, there was a small "tuft"? of fur left behind with what looked like a greasy grey build-up at the roots. I thought it might be his grease-glad which looked the same as the day I got him.

I looked a little further up his back and there was more of it and I also discovered that his grease gland was caked in... whatever it gets caked in! I touched the hair and it came off in clumps as easy as anything... fungal? I read a few threads on here, some of the pics looked exactly like what I am describing. The thread "davids got fungal, ta mum!!!" by Zarapiggie has the most relevant pics to what I am describing. I took some pics myself but my phone doesn't zoom at all!

You can't see the full extent in these pics at all... you can see how far it had spread in the after-bath pics below these ones.

I am so angry with her! Who knows how long he's had this as "he's had it since she'd had him"! I have given him a bath with shampoo (I don't have anything to kill the fungus, if that's what it is) and made sure I got all of it off... with most of the hair on his bottom but it does look a lot better now and I managed to gently uncake his grease-gland. I may have to knit him some pants to keep warm lol!

I had hoped to take Wiiiiieek in to be assessed for his neutering after the bank holiday when they re-open but I'll take Rasher in instead now to see exactly whats going on and get some treatment... Sorry the pics aren't very good but as I said, they were taken on my phone. Any ideas?

Cheers guys

 

[Wiebke]

It would be best to get a diagnosis from the vets. Sometimes, the distinction is not as easy and straightforward as you would like!

If the whole hair comes off with bits of skin attached, that is rather fungal; with mites you tend to get broken hair.

I am currently having fungal problems with Nerys; she started them after a full course of mites treatment due to the massive upheavals the Tribe has had this spring with first Llewelyn's illness and death and then the Hywel drama.

Best of luck for this poor guy!

 

[zarapiggie]

aww ive been the same

defo looks like fungal! My david has it ive washed him in nyzerol (left in for 10 min) then washed off then rewashed in gg 4oil. wash again after 3 days.ive also been gving him daktarin oral thrush gel for babies once a day to kill any spores hes digesting through grooming. checked him today and he is completly clear.Hope that helps.

 

[Pebble]

Just a thought.......

I have some greasy boars (and in the past, some greasy sows) . The grease galnd is the focal point ....but they also tend to get matted/black encrusted hair moving from the grease gland to their rump if they are "over-productive".

The affected area has been tested by the vet and isn;t fungal (or bacterial). However it is an issue (and could encourage fly strike) and I therefore found that adopting a regular bathing routine with a good detergent-based shampoo to break up the grease (plus what you have done in terms of picking it off with your fingernails) is the best course of action....(once every 1-2 months)

It's not curable (although I have found that neutering a boar cuts down on this problem) - and it IS normal - you just need to adopt extra "grooming and maintenance" procedures

For info: I firstly use a small quantity of either Swarfega (gentle orange handwash) or Stardrops (best grease dissolver for general cleaning I have ever found and only 99p a bottle) followed by a second shampoo with Johnsons baby shampoo.

Therefore - before you self-diagnose that this is a fungal condition, please go and see a vet and get it properly tested. Anti-fungal treatments can take their toll on a piggie's health and are best avoided if at all possible.


HTH
x

 

[Doeylicious]

I have some greasy boars (and in the past, some greasy sows) . The grease galnd is the focal point ....but they also tend to get matted/black encrusted hair moving from the grease gland to their rump if they are "over-productive".

On this note, I have looked after several boars over the past year, three of my own and five that board.

My three, all neutered, you never find a thing there. Dodge's used to be quite mingy before he was done, but having him done has helped a lot which for me was a huge bonus as he is a coronet, i.e. has a 'tail' that used to get quite yukky (I'm a mean mum though, I cut it off!)

The one that lives alone that boards you would think is a girl, his grease gland build up is non-existant!

Two of the boys that live together are very similar, slightly more greasy, but they are both very laid back

Now the last two...when they arrived, three days later one was in the bath. What a build up, it was black and not nice. These two boys scrap a LOT, one has a badly torn ear, and the other spent his whole time here wiggling at my girls even though they were nowhere near him! I advised their owners yesterday when they picked them up to PLEASE keep this clean, as it can lead to all manner of issues, and if there is less of a build up it may calm them down. I personally used Waitrose sensitive washing up liquid as I have reactions to some others, but have told them to go and buy some Swarfega.

I think a manky grease gland can cause a lot of issues tbh.