Odd Bald Patch Above Eye

[Melanie07]

Hello. I've recently discovered an odd bald spot above Oreo's eye.. At first I thought she had been in a tussle with one of the other pigs and had had some hair pulled out (it has happened very occasionally before, particularly when I reintroduced our male pig Pinky back into the cage post-neutering!). But it's still there and it looks a bit dandruffy? That's the only way I can explain it. The fur there is normally black.
She is perfectly happy though, running around, eating as normal and clambering out the cage for food.
I'm going to take her to the vets as soon as I can to see what it might be. Here are a couple of photos anyway (which took several attempts to take without being blurry!)

 

[Wiebke]

it looks typical for a fungal infection, whether it is ringworm (the most transmittable form) or not. Fungal is more common in warmer, humid weather. please be aware that labs test only for ringworm but not any other form. Good that you have booked her in. Fungal often starts with a scratch scab or a small bald crusty, flaky patch around the face/ear areas.

We recommend to ask your vet for either oral itrafungol or imaverol/enilconazole dip as this dip is the mildest, but most effective to use so close to a delicate organ.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/ringworm-hygiene-and-pictures.115402/

 

[zombieprincess]

Looks like fungal to me, if it is the patch will possibly get bigger and a little scabby. it can look really bad, but if one has it theothers might. Patches often come up on the shoulders, hip andalso the same dry, powdery ears. Hopefully your vet will diagnose it properly though.

 

[Melanie07]

Ok thank you both. Would you recommend I separate her from the other 3 immediately?

 

[Melanie07]

I have separated her from the other three just in case she seems fine by herself for now but I think Pinky might be missing her a bit!

 

[Mother Hubbard]

If it is fungal, then you will have to most likely treat them all, so best to make sure you notify your vet she lives with other piggies, so you get enough treatment for them all.

 

[Melanie07]

The vets appointment is at 5.10 so I'll find out soon and hopefully get it all sorted

 

[zombieprincess]

Yes it is worth treating them all if it is fungal, and keeping her with the rest. They don't always come out with symptoms at the same time. We recently had 9 piggies come up with it where i work. It was 2 mums and their 7 babies. One mum had a patch above her eye, 2 weeks later a baby was covered in patches. About 6 weeks post that, and after a course of intrafungol 4 more babies came up with it and took nearly a month to clear. These fungals really are annoying.

Good luck at the vets!

 

[helen105281]

I agree with the others that you will need to treat them all. She has been with them up to now anyway so separating won't really make a difference and if you are trying to quarantine it needs to be in a separate air space ideally.

Hope the vets appointment has gone ok.

 

[Melanie07]

So he reckons it's probably a fungal infection (small chance it's bacterial) but he says to treat it as if it's fungal for now. They're ordering in something to treat it with which I can collect tomorrow. Then in a couple of weeks he wants to check up on her but I have to keep an eye on the other 3 to see if they're showing symptoms...

He says it often occurs in hot, humid weather and when the pigs have been near wood that's perhaps a bit old.. and Oreo's favourite place to go is in her log cabin with her face rested on the window hole! So I've removed that from the cage as I expect that's the culprit!

I've also just ordered a load of F10 disinfectant solution and hand gel from Amazon!

 

[Melanie07]

An update!

So since last Friday I've been applying the cream to the fungal patch and over the last couple of days it looks like it's cleared and some hair may be re growing... I've put a couple of photos from tonight below. I hope they're clear enough. I can't see anything white on the skin now, it just looks like a bald spot.

The other three are all fine and I've been using F10 hand gel, gloves and I've been spraying F10 solution on everything she's been near!

 

[Wiebke]

Best of luck!it looks good!

I would recommend that you give all piggies a bath now and then again one in two weeks to make sure that they don't carry any spores on via their fur coat.

I was once caught out that way by a not affected guinea pig in contact with ringworm piggies that unfortunately infected others of mine. this is one of the cases where a fungal bath ot dip makes sense.

 

[Melanie07]

Thanks @Wiebke ! I plan to give them a bath this weekend. Should I use a specific anti-fungal shampoo?

The fur is growing back quite quickly on Oreo now so I think she's all fine now! I was also wondering, how long should I wait before putting her back with the others? None of them have shown any signs of catching it and it's been over 2 weeks since I spotted it on Oreo. I've been cleaning the cages/bowls etc with F10.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks @Wiebke ! I plan to give them a bath this weekend. Should I use a specific anti-fungal shampoo?

The fur is growing back quite quickly on Oreo now so I think she's all fine now! I was also wondering, how long should I wait before putting her back with the others? None of them have shown any signs of catching it and it's been over 2 weeks since I spotted it on Oreo. I've been cleaning the cages/bowls etc with F10.

if you have got an anti-fungal shampoo, you can use that. Otherwise, any shampoo will do at the end of the treatment/observation period; you are doing this to remove any spores that could still be caught in the fur.

 

[Melanie07]

Great ok thanks!
Once I've given them all a bath (which is gonna go down like a lead balloon!), can Oreo go back with the other 3 or shall I wait a couple more days afterwards?

 

[Wiebke]

Great ok thanks!
Once I've given them all a bath (which is gonna go down like a lead balloon!), can Oreo go back with the other 3 or shall I wait a couple more days afterwards?

If it was ringworm, I prefer a two week's safety wait to make sure that it doesn't come back, but as it is somewhat questionable whether you have been dealing with that, it is at your discretion.

 

[Melanie07]

If it was ringworm, I prefer a two week's safety wait to make sure that it doesn't come back, but as it is somewhat questionable whether you have been dealing with that, it is at your discretion.

Ok doke. It cleared up pretty quickly, was very localised, and hasn't spread to other pigs or humans (thank goodness!). I'll give them a bath and then keep a watchful eye on them all and hope nothing more appears! Thanks again!