Hi please can anyone identify this on my poor guy? It seems like a scab except it is white and quite thick off the skin. I am travelling tomorrow I may be able to rush him to the vet but I’m so worried 
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Please help! Thick white looking scab found on guinea pig nose.
- Thread starter Rayz21
- Start date
D
DMS260820
Could be fungal, a trip to a good guinea pig vet would be the first thing to do, dont leave it
I will be taking him to the vet first thing tomorrow (actually today now it’s midnight!) on my guinea pig Facebook group people are suspecting nearly ringworm.Could be fungal, a trip to a good guinea pig vet would be the first thing to do, dont leave it
Hi please can anyone identify this on my poor guy? It seems like a scab except it is white and quite thick off the skin. I am travelling tomorrow I may be able to rush him to the vet but I’m so worried
Hi!
It looks like it could be the beginning of a fungal skin infection, possibly ringworm. If that is the case, please follow our hygiene tips as it is by far the most transmittable issue you will come across - it can also affect humans and other pets, so please wash your hands well and invest in a vet grade anti-fungal and not just normal antibacterial disinfectant (recommendations in the ringworm guide.
The good news is that while our advice may seem over the top, it actually works to help you get over the problem once and for all. In the dozen years we have been going, we have just about found all the ways you can transmit ringworm spores and reinfect; but we have also figured out how to deal with all angles.
A year ago I have managed to keep a ringworm outbreak in a room of 30 piggies confined to the one infected piggy and the one infected spot, even if it meant I had to take all cages apart, deep clean them including nearly 100 grid and well over 100 connectors as well as any hideys; deep clean the whole room and wash all the bedding at a high temperature. I did quarantine the affected piggy with his companion in another room (with a wipeable floor) before I did the deep clean. But it did the trick!
It is going to be a real nuisance, but it will hopefully not get any worse than that, especially as you have just caught it right at the very start. Please don't panic; it is doable.
Please also brace yourself that an infected patch has to run its full course, which means it will get quite a lot bigger before it heals off. The ringworm guide has got pictures of how the different stages look. Ideally you should be over the acute phase in a week's time if you step in promptly.
Please take the time to read these two guides. You should find them very helpful.
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)
Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
First Aid Kit For Guinea Pigs
Thank you very much. I have done the reading and I will be bringing all my guinea pigs in. I just got a new one and it was quarantined for 2.5 weeks before I began introducing to make sure no sickness popped up. We did a couple of meet and greets they have probably been together for about 10 mins total. I feel fairly confident that this is where it has come from since they live on fleece not bedding. Yet the new one doesn’t seem to have anything at all and seems in perfect health. Would you recommend having the vet see the new one as well? Thank you for putting my mind at ease though it will break my heart to be travelling whilst he is going through this. He is going to stay at a Piggy resort so I’m sure they will take good care of him and will update me. I only just noticed it tonight. I read online that cage mates can stay together but how is this possible if it is so contagious? Should I assume the cage mate has it. How would I did the topical treatment if I don’t see anything on him? Thank you so muchHi!
It looks like it could be the beginning of a fungal skin infection, possibly ringworm. If that is the case, please follow our hygiene tips as it is by far the most transmittable issue you will come across - it can also affect humans and other pets, so please wash your hands well and invest in a vet grade anti-fungal and not just normal antibacterial disinfectant (recommendations in the ringworm guide.
The good news is that while our advice may seem over the top, it actually works to help you get over the problem once and for all. In the dozen years we have been going, we have just about found all the ways you can transmit ringworm spores and reinfect; but we have also figured out how to deal with all angles.
A year ago I have managed to keep a ringworm outbreak in a room of 30 piggies confined to the one infected piggy and the one infected spot, even if it meant I had to take all cages apart, deep clean them including nearly 100 grid and well over 100 connectors as well as any hideys; deep clean the whole room and wash all the bedding at a high temperature. I did quarantine the affected piggy with his companion in another room (with a wipeable floor) before I did the deep clean. But it did the trick!
It is going to be a real nuisance, but it will hopefully not get any worse than that, especially as you have just caught it right at the very start. Please don't panic; it is doable.
Please also brace yourself that an infected patch has to run its full course, which means it will get quite a lot bigger before it heals off. The ringworm guide has got pictures of how the different stages look. Ideally you should be over the acute phase in a week's time if you step in promptly.
Please take the time to read these two guides. You should find them very helpful.
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)
Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
First Aid Kit For Guinea Pigs
D
Deleted member 131797
Please do make sure that you inform the piggie resort if indeed it is ringworm so that they can take precautions. Remember this is transferable to humans too, and presumably a resort has quite a few animals around so you must inform them as ringworm spreads easily.
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Let us know what vet says. Looks fungal as others have said. Sending healing vibes
I spent a lot of time thinking about this and watching LAGPR videos. As he is going to the GP care place later today and I will probably be giving him a bath would it be sensible to skip the vet today? I would give him antifungal bath and cream and provide the resort with the cream and he would have another bath when I was back in a week. If healing isn’t occurring I would take him in at first. I’m concerned about all this action for him today as he is quite old already. He enjoys the simple things just hanging out on a pile of hay and doesn’t love human interaction. Is this a bad idea because it could spread or get worse? I’m just concerned about 3 traumatising expierences for one day.
I will do of course. Does it mean he won’t be able to be with his cagemate during the time? I don’t want him to have to be alone but don’t want suffering for the other dude either. They are always together.
D
Deleted member 131797
If it is fungal, fungus is a spore which can transfer by air etc. So your other piggy may already have it, but sometimes it won’t flare up until there is a time of stress or the like. I’d keep them together (but there are other, more experienced people on this forum who may advise otherwise - but that’s what I would do, and I’d keep an eye on the other pig and treat if needed).
On your other post: some fungal infections respond well to antifungal baths etc but ringworm is a category of its own and won’t react to over the counter meds and the longer your pig has it, the more it will infect (curtains, carpets, cage, your clothes etc) so I’d still go to the vet.
I was planning on giving everyone a bath. Are your re ringworm not responding to antifungal s? I did research and everyone seems to be stressing it can be treated at home via a bath and medicated cream. I of course want him to feel better but I am concerned about overstressing his old man system!
Lady Kelly
Senior Guinea Pig
There is no need to separate cagemates as they have already been exposed to the spores so it would be unnecessary stress for them. I also would not delay a vets visit in order to home treat with over the counter medications. The reason for this is firstly the fungal infection, whilst likely, hasn't been diagnosed and secondly, if seeing a vet at a later date you can make diagnosis much harder due to "scrubbing the scene of the crime"
Lady Kelly
Senior Guinea Pig
Also please notify the piggy resort in advance of this condition. Some boarders etc will not be able to take in sick animals especially for contagious conditions and if they are going to refuse them then you need to know sooner than the day you plan to travel
Hi!
Once you have a proper diagnosis (at the moment, we are all only guessing, remember!), then you can take further steps.
Please be aware that spores can come in the coat of an unaffected guinea pig in contact with ringworm piggies. I had ringworm carried into my house twice this way. Ringworm spores can also be carried in by you on the soles of your shoes or they can be blown in by the wind. All it takes is one invisible single spore somewhere and often a little bit extra stress! Just concentrate on getting on with it and limiting the spread as much as possible.
If you have a larger group, then please separate the affected piggy and if necessary its best friend for treatment and quarantine away from the group. Give the group a fungal bath to a) wash out any spores sitting in their coats and b) preventing them from coming down with ringworm. if you catch the problem in the 10-14 days in between contact/possible infection and outbreak, you can nip it in the bud that way. You do the bath ideally at the same time as the deep clean, so they can all start again spore free in ringworm-free surroundings. That should take care of any larger set-up.
You can then concentrate on treating the acutely infected piggy; make sure that you give its own bath once the acute phase is over and there are no new scabby crusts forming/more hair loss; again, you do this in combination with a deep clean of the quarantining cage so no spores can be carried across. Keep your piggy in the clean quarantining cage for another 2 weeks observation to make sure that the ringworm is gone for good. Any companion requires either a few days of oral treatment or a bath at the start and then again another bath at the start of the post-treatment observation to prevent an outbreak and carrying anything across.
I find that that a separated ringworm piggy is generally coping better with a friend, as it is a lot less stressful. If you have a pair or small group of 3-4 piggies, it is your choice how you want to deal with the problem.
I have done the treating of my all then 16 piggies back in 2011/12 with three anti-fungal dips each spaced 3 days apart. The logistics with all the towels on top of washing all the bedding at higher temperatures every three days were a nightmare; that was just around the time the time oral treatment started to be used. My Ceri was the first to trial it for my vet as the dips didn't do the full job with her due to an irregular heartbeat. After a week on oral itrafungol she was clear. Give me itrafungol anytime!
PS: I have kept the ringworm fleeces and cosies for my hospital cage, which come out of the attic every time I have a new outbreak (it happens every few years) and then go back again into the attic after a 90 C/ 200 F wash at the end of the post-treatment quarantine. I also use a cheap larger fleece bedspread blanket or two at the back and sides of the ringworm hospital cage to prevent spores from escaping as much as possible; again a hot wash will kill any spores in the blanket.
Oral prescription-only treatment is the most effective and the least stressful way of treating, but the medication is not quite cheap and you will have to sign a form since it is not licensed for guinea pigs yet; however experiences in the last decade have been good and it is used increasingly widely. Personally it is worth its weight in gold for me together with a good disinfectant!
Please do not overlook that you are a transmission vector yourself. Always deal with your unaffected piggies first and make sure that you wash/shampoo your clothes and yourself regularly, too.