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Rash on the belly

jhgeak

jhgeak

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone, new member here and fairly new guinea pig owner. I have two boars, which I adopted in February and in April respectively.
Caramel, 1 year and a half, has started developping this "rash" on his belly, above his testicles and I was wondering if any of you could tell what it is ?
I just wanted to say that I know this forum is no substitute to a vet visit. I have been to the vet yesterday, who gave me Baytril and a solution in which I have to bathe him every 4 days. It seems to me that it might be long until he gets beter and I can't help but get anxious in the meantime. My vet took a skin sample and said she couldn't see a fungus, yet she gave me Imaveral, which is an antifungal. Also my other pig does not have any symptoms yet so it might not be contagious.
I trust my vet, but I guess I'd like a second opinion, from someone who has had a piggie get a similar problem, hearing how your pig recovered from it. Just for reassurance
Thank you in advance for your time.

Here is the pic (sorry if it is blurry, Caramel is a squirmy piggie)

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I can see why she gave you Imaverol as there is hairloss. Imaverol is very gentle and will not hurt if it does turn out not to be fungal. Has she told you to leave it on and not wash off?

Did she rule out mange mites?

Have you changed anything in his environment recently? different washing liquid if they are on fabric bedding? Does he sit in his pee a lot?
 
helen105281 said:
I can see why she gave you Imaverol as there is hairloss. Imaverol is very gentle and will not hurt if it does turn out not to be fungal. Has she told you to leave it on and not wash off?

Did she rule out mange mites?

Have you changed anything in his environment recently? different washing liquid if they are on fabric bedding? Does he sit in his pee a lot?
Click to expand...

Thank you for the fast reply. I don't know about mange mites. I have googled it, it does look pretty similar to what he has... However, it does not show on the picture but the rash is circular. If it were mange mites, wouldn't my vet have seen them with the microscope when she took that hair and skin sample?
My vet told me to bathe him in a diluted Imaverol bath (5ml Imaverol, 250ml water) every 4 days. What I'm most worried about is the Baytrill, as I've heard about piggies going into stasis due to Baytril (skinnypigs1 shared the story in a Youtube video). I've asked my vet about giving probiotics but she said that he would just need to drink a lot (which he does) and it'll flush out no problem.
I was away for 5 days and my mother took care of my pigs. She spot cleaned them but only changed the fleece once during that time (I usually do it every 2 days). Do you think it might be due to him sitting in pee ? I know they like to pee and sleep under their hay rack. And his companion had some boar glue on his stomach when I got back. Who knows what kind of dirty things they've been up to...

Thanks again for your interest. It is nice to address my concerns to someone. I didn't want my vet to think I was doubting her so I kept some questions to myself and now they're eating me.
Thank you to Tiamolly for the welcome wishes as well.
 
Yes she should have seen them, the symptoms of fungal and mites can look similar in the early stages though. Imaverol needs to be left on and not rinsed off so it can keep working, it is more a dip than a bath.

I try to give probiotics on Baytril, just make sure it is 2 hours or more apart from the Baytril as they can stop each other working. You can get Pro C from pets at Home or AviPro, Fibreplex and Biolapis online. Is he pooing ok at the moment?

It is possible that it could be that then, was there no rash before you went away? It is hard to say for certain though and treating with Imaverol will be a bit soothing as it is an emollient.
 
Oh ok, I only used Imaverol this morning and I let my pig soak in the diluted solution for quite some time. I didn't rinse it off though, only towel dried him briefly (it is quite hot where I live right now). Were you saying I should put it undiluted on his rash ?
Thanks for the great advice. I'll try to get my hands on some Pro C. He is pooping great and is still his regular self. He might be a bit more aggressive toward his buddy (he's the boss pig), but he might also be irritated because of the heat.
No, no rash when I left, so it must be in early stages. Then again Caramel really doesn't like being handled so I rarely look at his belly... I noticed it yesterday and went straight to the vet. I'm really hoping the Imaverol will soothe him. For now it might even be worse than it was yesterday...
I did read online that fungus infections and mange mites are often confused. Do you think I could get my hands on some Ivermectin and try that just in case it is mites ? I wish my vet had offered it but she didn't even say anything about mites. Maybe because you can't use both an antifungal and an antiparasite at the same time. What do I know...
Anyway, thank you very much Helen, you've been a great help. I really hope the current treatment will work promptly, so I can stop worrying so much haha
 
No still dilute it. I just meant don't rinse it off. Some people use it like shampoo so always best to check :)

I would only get ivermectin from the vet really and it is best to only give it with a proper diagnosis so basically they only have it when they need it.
 
It is already going a lot better today, it's scabbing and only looks a bit dry and flaky now. It might be fungus after all... I feel kind of bad for doubting my vet. I'll just keep on with Baytril and the Imaverol and hope for the best ! Thanks again Helen, you've been a great help.

35985887_2155888231118038_7015460522577362944_n.webp
(Poor baby - must be gettintg tired of me sharing his privates on the Internet)

Anyway I hope this post will be helpful for someone down the line. I guess it can be closed now
 
jhgeak said:
It is already going a lot better today, it's scabbing and only looks a bit dry and flaky now. It might be fungus after all... I feel kind of bad for doubting my vet. I'll just keep on with Baytril and the Imaverol and hope for the best ! Thanks again Helen, you've been a great help.

View attachment 89573
(Poor baby - must be gettintg tired of me sharing his privates on the Internet)

Anyway I hope this post will be helpful for someone down the line. I guess it can be closed now
Click to expand...
Don't feel bad. A lot of vets are not that experienced with pigs. Is great he is responding to the Imaverol.
 
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