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Ringworm Dilemma Advice Needed Please.

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Kittyzcool

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Hi everyone this is my first post here and I'm hoping for some good advice. Here is my dilemma - I am wanting to buy my 2 children a guinea pig each and have done lots of research online. Here's my story - I have bought a lovely big 4 ft wooden double storey hutch from bunny business with a thermal cover and a waterproof cover. I have filled it with hidey houses, toys, fleecy snuggle beds with heat pads at the ready and have fitted a fleece tunnel to the ramp and also have a large outdoor run that they will have access to.
I took my children to pets at home on Saturday to pick out 2 girl guinea pigs. They had 5 guineas in the girl pen and my two fell in love with two of them. After answering all their questions and the lady talking to my children about care of them she was doing a final health check on the guineas and noticed a tiny crusty lesion next to the eye of one of the guineas about half the size of a penny. She said she thought it might be ringworm and took it in to see their in house vet to confirm it. The vet said it was indeed ringworm and the lady said that they have had a problem recently with ringworm ( she had already said to me before discovering this that if the guineas developed ringworm within a month of purchase that they would treat free of charge) she said that she wasn't allowed to sell me the guineas and had to also remove all of the guineas in that pen and place in quarantine in the back. Now my two children were devastated so the lady said that she could place the two we had chosen together in a separate cage in the back and that we could come and buy them when they had been treated and would be ready in one to two weeks. Since then I have asked my children a few times if they would like to go somewhere else to get some guineas sooner than two weeks and they are both adamant that they want those ones and have even named them! ( they were very cute!)

Here's my dilemma -

Since doing lots of research online about ringworm I'm worried that one to two weeks of treatment by pets at homes vet is not going to be long enough as it seems to me that many ringworm treatments are courses of around 6 weeks. I'm also worried that if I bring these two piggies home and put them into our lovely new set up they could still carry the spores on their fur and could get re-infected and indeed infect our new wooden hutch (I've read about it being difficult to remove spores from wood - as the spores can lie dormant for up to 18 months and I really don't want to have to end up throwing all this lovely set up away). I'm now thinking that it might be a good idea to buy an indoor plastic cage just as an interim measure and keep them in there for a couple of weeks to see if the ringworm re appears or should I just give the guineas a good shampoo in anti fungal shampoo when I get them home and place them in their wooden hutch. I also would like to talk to the vet that treated them and see if there is anything they can give me to carry on treatment at home.

Apart from don't buy guinea pigs from pets at home grrrrrr (unfortunately it's too late for this advice as those guineas have stolen my kids hearts)
Has anyone here got any advice for me regarding what to do, whether it's worth buying an interim cage, how long should I house them in there before placing them in their proper outside hutch or what questions to ask the vet and what treatment I should be asking for. What is the best anti fungal shampoo to use etc.

Sorry about the long long post - hoping you can help!
 
Also - I'm now worried that if they've had problems in the store with ringworm could all the accessories etc I have bought from there possibly be carrying spores as I assume the staff that handle the guineas also handle products on the shelf and it only takes one to not wash their hands properly or have spores on their clothing - or am I being overly paranoid?
 
Oh dear. You do have a problem!
Since there has been a ringworm outbreak with these piggies, I would STRONGLY suggest that you think about adopting from a rescue, you can use the rescue locator at the top of this website:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-rescue-locator/
You want to be buying healthy piggies, and especially with ringworm, I would be put off to buy them, cured or not, I'm afraid. I do not know how long it takes to SAFELY cure ringworm, but saying two weeks is being a bit adventurous. Gorgeous guineas sell problem solving shampoo, for fungal:
http://shop.gorgeousguineas.com/problem-solving-shampoos-16-c.asp
That is if you are going to buy the piggies.
If you buy from a rescue you can be assured they would be healthy- providing you visit a recommended rescue from this website. If your children really want those piggies, then it is up to you if you take them on, but it would be possible for them to catch it again if pets at home do not treat it properly. They've caught ringworm, in the state they are in at pets at home or from where they were bred, so it is possible they may have been exposed to other illnesses at the same time.

Good luck with your decision.
:)
 
Yes I agree with CGP I am afraid. If you bring these piggies home, you could bring ringworm into your home, infect your childen and other pets - ringworm can pass from one species to another unlike many other skin issues. And you are right to be worried about your hutch - the spores would be hard to get out of the wood - Lots of F10 disinfecting and even that may not remove them all. Do you really want to take that on as well as settling in two new guineas and caring for them as they will need treatment for some weeks?
I know it is hard that the children have fallen for these two but I have two children and found that they have been very brave when it has come to difficult guinea pig decisions. One of the benefits of owning pets is teaching the kids about responsibilities for looking after other lives. If you put where abouts you live on your profile then we could suggest a rescue and believe me, your family will be able to fall in love with a pair of rescue piggies who will be ready and waiting and HEALTHY. Really hard for you I know but I think you would be taking on a lot of challenges at this point.
 
It doesn't say on that thread how long they should be in quarantine for - how long do you think I should have them in the plastic cage giving antifungal baths every 3 days?
 
Kittyzcool said:
It doesn't say on that thread how long they should be in quarantine for - how long do you think I should have them in the plastic cage giving antifungal baths every 3 days?
Click to expand...
Until you're 100% they're clear from it, some guinea pigs may take longer than others to cure it- depending on how bad the fungal has got.
 
Do you think one of these rescue places that are used to dealing with this type of problem would take them on for us if I paid them and then we could have them once their expert opinion says they are clear?
 
Hi and welcome to this fab forum.

I'm glad you noticed this before bringing them home if you want to read my story about my ringworm nightmare you can by clicking on my profile it's in there somewhere it's called 'I didn't know my boys were poorly when I brought them' (sorry I don't know how to add links else I would of found it for you)
My treatment was 5 weeks I saw a piggy savvy vet (aka an exotics veterinarian ) she took hair samples and then put them on F10 antiseptic spray which I had to spray my boys with twice a day until they were wet all over (not eyes/nose/mouth) this was for 4 weeks then an extra week while we waited for the all clear they also had a 4 week course of oral itrafungol medicine and I had to strip my hutch down everyday spray everything in it with a F10 disinfectant (rinsing after any things that they eat/drank from such as hay rack bowls and water bottles) again this was until I got the all clear from a second lot of hair samples taken after 4 weeks of treatment.
I brought our piggies for my two daughters and because we didn't know they were poorly they got ringworm too, once we found out they had ringworm my children were not allowed to handle them or touch their things including the hutch etc until the results were ok. I am very funny about cleaning and hygiene and yet I caught ringworm too quite nasty as well it took 7 weeks and a second lot of very strong cream to clear it up all the time I had to make sure I didn't reinfect our piggies which would of meant starting all over again.
I think not putting your piggies in their hutch is the best thing to do because all that fleece needs washing every day during treatment which is not good at all I had the basics in my hutch during treatment and horrid wood shavings as bedding.
I would take them to a local vet then you pick them up ask them to do hair samples and while you wait for the results don't let your children touch them (hard I know) keep them in a the plastic cage ask the vet for the f10 disinfectant so you clean the cage daily and hopefully they will get the all clear.
Any more questions just ask I hope this was of some help.
Kell
 
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To find your local piggy savvy vet just click on the vet link at the top of the page.
Also could you add your location so eg if you can't get the link to work the monitors will be able to help you.
 
Hi! I am very sory for the pickle you are in.

You have two options, either to wait a few weeks and hope and see whether your girls will be put back on the shop floor at some point (and then hope that they are cured and that they are not pregnant from being mixed during the transport from a rodent farm on the Continent) or you can decide to rehome guinea pigs from a rescue with a mandatory quarantine/vet care and check, pregnancy watch and a careful bonding policy.

Ringworm, like respiratory infections or mange mites, is one of the opportunistic infectious illnesses that hit especially vulnerable shop piggies with a stress-lowered immune system that have undergone major upsets in their short lives. Ringworm (a fungal disease) is the one problem that very easily transmits to other mammals including humans.
You may find this thread here illuminating: https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/ringworm-hygiene-and-pictures.115402/

The shop will refuse to knowingly sell ill piggies during in-shop treatment, as that lays them open to a host of legal problems. A rescue that is desperate to shift piggies they have brought to the point where they are healthy and able to go to a good, loving home, won't take in sick shop piggies just to cure them for you; they are not a charity hospital and they have to work hard as it is. They also usually have a waiting list of non-urgent no longer wanted children's pet piggies to come in whenever there a free spaces to find a new home for.

If you decide to adopt, you will not only give two piggies a second chance at happiness, you also make space for two more either needing urgent rescue space or biding their time on the waiting list to make sure that they only go to a good home.

You will be in very safe hands with either Hazelcroft rescue in St Albans or Heathlands and won't have to worry about any of the issues that can otherwise await unwary new owners, but you will unfortunately have to make the choice between which piggies to go for.
 
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It's not your fault that you have fallen for these cute p@home piggies it's wrong that they sell them to start with :(
Many are simple handed over to people in the pet shops after a quick catch without checking the people have the right set ups or the know how to care for them and very sadly they can end up being given away or handed in to a rescue place.
I think you are best to get two new piggies really from the forum recommended rescue place Hun it will save you so much worry honest.
Kell
 
I know you have now had some answers on your other thread but will reply here so it makes sense.

If you do take these girls in then I recommend the following:

Buy F10 discinfectant and thoroughly clean everything you have already bought for the pigs. This is the only discinfectant known to kill ringworm

Obtain Itrafungol oral medication from the vets (if they are not already on it)

Dip once a week in Imaverol http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Enilconazole-100mg_ml-100ml-Imaverol/productinfo/ENILCON/ for a total of 4 weeks after bathing in an anti-fungal shampoo like Nizoral (or Malaseb from the vets). Patch test behind the ear for 48 hours before using. Please note that nothing Gorgeous Guineas sells is strong enough to treat Ringworm

Buy F10 handgel to use after handling and always change your clothes afterwards too

Do not let the children handle them until the infection has cleared which can take at least 6 weeks
 
@lauraboara thanks threads merged

@Kittyzcool I have merged the threads for you to keep things simpler and make sure replies aren't missed
 
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Walk away ringworm is nasty very contagious and hard to treat you do not want any of your family to catch it or ruin any of your new equipment.
 
I agree with the above. If you can persuade your children to walk away it would be the best thing. I feel bad for the pigs but they will be rehomed through the adoption centre once their treatment is over. However, Ringworm is difficult to treat and takes a long time to get on top of and there is a big risk that your family could catch it. How about taking your children to cuddle some pigs at a rescue and hopefully they will fall in love all over again.
 
Kittyzcool said:
Do you think one of these rescue places that are used to dealing with this type of problem would take them on for us if I paid them and then we could have them once their expert opinion says they are clear?
Click to expand...

This is a possibility but it would really depend on the rescue as it is a lot for them to take on and they would need to have top notch quarantine facilities so as not to infect the other pigs.
 
Thanks for everyone's advice - I'm still in a quandary as to what to do - I spoke with my children again and explained the difficulties with ringworm - I showed them some pics of guineas looking to be rehomed and my daughter was so upset - in floods of tears, I've never seen her like this she is adamant that she wants the ones we picked out and is soooo worried about what will happen to them if we don't have them :( at the moment it looks like we'll have to go ahead with getting them but keeping them in a separate cage and continuing the treatment for ringworm for a few weeks. Handling them with gloves and not allowing the kids near them until I'm sure the guineas are clear of it. How long do you reckon I need to do this for to be sure they're clear of it?
 
Kittyzcool said:
Thanks for everyone's advice - I'm still in a quandary as to what to do - I spoke with my children again and explained the difficulties with ringworm - I showed them some pics of guineas looking to be rehomed and my daughter was so upset - in floods of tears, I've never seen her like this she is adamant that she wants the ones we picked out and is soooo worried about what will happen to them if we don't have them :( at the moment it looks like we'll have to go ahead with getting them but keeping them in a separate cage and continuing the treatment for ringworm for a few weeks. Handling them with gloves and not allowing the kids near them until I'm sure the guineas are clear of it. How long do you reckon I need to do this for to be sure they're clear of it?
Click to expand...
You'd have to wait quite a while until they're completely cured of the ringworm, it is a shame because you'll have to wait longer to the bonding process.
 
Hi, I honestly think if you took your children to the recommend rescue place on here 'just to look' and a cuddle they would fall for other piggies my two girls fell in love with two very cute white females and were so exited to bring them home we popped in to see them the week before we were due to re home them and that's when we saw our boys (who were in with these two baby girls their mum and the the boys mum) they said mum please can we have these ones they were smitten the lady said she can re home sows better than boars so we gave our fellas a loving home.
Ringworm is not nice at all as I said in my first message I know first hand about ringworm and it's very hard to treat and it's extremely itchy if you catch it, worse than chicken pox honestly it feels like something is under your skin if I known about the ringworm the treatment and the huge cost involved I would of had to walk away sadly :( and found other piggies.
I've added photos of our ringworm. Picture one is mine which was very bad and the doctor was surprised I only had one patch it took 7 weeks to completely clear up (that was putting the cream on 2-3 times a day without missing a dose) and that was only after using a second very strong cream even with that cream it took longer than the doctor thought to clear up. The second photo is of my 11year old daughters ringworm which has returned! (She wanted to help by showing you her ringworm too) She now has the original patch and a new patch! :( She's been using a stronger cream...Daktacort for 4 days now so it's not as nasty as it was a few days ago.image.webpimage.webp
(mods please feel free to remove if I'm in the wrong for posting these)

At the end of the day it's up to you Hun which piggies you get we will just advice you and tell you our experience of this.
Kell
 
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You would need to keep them away from the children for at least 6 weeks and that should include being in a separate air space (so a different room that they don't go in). You would most likely need to start treatment from scratch as Pets at Home vets will not have treated it systemically and most likely only used a cream. This means it will return if not treated properly. They would need Itrafungol from the vets who would charge about £70 a bottle (though it can be found cheaper online with a prescription). The full course would take 6 weeks (on a week on week off basis - it carries on working in the week off) if you were to follow the advice of my vet and the company who make it. Though other vets suggest a shorter duration. The fungal baths and Imaverol dips would need to be done weekly with topical application of Imaverol daily. You would need to wear a change of clothes for handling and clean the cage every day with F10 and change and wash any bedding too at the highest temperature possible.

If you don't take these pigs in they will likely stay in quarantine for a few weeks and will then be placed in the adoption centre with the other affected pigs with a sign saying "I was poorly when I arrived here" or something along those lines.
 
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