So Ive recently introduced a new baby pig to my two other piggies. The baby got a dry bald patch near its head which I think is ringworm and I don’t know what to do. I’ve separated my Guinea pigs for now but they’ve already been exposed. How long should I continue quarantining them? How long does this last? When my adult pigs were exposed, when does the ringworm infection start to show? How contagious is the ringworm to me? I plan to use anti fungal shampoo and then use monistat cream on her. Any other suggestions?
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Ringworm on baby pig :( Help!
- Thread starter Gpgal411
- Start date
Please don’t separate them, they’ve been exposed so they may as well stay together now. Baby piggies need companionship.
You will need to take your piggies to the vet for diagnosis and to be prescribed the correct medication - ideally a systemic oral prescription medication. Shampooing and creaming does not work to treat ringworm properly as the spores cover a wider area than you would cream so they do not get caught properly and you will end up prolonging the outbreak. Spores can stay in the environment for two years, so you need to treat this properly at the very start to not risk ending up in a long running battle.
You will need to exercise strict hygiene and disinfection of cage using ideally F10 which is a vet grade disinfectant.
Infection to outbreak is around 10 days.
It is highly infectious to you and other animals and you will need to take precautions to protect yourself.
The guide below details how to deal with ringworm
Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures
What sex are all the piggies? Hopefully they are all sows, as three boars will not live together long term.
Did you check the sex of the baby prior to introduction?
You will need to take your piggies to the vet for diagnosis and to be prescribed the correct medication - ideally a systemic oral prescription medication. Shampooing and creaming does not work to treat ringworm properly as the spores cover a wider area than you would cream so they do not get caught properly and you will end up prolonging the outbreak. Spores can stay in the environment for two years, so you need to treat this properly at the very start to not risk ending up in a long running battle.
You will need to exercise strict hygiene and disinfection of cage using ideally F10 which is a vet grade disinfectant.
Infection to outbreak is around 10 days.
It is highly infectious to you and other animals and you will need to take precautions to protect yourself.
The guide below details how to deal with ringworm
Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures
What sex are all the piggies? Hopefully they are all sows, as three boars will not live together long term.
Did you check the sex of the baby prior to introduction?
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Hopefully your vet will be able to prescribe the oral medication, Itranfungol, which is safe to give to young guinea pigs. It clears it up really quickly and you don't have to stress them with bathing.
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Hope the piggies heal quickly
Hi and welcome
Please see a vet for a proper diagnosis and good treatment. We cannot tell you whether your piggy has indeed ringworm or not. Especially in the early stages, ringworm and mange mites can sometimes look much more similar than textbook images would suggest.
Please follow the very precise and comprehensive advice in our Ringworm Care guide. It tells you exactly what to do in order to get on top of the long lived invisibly tiny ringworm spores without infecting yourself or re-infecting your piggies, what your customer rights are in respect to reclaiming any vet fees etc. Please don't skimp in terms of treatment - with ringworm it really pays to go for the kitchen sink; especially when you can get the expense back by presenting the vet bill together with the sales bill at the pet shop.
Please don't cream. It is very ineffective as it doesn't prevent spores from spreading and therefore any re-infection on other parts of the body. The cream doesn't reach the full extent of the affected much wider area as the ringworm sits at the hair roots with the hair needing to come out so it will look worse before it will look better. If at all possible, ask your vet for an oral systemic cat antifungal which works on the whole body (including the tricky bits around the eyes and ears) and is so much less stressful for your piggies than a full on bath every three days - with an oral medication, you can keep it to just one or two in order to remove any possible spores in the coat at the end of treatment.
In the 15 years of our forum's existence, we have had sadly more than ample occasion in getting feedback from and trialling every possible treatment as to its efficiency and work out every possible angle of transmission.
Please do not split your piggies; yours have been exposed as soon as the ringworm went acute and they will also need treatment at the same time as your affected baby. As long as this happens in the 10-14 period between infection and outbreak, they will never come down. But the little baby needs urgently company. Their overwhelming social need comes before any medical considerations at this young age.
The same goes for you. We have included human hygiene measures during ringworm treatment in the guide as well.
PLEASE take the time to read our guide for all the practical hygiene and follow it. We know that it really works if you do so. I have managed to restrict an outbreak in a room of 30 piggies to just the one affected piggy and haven't had any issues in the 4 years since.
Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures
Can you please clarify your country - Boston UK or Boston Massachusetts? We do have members from either country but brand names etc. differ.
Hi everyone, thank you all so much for your responses! I will follow everything you have all suggested for me to do. However, I was doing more research on the topic and I came across this site: ringwormtreatment. Do you all think this is correct? I was thinking about bathing all of my pigs with antifungal shampoo and then applying the necessary medication.
To answer your questions:
Yes, my 3 guinea pigs are all female. I have 2 adult pigs and one baby pig.
I am in Boston, Massachusetts.
To answer your questions:
Yes, my 3 guinea pigs are all female. I have 2 adult pigs and one baby pig.
I am in Boston, Massachusetts.
Please have your piggies seen by a vet for diagnosis first and do not shampoo or apply anything beforehand. Any DIY treatments such as bathing and shampooing before seeing a vet can make the area look different and wipe away vital evidence that a vet needs to make the correct diagnosis.
Our ringworm guide has been linked in and our advice will always be as per that guide
Our ringworm guide has been linked in and our advice will always be as per that guide
You are WAY better off seeing a vet for an oral treatment for all of them than trying to do baths and cream on your own. I know it seems like it's a good way to save costs to just do it yourself because I know vet care can be expensive, but it's REALLY time consuming and difficult to get on top of ringworm this way and ultimately you won't even know if you're treating the right thing, as mange mites and fungal issues can look similar but require different treatment, meaning you may ultimately end up spending a lot of money, time, and stress on your pigs treating an issue that they don't actually have.
VickiA
Forum Donator 2026/27
With ringworm, it’s a false economy to home treat without diagnosis and veterinary prescribed oral medication. So I would echo the recommendations to get a vet to diagnose and prescribe the correct treatment.
Hi everyone, just went to the vet and yup, it was ringworm! They advised me to separate my piggies but when I did, my baby pig was freaking out and stressed 
. They gave me medication and told me not to give it a bath. Should I take the risk of exposing my other pigs by not separating them? My other pigs are 2 years old and have a stronger immune system so I’m praying they don’t get it :/
. They gave me medication and told me not to give it a bath. Should I take the risk of exposing my other pigs by not separating them? My other pigs are 2 years old and have a stronger immune system so I’m praying they don’t get it :/
VickiA
Forum Donator 2026/27
They have already been exposed to the ringworm spores, so separating now is unlikely to make any difference to the outcome other than to stress them out and then risk issues with reintroduction at a later stage. So I would keep them together.Hi everyone, just went to the vet and yup, it was ringworm! They advised me to separate my piggies but when I did, my baby pig was freaking out and stressed
What medication have they got?
Please do not separate but treat all piggies with the medication because the companions are already infected. It takes 10-14 days between infection and actual outbreak. If you can catch the companions during that time, you can break the cycle and they will not develop ringworm themselves.
Please follow our hygiene and disinfection measures in the guide really closely. They are absolutely crucial in getting on top of the spores and preventing a return of ringworm anytime in the next two years.
Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures
We strongly recommend to give all piggies a bath at the end of treatment for the simple reason of removing any spores sitting in the coats so when you then move all piggies into a totally cleaned and disinfected post-ringworm environment, you are making sure that they are not carrying any new spores in themselves.
It doesn't need to be a fungal bath, just to remove any potential spores at the end of treatment. I have had twice carried ringworm in via spores sitting in the coat of new piggies (who were not affected by it themselves); it's a lesson learned the hard way.
I did the whole washing/creaming routine with 16 piggies a decade ago when oral treatment had not yet come in. It was a nightmare bathing all 16 every three days, creaming all the acutely affected piggies twice daily (several of which caught it during treatment from shed spores despite all the bathing, so I had a round #2 as well).
Just consider that on top of all of that I had to wash all the towels from the fungals baths at high temperatures and then all the bedding and cosies during this time as well on top of three thorough deep cleans of the cages and cage areas. It was a total nightmare for a full month.
Only to be confronted with a new outbreak 19 months later - all it takes is one invisibly tiny spore...
This time thankfully, oral medication had come in and I got on top of it so much easier and quicker with less piggies acutely affected (and a LOT less bathing and towel washing, too!) and the ringworm didn't come back. And only two deep cleans with vet strength antifungal disinfectant.
Wishing you all the best. Please read up in the guide on the disinfection and hygiene measures to get on top of all ringworm spores - that is actually the even more important bit.
Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures
In a healthy piggy, oral treatment gets on top of the acute phase of ringworm within 1-2 weeks. Once producing spores in the crust, a ringworm spot has to run its due course so will be looking worse in the coming days before it gets better. The acute stage is over once no new crust is forming but you want to make sure that it stays that way so please follow your vet's instructions.
Ringworm is not the worst illness (it is generally not fatal) but it is by far the most contagious and species jumping problem you can have in any pet home.
It can turn into a real nightmare because the pesky tiny spores can hang around for such a long time. That is what we recommend to really chuck the kitchen sink at it.
We are here for you on this thread (please bookmark it) for all the little questions and for moral support for as long as it takes. Unlike social media, we do not rely on the number of new threads but we can let a thread run on for as long as needed and give you ongoing personalised support until you are safely past the ringworm outbreak.
It really helps us (and you) to keep all information of one case together so we can refresh our memory and not just give our standard advice but what you really need.
Please do not separate but treat all piggies with the medication because the companions are already infected. It takes 10-14 days between infection and actual outbreak. If you can catch the companions during that time, you can break the cycle and they will not develop ringworm themselves.
Please follow our hygiene and disinfection measures in the guide really closely. They are absolutely crucial in getting on top of the spores and preventing a return of ringworm anytime in the next two years.
Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures
We strongly recommend to give all piggies a bath at the end of treatment for the simple reason of removing any spores sitting in the coats so when you then move all piggies into a totally cleaned and disinfected post-ringworm environment, you are making sure that they are not carrying any new spores in themselves.
It doesn't need to be a fungal bath, just to remove any potential spores at the end of treatment. I have had twice carried ringworm in via spores sitting in the coat of new piggies (who were not affected by it themselves); it's a lesson learned the hard way.
I did the whole washing/creaming routine with 16 piggies a decade ago when oral treatment had not yet come in. It was a nightmare bathing all 16 every three days, creaming all the acutely affected piggies twice daily (several of which caught it during treatment from shed spores despite all the bathing, so I had a round #2 as well).
Just consider that on top of all of that I had to wash all the towels from the fungals baths at high temperatures and then all the bedding and cosies during this time as well on top of three thorough deep cleans of the cages and cage areas. It was a total nightmare for a full month.
Only to be confronted with a new outbreak 19 months later - all it takes is one invisibly tiny spore...
This time thankfully, oral medication had come in and I got on top of it so much easier and quicker with less piggies acutely affected (and a LOT less bathing and towel washing, too!) and the ringworm didn't come back. And only two deep cleans with vet strength antifungal disinfectant.
Wishing you all the best. Please read up in the guide on the disinfection and hygiene measures to get on top of all ringworm spores - that is actually the even more important bit.
Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures
In a healthy piggy, oral treatment gets on top of the acute phase of ringworm within 1-2 weeks. Once producing spores in the crust, a ringworm spot has to run its due course so will be looking worse in the coming days before it gets better. The acute stage is over once no new crust is forming but you want to make sure that it stays that way so please follow your vet's instructions.
Ringworm is not the worst illness (it is generally not fatal) but it is by far the most contagious and species jumping problem you can have in any pet home.
It can turn into a real nightmare because the pesky tiny spores can hang around for such a long time. That is what we recommend to really chuck the kitchen sink at it.
We are here for you on this thread (please bookmark it) for all the little questions and for moral support for as long as it takes. Unlike social media, we do not rely on the number of new threads but we can let a thread run on for as long as needed and give you ongoing personalised support until you are safely past the ringworm outbreak.
It really helps us (and you) to keep all information of one case together so we can refresh our memory and not just give our standard advice but what you really need.
No; that is normal when the fungal exudate crust comes off and takes the upmost surface layer of the skin where it has formed with it. Just leave be (they will heal over in now time) and have a look at the pictures at the end of the ringworm guide; you can see those sore areas in some of them. As I have told you, ringworm patches will look worse before they look better.
But the oral medication will hopefully kick in a day or two and will stop the patch from growing larger much sooner than baths and creaming would do. The crusty exudate will continue to form a few more times and may leave the odd sore when it comes off before the ringworm is cleared; but you will see less of them because the oral medication is working from the inside out and not from the outside in, so it reaches the area underneath the exudate better.
Just hang in there.
What are you doing for disinfection?
Rubysue
Junior Guinea Pig
What oral medication do they give to treat this at the vets?
There are several and they can change from country to country. Itrafungol (UK band name)/Sporonox (US brand name) is the most commonly prescribed oral brand but other oral fungidal medication for cats can also be used. These two brand names with other recommended products are actually listed in our ringworm guide.
Have you read the guide link yet? Because you won't get on top of ringworm without all the very clear and detailed advice in there.
What disinfectant are you using? Have you read up on the recommended brand names yet it in our guide? Normal disinfectants are antibacterial but not antifungal, and the same goes for any cheap home products like vinegar. Bleach requires to soak any surface for at least 15 minutes if you want to be in with a chance (even then, it is only borderline effective).
the meds that the vet gave me is called lotrimin.
another update: the ringworm spread to her nose
Is that a cream that you are to apply to the patches of ringworm?
the meds that the vet gave me is called lotrimin.
another update: the ringworm spread to her nose
In which form is the lotrimin? Just as a cream?
Please be aware that unless you make a real effort with the disinfection and you treat all piggies in contact with a ringworm piggy, ringworm spores will continue to cause new outbreaks.
What measures are you taking towards the disinfection and hygiene? You haven't answered that question.
Lotrimin as a cream. I have deep cleaned the cage and washed all of their toys/huts. I consistently scoop out the wet areas of the cage as well.
I don't know what you mean by treating all piggies in contact with ringworm. My other 2 adult pigs haven't shown any sign of infection.
I don't know what you mean by treating all piggies in contact with ringworm. My other 2 adult pigs haven't shown any sign of infection.
Creaming is the ineffective method of treating it and as it doesn’t catch the wider area of spores, it risks spreading of the spores to other areas of the body, as it seems you are seeing.
What have you used to deep clean the cage?
Yes. I am applying it to the infection
so instead of cream what do oral medication do you suggest? Can I buy it over the counter?
I used bleach to deep clean the cage
As above, creaming the infected area means you miss so many spores and it then spreads. It’s an outdated method and not recommended.
All piggies should be treated with an oral medication, even the ones who aren’t yet showing signs but have been in contact with ringworm spores. If you treat those piggies with oral medication then it can break the cycle, treating them during the 10-14 days since exposure - it can mean they never get it.
Given it’s not yet been a week since you posted, you still have time to get them the oral treatment so they never catch it. Without treatment, you will likely see them also showing signs at that 10-14 day time
The correct treatment is prescription from a vet.
Bleach cannot completely kill ringworm spores.
Please do read the guide as it explains how to deal with ringworm most effectively - oral medication (in the UK called intrafungol) for all piggies in the cage; disinfecting the cage with F10
Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures