Skin Condition In Pregnant Guinea Pig

[Gingerbread_Gem]

Hi! I purchased 3 guinea pigs which turned out to be 2 girls and a boy. I am now noticing one of them has a problem with its skin on its face around its left eye and ear and on the right side of its nose. I noticed it on thursday but didn't get a good look until today as this particular pig is especially skittish



Can anyone tell what it is from the pic? Presumably I will need to treat all of them so any treatment needs to be ok for pregnant pigs?

I am certain the problem is due to their current living conditions. I have a 10ftx5ft enclosure for them outside but was told they need to be kept inside until spring, and I ended up buying one of those small plastic cages. They get outside a bit during the afternoons when its not too cold.

I have bought a much larger 2 tier hutch (so I can seperate the male until he is neutered too), I want to treat them before I move then though so they don't infect the new environment. I also need my auntie to come and remind me which is actually the male (she bred guinea pigs years and years ago).

And help will be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! I purchased 3 guinea pigs which turned out to be 2 girls and a boy. I am now noticing one of them has a problem with its skin on its face around its left eye and ear and on the right side of its nose. I noticed it on thursday but didn't get a good look until today as this particular pig is especially skittish

View attachment 75863

Can anyone tell what it is from the pic? Presumably I will need to treat all of them so any treatment needs to be ok for pregnant pigs?

I am certain the problem is due to their current living conditions. I have a 10ftx5ft enclosure for them outside but was told they need to be kept inside until spring, and I ended up buying one of those small plastic cages. They get outside a bit during the afternoons when its not too cold.

I have bought a much larger 2 tier hutch (so I can seperate the male until he is neutered too), I want to treat them before I move then though so they don't infect the new environment. I also need my auntie to come and remind me which is actually the male (she bred guinea pigs years and years ago).

And help will be appreciated! Thanks!

Hi and welcome

Please have all your guinea pigs seen by a vet as soon as possible for ringworm (highly transmittable fungal infection). If the outbreak has happened within 2 weeks of your purchase, you can reclaim the vet cost from the pet shop because exposure and infection will have happened at the shop. If you have waited too long (and it looks rather advanced to me), the shop may refuse to pay as you will be unable to prove that.
Please take the time to read this guide here. Ringworm is highly infective and the single most transmittable problem between all mammalian species, including humans. From my own experience, I can assure you that it is no fun to catch it yourself! Good hygiene is essential to prevent any comeback and the risk of spreading the infection. You need to treat all piggies in contact to prevent them from coming down with it, too. The time between infection and outbreak is 10-14 days.
Please invest in a proper antifungal disinfectant like we recommend. F10 is the best product as it is the only one proven to kill ringworm spores. I also find the hand gel very helpful. It is widely available online, including ebay and amazon.
Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures


Please separate your boar asap; he has got nothing to search around females until he is 6 weeks past a neutering operation. You can claim a spare cage from the pet shop (and ideally one that is large enough to house two sows with their babies!) if the mis-sexing has been because of the shop. Please be aware that we are a strictly non-breeding forum and support only members with accidental pregnancies or willing to stop breeding. There is too much that can go wrong and too much that goes wrong even with the best of care to risk playing with unknown genes intentionally.
If you are willing to comply with our forum rules, you are welcome to open an ongoing specially monitored support thread in our pregnancy section. It is very important that you put your sows on the best possible diet and improve their living conditions in order to give them a chance that they and their babies have the best possible chance of survival. the pregnancy section is visible only to registered members for that reason.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-guide.109375/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-and-nursing-diet.109377/
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diet
Terms of Service And Forum Rules

More information on housing and care via this guide here. Guinea pigs should be kept indoors or under cover over the cold months indeed; this even more so for pregnant sows and babies. guinea pigs should be treated the same way as you do tender plants. Always make sure that your piggies have a dry warm place they can get away from any ground that is damp and cold to your own bare feet after 5 minutes (or sooner) and out of the wind.
New Owners' Problem Solver And Information Collection

Since we have got members from all over the world,iIt would be good if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can tailor any advice to what is available and relevant where you are straight away. Please click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you.

 

[Gingerbread_Gem]

I know for certain there were no symptoms on wednesday as I cleaned them out, symptoms only appeared thursday evening. So I'm not certain how it can be advanced?

Thank you for the info on the ringworm products. I will get hold of both the spray and hand gel asap. I have looked through the recommended vets and found my local so will make an appointment for next week.

As mentioned I have purchased a much larger, 2 tier hutch in order to seperate the male and give them all more space. I was talked into the plastic one in store and thought it'd be ok for a couple of months until they go outside - the amount I am having to clean it alone proves otherwise.

I imagine the females are both already pregnant as they have all been together for a month before I was told that one is male (by my auntie who used to breed many years ago. Please note she did not breed commercially and her pigs had wonderful lives - the oldest was 14 when it died). They have a variety of fresh veg, science selective pellets, meadow hay and a good quality timothy hay daily. I have ordered some alfalfa which I will give in small amounts.

When I was growing up we always kept our pigs outside all year round, they had a huge enclosure with proper shelter and in cold weather we just packed the bed area with tonnes of hay. I understand that care standards have advanced though just please understand my mistake over their current housing!

 

[Gingerbread_Gem]

Is this the right stuff?

 

[Gingerbread_Gem]

Sorry for triple post. The local vet to me is closed today so I will have to ring monday. I will also have to order the f10 so that won't be here until next week. What can I do in the mean time?

I think I will move them this afternoon rather than wait for them to be treated first. What can I do to prevent further spread to the environment?

I have an 18 month old. Do I need to book a GP appointment?

 

[Wiebke]

Is this the right stuff?

Yes, that is the right stuff!

Thank you for clarifying the background. We get all sorts of people in. One of our important tasks is to make sure that all piggies going through this forum are safe and receive the best of care.
Please be aware that a lot has changed in the piggy world in the last few years. I am a long term owner and have grown up with guinea pigs, but the recent development has been truly massive - and in my opinion, thankfully all to the better, so I am never unwilling to learn new ways and adapt, whether that is with diet, housing, handling or treating illness.

Ringworm can spread very quickly; yours must be going at top speed unfortunately. It usually takes a few days to come up in more than one location unless your poor piggy has been affected by several spores at the same time.
The sooner you can have yours seen and treated, the better and easier it is to get over it. Please use disposable gloves for handling.

If you can start treating the other two before a week has gone since you have discovered the ringworm, you can catch them before they develop it, too. The most efficient way is to treat with an oral course of itrafungol; it is not licensed for guinea pigs, but has been widely used by piggy savvy vets in the last few years. The systemic course makes sure that all affected areas are reached, even the difficult to clear ones, like areas immediately adjacent of the eyes and other sensitive organs. You may want to discuss its use in pregnant sows, though, and be aware that not all general vets will be willing to prescribe unlicensed products.

In any way, all piggies will need at least one bath at the end of the treatment to physically remove any spores sitting in their coats. I've had ringworm carried into my own piggies twice that way now (just getting over the second one now), so I am not underestimating that risk. The tips in our ringworm guide may seem like overkill, but believe me, they have all learned the hard way!

 

[Wiebke]

Sorry for triple post. The local vet to me is closed today so I will have to ring monday. I will also have to order the f10 so that won't be here until next week. What can I do in the mean time?

I think I will move them this afternoon rather than wait for them to be treated first. What can I do to prevent further spread to the environment?

I have an 18 month old. Do I need to book a GP appointment?

Handle your guinea pigs as little as possible and use disposable gloves. Wash your hands thoroughly before and after you deal with your guinea pigs. Ideally, you get a second pair of slippers which you use for the rest of the house, so you do not accidentally carry any spores around where your toddler is crawling. Of course you want to keep your baby well away from the guinea pigs for the time being. I am very sorry; ringworm is always a nightmare!
I'm just getting to the end of it with nearly 30 piggies in the same room at the busiest possible time...

You can use the normal disinfectant for mechanical removal of spores until then, but it will not kill them. For that, you want the F10. At least it makes a very good deep cleaner for cage and hutch and it keeps for a long time, so you get your money's worth back!
If you can at all, please get a diagnosis from a vet, ideally on Monday. Then contact your GP or a pharmacy for advice for your baby on the back of that diagnosis (if necessary show them that picture!). You have got 10-14 days since the acute outbreak to act in if you are worried that your baby may be affected, so that gives you some leeway.

If you have handled or touched your piggies in the last few days, I would recommend to get hold of some nizoral dandruff shampoo (it is actually an anti-fungal) and use it as a whole body shower on yourself to hopefully escape an infection.
You can use the nizoral also for a one-off bath of your piggies but it is quite harsh on the skin in my oldtimer experience from times when we had a lot less available treatments, so I would look for another product if your vet prescribes a round of dips or baths every 3 days; imaverol/enilconazole is in our forum experience the best to use around the eyes and in young guinea pigs as they can swell up quite badly but there are other shampoos that work, too.
Best bathe any piggies in a bowl on a bathing towel in your shower, so there is no danger of freak jumps and accidents, and you can easily clean and disinfect the area afterwards when you have a nizoral shower yourself.
Itraconazole (the active ingredient in irafungol) is now also available as tablets for humans as another forum member that has recently caught ringworm off their piggies found out, but I don't know whether they are suitable for young children and whether they can be used as a preventative.

 

[eileen]

I'm sorry you have found yourself in this predicament.if you go back to the store and explain you have one boy and two girls,usually they will help towards cost of treatment .i would ask them for a larger cage,and help with neutering costs !Vet UK on line sell F10 at a good price.i would advise you line your hutch with lino,as any urine will soak into the wood.Lino will make it easier to clean.wood can harbour ringworm,so if possible maybe wait until this is all cleared before placing in a wooden hutch.but you can always scrub the hutch with F10.
welcome to the forum.please post some pics of your piggies when you have chance.we love pigtures !

 

[Gingerbread_Gem]

I had a look at dandruff shampoo and didnt find nizoral but I found one with linalool in it which made some deep recess of my mind go "sheep dip" so I grabbed that one and escaped because the shop was so busy. The dog will be getting a go over with it too!

I will ring the vets monday morning and see how soon they can get us in. Thanks for all the excellent advice!

As for pics - I posted some in the introductions thread so if I may I will just link to that https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/hi.153827/#post-2074279

 

[eileen]

@Gingerbread_Gem nizarol is a human shampoo,wilkos,boots,most chemist sell this.i have used this several times and found this to be very effective,if using on guinea pigs i leave the lather on for 15 mins to allow the ingredients to work.