Sore, Bare Flaky Skin.....poorly Piggie

[KevinandCharlie]

I have 4 guinea pigs and got them in tonight for a cuddle and noticed only one of them is covered in these patches! theres loads! they look awful! What are they? It doesn't look likr it has spread to the other piggies. I had some cream from the vets for skin conditions so have put some on the affected areas. Not sure if it was right thing to do but worth a try until i can ring a vet

 

[Poppy'sMum]

I'm not sure, but it could be a fungal skin condition; helen105281 will probably know, but definitely a vet visit is required Please be careful putting any cream on, as it may do more harm than good, especially so near the eyes.

 

[Rodentopia]

Could possibly be fungal especially as looks like he/she been scratching at it and its not spread to the others. I would definitely get it checked out by your vet. Over night a bit of sudocream wouldn't hurt but as your not sure what your dealing with and hard to call from photos alone I would see a vet

 

[KevinandCharlie]

Thank you for advice.

 

[helen105281]

Yes definitely a vet visit am afraid. I think fungal but could well be mites too as they can get them at the same time. You will need to take all of them and if it is ringworm then they may need oral medication like Itrafungol too. I would also recommend Imaverol dips. There are other types of fungal that it could be too but if the vet does a culture it would only show a result if it was ringworm as it is difficult to culture the others. They may need pain relief too and something to stop the scratching. If mange mites a course of Ivermectin injections will be needed.

 

[KevinandCharlie]

One of the piggies had ringworm before and we had surolan to treat it.

 

[helen105281]

The vet will probably give you that again then. Are you ok with what you need to do regarding hygiene etc?

 

[KevinandCharlie]

do you think itll spread to my other piggies? I have 2 sows and 2 boars. The girls should be ok as they are in a separate hutch. And Charlie his room mate has nothing on him atall! Would bathing him help? He keeps scratching him self. Poor little thing

 

[helen105281]

Yes it can spread, especially if it is ringworm. You need to be careful between handling them, and use an anti-fungal discinfectant like F10 and wash your hands thoroughly too. You could shampoo but if he is sore you need to be careful in case he fits, and it is best to see what the vet recommends. A good anti-fungal shampoo available from the vets is Malaseb.

 

[KevinandCharlie]

Ok so my poorly piggies went to the vet yesterday. His friend Charlie had started to catch it too. So i took them both. They scraped the skin so they could put it under the microscope (never heard my piggie squeak so loud with pain ) And the vet said there are traces of mites! So she put some Spot on to the piggies. And they have got to have medicine twice a day by syringe for 2 weeks and then another trip to the vets to see if its improving.

 

[sport_billy]

Hope you can get it cleared up soon, lots of healing vibes to piggies

 

[KevinandCharlie]

Thank you. Kevin looks so sad at the moment. And it has spread alot so he is always itching I just hope my girls dont catch it too as they are in a hutch above the boys. I asked the vet and she said they should be OK but to bring them in if i notice anything.

 

[helen105281]

Am i right in thinking the vet has given only the one dose of spot on and not recommended a course of 3 doses? Also if it is a bad infestation you may find that they need a course of Ivermectin injections as they are much more effective. What is the medicine you have been given?

Did the vet not think there was a fungal problem too?

 

[KevinandCharlie]

They need another dose of Spot on in 2 weeks. The medicin is Baytril.

 

[helen105281]

Ok, the Baytril will be in case they get their wounds infected. Good they are at least having a second dose. Have you got probiotics if they are on Baytril?