• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Treating Fungal With Malaseb

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

M_Gos

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 29, 2014
Messages
17
Reaction score
4
Points
0
Hi,
I posted about my guinea pigs' skin before and a few days ago got confirmation that they all have a fungal infection, and was prescribed Malaseb shampoo by the vet.
I've bathed all 3 pigs, thoroughly cleaned their cage and soaked all accessories/bowls in very hot water with some of the shampoo to remove the spores. Their infections seemed to get very bad very fast, and my two babies (Bambi and Jester) have open sores on their back and nose. My oldest, 6 year old guinea pig Clown only has flakey ears but this morning he seemed depressed and had slightly loose stools. He's since perked up a bit and seems to have gotten better, though.
My question is, is there anything more I can do to treat them? And would Clown's digestive problem be related?
The bottle of Malaseb says to wash all 3 pigs once, then treat the sores once a day. Can I do anything more?

Thank you so much guys!
 
Is it ringworm you are treating? If so it does get much worse before it gets better.

The Malaseb I have used myself but only for bathing. By treating the sores once a day what exactly do you have to do? Apply the Malaseb topically? I would prefer to follow a Malaseb bath with an Imaverol dip and then use the Imaverol topically each day on the affected areas.

http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Enilconazole-100mg_ml-100ml/productinfo/ENILCON/

The digestive upset may be because they are run down, are they all eating ok? Have they had any food that is different to normal?
 
helen105281 said:
Is it ringworm you are treating? If so it does get much worse before it gets better.

The Malaseb I have used myself but only for bathing. By treating the sores once a day what exactly do you have to do? Apply the Malaseb topically? I would prefer to follow a Malaseb bath with an Imaverol dip and then use the Imaverol topically each day on the affected areas.

http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Enilconazole-100mg_ml-100ml/productinfo/ENILCON/

The digestive upset may be because they are run down, are they all eating ok? Have they had any food that is different to normal?
Click to expand...
The vet said to put the malaseb on the sores topically once a day, leave for 10 minutes, then rinse off.
She didn't say anything about Imaverol.
I haven't changed their food. The babies are eating normally but this morning my oldest would only eat parsley, but he was drinking a lot. He's since had some lettuce and stopped having diarrhoea, his eyes have brightened a bit, but he's still a bit lethargic.
Thank you for replying!
And yes it looks just like ringworm.
 
Ok, I have not heard of that before but am sure it is ok. Does it seem to be helping? You could add the Imaverol in yourself if needed, it does not need to be prescribed by the vet. Just make sure you patch test behind the ear for 48 hours first. I can tell you the ratios for mixing if needed as it is different for the dips to the topical ratio.

It may be an idea to get your older one checked again as he could have a tummy bug.
 
Well, the open sore patches seem to be drying up and scaling over (although Bambi keeps scratching the scab off his nose) so it may be helping, I'm not sure how to tell.
I will look into the Imaverol if nothing changes in the next two-ish days but I've heard it's very harsh so I'd like to avoid it if possible - thank you so much for the advice though! That's really helpful! (And I may still end up using it)
We're keeping an eye on my older one, but he seems to be slowly getting better. I'll definitely take him back to the vet if he doesn't pick up very soon. Thank you!
 
Happy to help and glad things are improving.

Imaverol is effective but not harsh and can be used on babies if necessary. It is an emollient so actually kinder to their skin than some fungal products. Obviously it is still a product being put onto their skin so understand where you are coming from.
 
Hi best of luck to your buddies; I was just wondering what the symptoms were?
 
Cavyhappy said:
Hi best of luck to your buddies; I was just wondering what the symptoms were?
Click to expand...
It started as bald patches, then what looked like a bite on Jester's hip and Bambi's nose. Then their ears became flakey and dandruffy with sore patches, their fur came out around the sore spots and they seemed to crust over after I bathed them and became grey, white and flakey. All 3 pigs have flakey ears now and the sore spots all look hard and grey, so I hope it's drying up since it's not bleeding anymore. It looks almost exactly like photos of fungal problems I've seen and the vet did confirm it, so I'm going to continue the Malaseb treatment and see how it goes/make sure it doesn't spread or get worse.
My heart breaks every time I have to put the Malaseb on them though, as they all squirm and obviously hate it. It's horrible and very scary!
Thanks!
 
Thanks for the info, was wondering just in case; BIG hugs to them and I hope the poor little babies get better soon xoxo
 
This evening I bathed all 3 pigs in Malaseb, and Jester was just squealing and desperate to get away from me. It was horrible and he seemed to be in a lot of pain. His ears keep twitching and he seems to have the worst infection of all 3. His eyes look very sore, as do Clown's. Is all this normal? Does it mean it's getting worse?
 
Ringworm does get worse before it gets better and you will find that all of the infected hair should come out. Did the vet give you any pain relief? If so then I recommend giving it about half hour before the bath.

I can't remember but have you posted photos of their condition?
 
She didn't give any pain relief. I will try and phone the vet tomorrow, but I'm still worried that taking them there again will stress them all out even more.
I haven't posted photos of this (I posted photos of them before it got bad), but I will when I find my phone.
The hair does look to be coming out in tufts around the sore spots, and they generally look less red and angry, but I'm concerned because they seem to be in so much pain. Clown seems to have it around his eye too and it's watering and he keeps squinting it.
Thank you!
 
You may not need to take them, just ask if you can call in and pick up some Metacam.

Are they eating ok?
 
They're eating but they're being picky about what they eat, and only seem to want parsley at the minute (although Bambi seems least affected and still eating normally.)
 
It may be that they are uncomfortable or in pain so it is defintely worth mentining pain relief to your vet.
 
Bit of an update, I picked all 3 up today and checked them over. Their skin looks like it MAY be healing -- some parts are darker now and there's less redness, while the sore parts have scabbed over and become dry. Jester didn't mind me handling him unless I went near his ears, which is very different from yesterday.
Clown's eyes look a bit sore, but there's no puss or redness. It looks a tiny but like fatty eye, but really mild. I think he may have fungus around his eyes which has irritated them, but I carefully cleaned around them with sterilized water to prevent infection. They also seemed more interested in food and were drinking a lot.
Hopefully this means they're healing slowly!
 
That's a great sign! They're finally getting better (I think they are healing) :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top