Treating fungus for baby guinea pig

[25SHA]

Hi all,

I have a little 7 week old Abyssinian baby piggy with what looks like a case of ringworm. He was from a rescue piggy and I've had him for about 3 weeks. I noticed that he had a bald spot on top of his head and bald feet when I first bought him, but sadly didn't know anything about ringworm

I have an appointment with an exotics vet, but the earliest they have is next Tuesday! It has rapidly started to look very fungly I've given him a dose of Revolution to kill off any parasites before bathing- in case there was any mange mites.

I have read the information in this forum about ringworm and fungal infections, but I'm unsure which treatment options are safe for baby piggies specifically. Is it okay to use the anti-dandruff shampoos on piggies under 8 weeks?

I have ordered the F10 germicide shampoo, F10 barrier ointment and F10 disinfectant. But I don't want to be doing nothing and letting it spread in the meantime!

Also, for fleece liners that can't be washed in hot water, can washing them in F10 or laundry sanitiser work instead?

Any advice is greatly appreciated

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this

Please do not treat him with anything or bath him before seeing a vet.
Applying revolution or bathing him will wipe the vital markers that a vet needs to make a diagnosis - thus risking you not getting the correct diagnosis.
Keep up with cage disinfection, hot washing bedding, using barrier methods on yourself/washing your clothes, but it really is best not to bathe him before seeing the vet.
Perhaps you can call the vets daily and see if they’ve had a cancellation and could fit you in earlier.

If he has already been bonded with another piggy (being a baby he shouldn’t be alone), then companion will also need treatment

You really are better off to wash the fleece liners at 60 degrees.
Yes the liners may shrink, and you may prefer to then buy more one you’ve dealt with the ringworm, but while you are dealing with ringworm you need to keep things very well hot washed.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

Please take pictures before for the vet to use (and us for confirmation) and ask them whether you can start now as the baby is getting worse very quickly.

You need to treat both piggies. Your older one will have been infected but is currently in the 10-14 days stage between infection and acute outbreak, so with a bath every three days for as long as it takes, they should hopefully never develop ringworm. If necessary, discuss it with the vet clinic.

The baby can have fungal baths (please don't get close to eyes, ears, mouth and nose and use a cottonbud with suds) but they should not necessarily have oral medication unless a vet decides that.

Unfortunately, because their immune system is still under construction, babies tend to get worse quickly and can get ringworm badly. Please leave them and treat them together since any separation is another aggravating stress factor for the baby and the bond may be weakened.

I am very sorry that you are finding yourself in that situation.

I am adding our ringworm guide in case this thread comes up for searches: Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures

 

[piggieminder]

Poor piggy and poor you, ringworm is such a nuisance. If you decide to replace your liners keep hold of the old ones in case you ever need to hot wash liners again. I learnt this the hard way! Cheap bobble bath mats are handy for this purpose too as they handle hot washing better than fleece.

 

[Merab]

Holding you in my thoughts