So I believe one of the skinny pigs has ringworm on his forehead. I've used coconut oil on them today and sprayed Vetericyn on them the day before. Today I went to remove their temporary bedding and found that there was a white color inside their cardboard tube (it's like a giant toilet paper roll). I'm wondering if this could be a male thing or if its fungus due to the one piggies apparent ringworm? Also since these are my first guinea pigs I was wondering if fungus is common and something I will have to deal with regularly despite proper hygiene and cage cleaning? Is the white color I found on the floor of their tube normal? Thanks!
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White residue?
- Thread starter Sunara
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piglet_and_rogers_mama
Adult Guinea Pig
the white residue is probably just dried urine. i think if there is extra calcium, it is showed in the urine. if you believe your pigs have ringworm, you should take them to the vet. while ringworm is common, it's also really contagious, to animals and humans. you'll need to disinfect everything, and get them an antifungal. hth xx
Yeah I'm already working on keeping everything disinfected and clean, and have been applying a natural anti-fungal to them until I can get antibiotics from the vet. I've scheduled to have them both examined for general health as well, as they are new pigs in the household.
It's so strange. I changed out their temporary bedding for fleece. In less than 10 hours, I go look at the fleece and there are little white marks where I'm guessing they have peed. Is this normal? If it is extra calcium, is that a good thing or a bad thing? I'm sorry to sound like a complete idiot. I've had all sorts of rodents, but never a guinea pig. This is my first experience with them and I just want to make sure they are healthy. They are in quarantine right now because I thought one might have ringworm, but now I'm not sure that it was ringworm. If the dry urine is giving off a white residue-like appearance, it's possible that some could have gotten on the one guinea pig (who I thought might have ringworm).
I know bathing a skinny pig can dry out their skin, and moisturizers can clog pores, but I did bathe them last night with baby shampoo. I didn't put any moisturizer on them, though. They were surprisingly filthy (it really looks like they should be scrubbed, but I was gentle and only used my fingers and then dried them in a super absorbent soft cloth wrapped in a layer of fleece for extra warmth). I don't think they were kept clean in their previous environment. I've got a vet appointment scheduled to meet with our new small animal vet. This will be my first time meeting him, but he's one of the best in this area. I've heard a lot of great things about this doctor working with small animals, and he also works on the wild animals living in captivity at the Virginia Living Museum. Hopefully he can take a look at these guys and assess the condition of their health and whether or not fungus may be present.
I know bathing a skinny pig can dry out their skin, and moisturizers can clog pores, but I did bathe them last night with baby shampoo. I didn't put any moisturizer on them, though. They were surprisingly filthy (it really looks like they should be scrubbed, but I was gentle and only used my fingers and then dried them in a super absorbent soft cloth wrapped in a layer of fleece for extra warmth). I don't think they were kept clean in their previous environment. I've got a vet appointment scheduled to meet with our new small animal vet. This will be my first time meeting him, but he's one of the best in this area. I've heard a lot of great things about this doctor working with small animals, and he also works on the wild animals living in captivity at the Virginia Living Museum. Hopefully he can take a look at these guys and assess the condition of their health and whether or not fungus may be present.
Lilly
Adult Guinea Pig
If the white reside is gritty then it is likely calcium from urine and their diet should be changed to reduce the calcium. Too much calcium is not good as it can lead to stones. However, it might not be wee since dried wee tends to turn brown because of oxidisation and so usually does not stay pure white. If it is not gritty and it is white and won't come off the fleece when washed, then it is most likely, ahem. dried ejaculate (otherwise known as boar glue)!
Okay, it's been six days since I brought these little guys home. I'm starting to think that the white residue I saw on one of the pigs was indeed calcium from the urine. I've been reading up on calcium on Guinea Lynx and according to that website, this is normal and nothing to be alarmed about unless it becomes a gritty calcium deposit.
Guinea Lynx (http://www.guinealynx.info/normal.html): "Dried urine may leave powdery white calcium compounds."
Yes their urine also has a brownish orange color to it as well. The white residue is what is left behind once the fleece wicks the urine. I've only had the pigs since Friday and I've been feeding them Oxbow pellets (they share 1/2 a cup - that seems like a reasonable amount considering they don't even finish eating it in one day), and I did start feeding some veggies. But I stopped with the veggies, except for the peppers, to see if the calcium will go away. So right now they are only getting one little slice of red pepper each (I don't want to give them too much Vitamin C - I'm still researching how much is a good amount daily), unlimited timothy hay, and also some orchard grass and alfalfa hay (since the Oxbow pellets are timothy hay and they need alfalfa since they are only 10 weeks old).
Guinea Lynx (http://www.guinealynx.info/normal.html): "Dried urine may leave powdery white calcium compounds."
Yes their urine also has a brownish orange color to it as well. The white residue is what is left behind once the fleece wicks the urine. I've only had the pigs since Friday and I've been feeding them Oxbow pellets (they share 1/2 a cup - that seems like a reasonable amount considering they don't even finish eating it in one day), and I did start feeding some veggies. But I stopped with the veggies, except for the peppers, to see if the calcium will go away. So right now they are only getting one little slice of red pepper each (I don't want to give them too much Vitamin C - I'm still researching how much is a good amount daily), unlimited timothy hay, and also some orchard grass and alfalfa hay (since the Oxbow pellets are timothy hay and they need alfalfa since they are only 10 weeks old).
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