white spots on guinea pigs ear?

[Free Ranger]

Ah poor boy, he does look sad. He is being really brave... and so are you. Perhaps if you can suggest the itrafungol as a sort of experiment to your vet...? If it doesn't work he's lost nothing, and if it does it's kudos to him as he'll be the local fungal infection expert! Perhaps it is just that he cannot access this medication though, I don't know. I can tell you that in the past my young son developed a patch of ringworm on his chest after a scratch by an infected piggy but I never got anything despite being the one to clean them etc. and we had them a long time.
Perhaps he is covering his options with the antiparasitic shampoo in case he wants to rule out skin mites which can also cause itching and clumps of hair loss - I would not be able to tell the difference myself I'm afraid, although when mine have had mites most of the scratching and hair loss has been round the back-end, not round the ears or eyes which seems to be more typical of ringworm fungus. I have no experience of piggy allergies or eczema - the only thing I can suggest is to make sure the fleece is not washed with biological washing powder (the sort which has enzymes in) and this is only because the people I know who have eczema have to really avoid that! I wish you all the luck in the world - you are a most devoted guinea-pig owner

 

[mezmezmeeez]

Ah poor boy, he does look sad. He is being really brave... and so are you. Perhaps if you can suggest the itrafungol as a sort of experiment to your vet...? If it doesn't work he's lost nothing, and if it does it's kudos to him as he'll be the local fungal infection expert! Perhaps it is just that he cannot access this medication though, I don't know. I can tell you that in the past my young son developed a patch of ringworm on his chest after a scratch by an infected piggy but I never got anything despite being the one to clean them etc. and we had them a long time.
Perhaps he is covering his options with the antiparasitic shampoo in case he wants to rule out skin mites which can also cause itching and clumps of hair loss - I would not be able to tell the difference myself I'm afraid, although when mine have had mites most of the scratching and hair loss has been round the back-end, not round the ears or eyes which seems to be more typical of ringworm fungus. I have no experience of piggy allergies or eczema - the only thing I can suggest is to make sure the fleece is not washed with biological washing powder (the sort which has enzymes in) and this is only because the people I know who have eczema have to really avoid that! I wish you all the luck in the world - you are a most devoted guinea-pig owner

I googled itrafungol just to make sure it's available here, it's imported so the price is more than I make in a month... even if my vet told me to use it I simply have no way to afford it.

Good news is, some of the infected areas are getting better! The part above his eye seems to have fallen off and hair is growing back! (which is a good sign, right?), the one on his leg that I posted a picture of also didn't have anymore white spots this morning and now just looks like a bald spot (wound also healed and the scab probably fell off? I changed the bedding either ways), same thing with one of the parts behind his ear!
I'm optimistic about the rest now that I think I'm getting some results!
Not sure if I'm supposed to keep on creaming areas that have gotten better but I'll keep up with it for a couple days just to be safe.

 

[Free Ranger]

Oh that's great news. I would do whatever @Wiebke recommends as she has been my guru long before I joined the forum myself. Something seems to be working anyway. You said he didn't like the creaming when the patches had white spots and that his ears went red... if you are creaming an area which is looking better does he tolerate it better - maybe it doesn't bother him so much? (Or has he just got used to the whole process?)

Can you get hold of a human anti-dandruff shampoo from your pharmacy and give your piggy a full body bath every 3 days?

You should be able to get over the acute ringworm after 3-7 applications of the bathing, depending on the severity.

Does your result match with this? I can't remember which shampoo you are doing at this point... human anti-dandruff, guinea-pig anti-fungal or guinea-pig anti-parasite, or all of them?!

 

[mezmezmeeez]

Oh that's great news. I would do whatever @Wiebke recommends as she has been my guru long before I joined the forum myself. Something seems to be working anyway. You said he didn't like the creaming when the patches had white spots and that his ears went red... if you are creaming an area which is looking better does he tolerate it better - maybe it doesn't bother him so much? (Or has he just got used to the whole process?)



Does your result match with this? I can't remember which shampoo you are doing at this point... human anti-dandruff, guinea-pig anti-fungal or guinea-pig anti-parasite, or all of them?!

I think the redness is from the cream itself, around it's lid has turned red.
He still hates the creaming though, but does actually tolerate it better on the patches that are getting better.
I showered him with the anti dandruff shampoo twice, and once with the anti-parasite.
It was better the day after the anti-parasite shampoo, but I'm getting the vibe that I only realized it's getting better because the scabs had fallen over and I saw new hair.
Can I use both shampoos? I'm not really sure if that would be okay

 

[Free Ranger]

Hmmm - I don't know the answer to that but I will try and get someone more experienced to take a look at this thread again. I am hesitant in case it was the anti-dandruff was the thing that had started to work... but I don't have the experience to know this. Hang in there and I will try and contact a 'staff' person. New hair has got to be a good sign though.
(so the cream goes red!)

 

[Wiebke]

I think the redness is from the cream itself, around it's lid has turned red.
He still hates the creaming though, but does actually tolerate it better on the patches that are getting better.
I showered him with the anti dandruff shampoo twice, and once with the anti-parasite.
It was better the day after the anti-parasite shampoo, but I'm getting the vibe that I only realized it's getting better because the scabs had fallen over and I saw new hair.
Can I use both shampoos? I'm not really sure if that would be okay

Hi

Could you please give us the names of the two shampoos so we can google what they are? We cannot answer this question sight unseen without knowing what you are actually dealing with.
It is important with any antiparasitic shampoos to make sure that they are safe for small animals as especially dog products can contain substances that are highly toxic and potentially lethal for guinea pigs.

Personally I would strongly recommend to continue and finish with the ringworm treatment first. It is no good to stop midway and then - if it is likely ringworm or a fungal skin infection - deal with another flare up again. If problems remain after the end of course, THEN it is time to treat for exzema. Right now, you are at the stage halfway through ringworm treatment where, especially with the creaming, it is no longer obvious what you are dealing with. But unless your piggy has a bad reaction, you always finish one course of treatment before you start something else, especially when it comes to skin problems. Three half-cocked different treatments are worse than one finished one because none of it has the chance to work fully. You also have to wait 48 hours after every skin application before you apply something else to allow any treatment to be absorbed and work fully before you treat again.

 

[mezmezmeeez]

Hi

Could you please give us the names of the two shampoos so we can google what they are? We cannot answer this question sight unseen without knowing what you are actually dealing with.
It is important with any antiparasitic shampoos to make sure that they are safe for small animals as especially dog products can contain substances that are highly toxic and potentially lethal for guinea pigs.

Personally I would strongly recommend to continue and finish with the ringworm treatment first. It is no good to stop midway and then - if it is likely ringworm or a fungal skin infection - deal with another flare up again. If problems remain after the end of course, THEN it is time to treat for exzema. Right now, you are at the stage halfway through ringworm treatment where, especially with the creaming, it is no longer obvious what you are dealing with. But unless your piggy has a bad reaction, you always finish one course of treatment before you start something else, especially when it comes to skin problems. Three half-cocked different treatments are worse than one finished one because none of it has the chance to work fully. You also have to wait 48 hours after every skin application before you apply something else to allow any treatment to be absorbed and work fully before you treat again.

I think it is ringworm, My other piggy (although separated from Percy by a see through screen) is also scratching himself about 4 times a day as far as I've noticed. I haven't found a bald spot or a scab but there is a bit of dandruff on his coat (which is black, hence me noticing the tiny specks in the first place); I'll post a picture as soon as I'm done with my online class. I don't think eczema is supposed to be contagious? I only washed my other piggy with the anti dandruff shampoo once when I first bought the bottle.

I thought I could do the anti-dandruff and creaming at the same time since they're both for ringworm (and since the vet told me to use the cream 4 times a day, it still has enough time to do it's job?) but I'm assuming that's wrong by your reply? I've been using the cream once at 8am and once at 8pm, and the anti dandruff shampoo once every 3 days at around 1pm (twice for now, the third time I used the anti parasite shampoo but now I'm just going to keep with the anti dandruff one).

Anyways, here are the shampoos:


For the antidandruff one, I had another option (besides nizoral which wasn't available at the pharmacy at the time) which was "Irox Anti Dandruff Shampoo With Octopirox 1% 200ml", however some of the reviews said it was harsh on their skin (redness, dryness and scaling (?)) so I figured I'm safer using the one I bought. the ingredients for both aren't entirely available online in English but I could translate if it helps;.
As for the anti parasite one, no other information is on the bottle, but on the brands site it says "Anti parasitic &medicated shampoo with tea tree and sitronella oil 300cc".

I also really appreciate you taking the time to reply, Thanks a lot!

 

[mezmezmeeez]

I noticed the writing on the back isn't very readable, this is what it says:
Fulica anti dandruff shampoo is a maintenance and complementary product to control all types of dandruff. active ingredients: piroctone olamine, thyme extract and provitamin b5. this product is a follow up treatment for dandruff. if you have severe dandruff and have not been treated before, it is necessary to start the dandruff treatment program with fulica anti dandruff shampoo for dry dandruff or fulica anti dandruff shampoo for oily dandruff for at least 10 weeks in order to completely eliminate the dandruff and then maintain the result using fulica anti dandruff shampoo for frequent use.

Also, while hair is growing back (especially noticable above percy's eye), there is still some dandruff white spots attached to the hair roots.... like, hair is growing on top of the dandruff? based on the guide in this forum for ringworm, I was under the impression that ringworm would cause a bald spot, and hair would only grow back when the scabs and dandruff are completely gone. I'd take pictures, but I already creamed this morning. I'll post pictures tomorrow; it looks similar to the picture I posted of percy's ear before I started creaming in reply to piggies&buns; white dandruff on the bottom and hair growing on top.

 

[Wiebke]

Please continue to apply the anti-dandruff shampoo every three days for at least 3-4 times to get on top of the ringworm.
You can use the creaming additionally because they are very similar active ingredients from the class.
You also need to deal with the companion.

Guinea don't usually get eczema. It may be that yours could be infected by hay mites (chirodiscoides caviae) additionally due to a lowered immune system. This actually causes a lot of dandruff - but NOT on the ears. Please feel for tiny beads sitting on hairs especially underneath the top coat at the bum end.

The antiparasitic shampoo is not harmful (thankfully) but it is also not very effective against guinea pig skin parasites so I would recommend to firstly deal with the ringworm, incleaning the whole hygiene, and to make sure that you get past the infectious phase and don't have any spores around that can cause new infections within 10 days to the next two years.

Then we can see whether there is an parasitical problem, too and tackle that.
New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites

 

[mezmezmeeez]

Please continue to apply the anti-dandruff shampoo every three days for at least 3-4 times to get on top of the ringworm.
You can use the creaming additionally because they are very similar active ingredients from the class.
You also need to deal with the companion.

Guinea don't usually get eczema. It may be that yours could be infected by hay mites (chirodiscoides caviae) additionally due to a lowered immune system. This actually causes a lot of dandruff - but NOT on the ears. Please feel for tiny beads sitting on hairs especially underneath the top coat at the bum end.

The antiparasitic shampoo is not harmful (thankfully) but it is also not very effective against guinea pig skin parasites so I would recommend to firstly deal with the ringworm, incleaning the whole hygiene, and to make sure that you get past the infectious phase and don't have any spores around that can cause new infections within 10 days to the next two years.

Then we can see whether there is an parasitical problem, too and tackle that.
New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites

God I really do appreciate the people on this forum, you're all super amazing and helpful!

There are no spots on the bum end, only a very tiny dandruffy area beside one of his nipples which came up later. The start of the whole thing was with his ear.
I'll keep up with the shampoo and creaming; I'll use the shampoo on my other piggy as well to be safe.

Also, quick question, with COVID and all I have a lot of disinfectant alcohol; since I couldn't get any anti fungal disinfectors for the cage cleaning (explained the process in an earlier reply), could I use alcohol on the fleece and grids after washing, and then leave in the sun for 3 days or would it not make a difference?

 

[Wiebke]

God I really do appreciate the people on this forum, you're all super amazing and helpful!

There are no spots on the bum end, only a very tiny dandruffy area beside one of his nipples which came up later. The start of the whole thing was with his ear.
I'll keep up with the shampoo and creaming; I'll use the shampoo on my other piggy as well to be safe.

Also, quick question, with COVID and all I have a lot of disinfectant alcohol; since I couldn't get any anti fungal disinfectors for the cage cleaning (explained the process in an earlier reply), could I use alcohol on the fleece and grids after washing, and then leave in the sun for 3 days or would it not make a difference?

Do you have access to bleach? If you use that and let stand for 15 minutes before rinsing off, then that is better than alcohol.

 

[mezmezmeeez]

Do you have access to bleach? If you use that and let stand for 15 minutes before rinsing off, then that is better than alcohol.

Will do!
thank you.

 

[mezmezmeeez]

An update because this morning I was super excited to see tiny hair growing on Percy's ear! Still has tiny dandruff specks though.

Above his eye which has had the most improvement (notice the tiny dandruff):

And on his back! :

Looking much much much better after 3 washes with the anti dandruff shampoo and around 2 weeks of creaming.
Does anyone have any idea when the scratching will stop? because he still does scratch himself quite a bit. At first I was worried that it's spreading again, but I haven't found any new patches, just the old, slowly healing ones. As for my other piggy, he does have dandruff on his coat and scratches himself but has no bald patches or scaly areas (or even dandruff) on his skin.

Still, everything seems to be going well!
Hopefully it's okay for me to keep updating? Seeing the difference from the start of the thread helps me calm down a lot

 

[Free Ranger]

That's great to hear and I was hoping you would keep updating so we can follow your progress!
I try to 'finish' my threads so anyone who reads them now or in the future will know how things turned out and I think it's an even better idea for anything like this which goes on for a while as if someone is on the same journey with their pig the not-knowing can be the worst part. I'll tag @Wiebke who should know more about the scratching but I'm guessing if you have to keep shampooing for a few weeks at least - if it's 3-7 shampoos 'to see an improvement' that doesn't mean 3-7 shampoos to cure it. Are you also shampooing the other piggy? And if so how many has he had?
Oh... and he's beautiful!

 

[mezmezmeeez]

That's great to hear and I was hoping you would keep updating so we can follow your progress!
I try to 'finish' my threads so anyone who reads them now or in the future will know how things turned out and I think it's an even better idea for anything like this which goes on for a while as if someone is on the same journey with their pig the not-knowing can be the worst part. I'll tag @Wiebke who should know more about the scratching but I'm guessing if you have to keep shampooing for a few weeks at least - if it's 3-7 shampoos 'to see an improvement' that doesn't mean 3-7 shampoos to cure it. Are you also shampooing the other piggy? And if so how many has he had?
Oh... and he's beautiful!

Thank you so much!
Your replies have been very comforting.
My other piggy has been washed with the shampoo twice, once about a week ago when I first got the shampoo, and once more yesterday. I hadn't paid attention to the improvement part, that's a good point. I guess the treatment time will be much longer then? Hopefully they don't end up with pneumonia or an URI with all the washing

As soon as they're better I'm doing a photoshoot (with lots of veggies as the modeling fee). I've been stalking this forum obsessively and I'm super jealous of all the pretty/handsome piggy pictures! Although mine are much more handsome

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you so much!
Your replies have been very comforting.
My other piggy has been washed with the shampoo twice, once about a week ago when I first got the shampoo, and once more yesterday. I hadn't paid attention to the improvement part, that's a good point. I guess the treatment time will be much longer then? Hopefully they don't end up with pneumonia or an URI with all the washing

As soon as they're better I'm doing a photoshoot (with lots of veggies as the modeling fee). I've been stalking this forum obsessively and I'm super jealous of all the pretty/handsome piggy pictures! Although mine are much more handsome

The human dandruff shampoo is quite harsh on the skin and dries it out, so that may be the reason why yours are still scratching. It will take several days for the grease gland to produce enough oil and for your piggies to distribute it over the body. The ear looks great.
I would give them another bath at the end of treatment when you do the last deep clean on the cage so not ringworm spores are carried across. Make sure that there are no other new ringworm spots on the bodies anywhere.

If the itching doesn't stop within a week after the end of treatment (piggies will always scratch a little, especially with dry air from radiator heat; but it it shouldn't be constant and very vigorous), then please contact us again.

 

[mezmezmeeez]

I got happy too quickly.
Both are still scratching (Percy much less than he used to, but still more than normal), Frodo also has patches on both ears which weren't there yesterday, and I didn't cream Percy for 24 hours just to see whether he's getting better or not, the dandruff is still there of course, it looks much better, hair is growing, and they aren't as dense as they were, but still there. I get the vibe that the moment I stop treatment they're gonna come up right again.

I have been cleaning the cages regularly and as well as I can - a mix of using the vacuum (I read that the spores are light and can get sucked in the vacuum), hot water, bleach, alcohol, bathroom cleaning supplies, throwing in the washing machine for a deep wash to get rid of any chemicals, and finally leaving in the sun. The original hideys I have left alone till the infection is dealt with and just use cardboard boxes that I change every week... I am this close to just giving up.

I'm taking them both to the vet again today, since Frodo also got it then it definitely is not eczema and the vet might agree to oral treatments. Creaming doesn't seem to have an effect at all and while there is some improvement since using the anti dandruff shampoo, it doesn't seem to be making that big of a difference either...

Pictures of Frodo's ears:



Percy's ear which is the easiest part to take pictures of:

 

[Bill & Ted]

I got happy too quickly.
Both are still scratching (Percy much less than he used to, but still more than normal), Frodo also has patches on both ears which weren't there yesterday, and I didn't cream Percy for 24 hours just to see whether he's getting better or not, the dandruff is still there of course, it looks much better, hair is growing, and they aren't as dense as they were, but still there. I get the vibe that the moment I stop treatment they're gonna come up right again.

I have been cleaning the cages regularly and as well as I can - a mix of using the vacuum (I read that the spores are light and can get sucked in the vacuum), hot water, bleach, alcohol, bathroom cleaning supplies, throwing in the washing machine for a deep wash to get rid of any chemicals, and finally leaving in the sun. The original hideys I have left alone till the infection is dealt with and just use cardboard boxes that I change every week... I am this close to just giving up.

I'm taking them both to the vet again today, since Frodo also got it then it definitely is not eczema and the vet might agree to oral treatments. Creaming doesn't seem to have an effect at all and while there is some improvement since using the anti dandruff shampoo, it doesn't seem to be making that big of a difference either...

Pictures of Frodo's ears:
View attachment 157368
View attachment 157369

Percy's ear which is the easiest part to take pictures of:
View attachment 157370

Aw so sorry for you, fingers crossed, you will get it under control x

 

[Wiebke]

All the best!

I am sorry that it is such a nightmare for you.

 

[mezmezmeeez]

Thank you!

Intrafungol is completely out of my price range (not easy to get either) so besides that, after reading the ringworm guide again I have a few questions about oral treatments before I bring it up to my vet again.
Ketaconazole 200mg and itraconazole 100mg tablets are available here; are these okay to give to guinea pigs?
How would it work, mix the dosage given by the vet with water and syringe feed to the piggies?
Or are they supposed to have a specific type of mix which is only available in intrafungol?

 

[mezmezmeeez]

Also, since they both have it now, can I get rid of the screen between the cages?

 

[Siikibam]

Is the screen what’s dividing each part of their cage? As in if you remove it will they have access to each other’s part? If yes then you can’t do that. They need to be bonded on neutral ground.

If the cages are completely separate then that’s fine to just remove.

 

[Wiebke]

Also, since they both have it now, can I get rid of the screen between the cages?

Yes, they can be together but I would let them meet outside the cage on neutral ground. The bathtub or shower basin will do with towel on the ground. It is easy to clean of any ringworm spores afterwards.
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

Your vet will have to compute of how much of a tablet you will have to give (i.e. how many dosages you get out of a tablet) per piggy per day. Grind down a tablet and mix with 1 ml of water per dosage you get out of the tablet. Let the powder absorb and then shake well until you have a mix. Then you syringe either 1 ml or 2 ml per day.

Most of what is in tablet is a filler like rice powder into which the active ingredient is mixed. Some tablet fillers suck up more water when you mix the ground up tablets with water than others. If they are very absorbent and turn the water very gloopy, 2 ml of water per lot is easier to syringe. Always shake well before use (a small medicine bottle is ideal. But this is the best and safest method to ensure that your piggies get the same amount every time.

Oral fungicides are much more effective, especially when you are dealing with fungal (ringworm or candida infections) in sensitive places like ears, next to eyes or in the mouth, or with several acute patches all over the body but they can come with more side effects. Generally they are pretty well tolerated. I have never had a problem with any oral fungicides. But the syrups are not quite cheap.


Please be aware that the mix doesn't keep for very long, so you will have to make it fresh every 2 days or so.

 

[mezmezmeeez]

Thank you all, especially Wiebke, for your help.

The areas on Percy's body have healed; hair has grown pretty well and I'm not seeing any dandruff like specks besides on one of his legs; which going by the rest of his body I'm optimistic about. He still scratches, but much less and I'm hoping it's because either his skin is too dry due to the shampoo or the tiny hair growing irritates him.
The problem is the ears on both of my piggies, The infection just won't go away from the ears even though it was the first area to get the infection and has been creamed for the longest time. I wonder if it's because I don't directly apply the anti dandruff shampoo on the ears and leave the pigs to spread it there themselves as recommended by the bathing guide.... either way, its spread to the inside of Percy's ears and has gotten bigger on Frodo's. I'm hoping it's the getting worse before it gets better part and heals just as the rest of the areas have.

As for oral treatments, the vet is a mess. No offense to any vets in the forum, but an absolute mess. Still doesn't think it's a fungal infection because I haven't got it. Not like me taking hygiene seriously and Frodo also getting it matters. You see, the last time they took care of a piggy with a fungal infection they got it themselves! It spread all over their face! If it was a fungal infection, that would've happened to me too, you see! /s
Doesn't agree that it's fungal, but still tells me to apply the ketoconazole cream. I told them about the oral treatments, agreed to give me a dose. Don't they have to weight the piggies for a correct dose calculation? Didn't do it, just told me to message him later so he can tell me the correct dosage over text. He didn't do that either (wouldn't have taken it either ways, what kind of treatment is that?!). What he did tell me was to stop fussing over them. Apparently me worrying about the 'unknown disease' is what caused it to get worse in the first place. Don't know why I even bothered.

On the bright side, they are bonded! Seem to like each other well enough, Frodo follows Percy everywhere and it's so cute to watch! They popcorn, zoom and eat together, they sometimes seem to nap in the same hidey too! Shame they're fighting the same infection together as well though.

On the dark side, I simply do not have the time to do laundry and deep clean every three days when I bathe them. I live alone now and deadlines are pilling up. Hopefully I've done enough on that account and won't be punished by the gods for not keeping to the routine and doing it once a week will do.

Anyways, just thought I'd give a bit of an update. Once again, thank you all for your help up till now!

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you all, especially Wiebke, for your help.

The areas on Percy's body have healed; hair has grown pretty well and I'm not seeing any dandruff like specks besides on one of his legs; which going by the rest of his body I'm optimistic about. He still scratches, but much less and I'm hoping it's because either his skin is too dry due to the shampoo or the tiny hair growing irritates him.
The problem is the ears on both of my piggies, The infection just won't go away from the ears even though it was the first area to get the infection and has been creamed for the longest time. I wonder if it's because I don't directly apply the anti dandruff shampoo on the ears and leave the pigs to spread it there themselves as recommended by the bathing guide.... either way, its spread to the inside of Percy's ears and has gotten bigger on Frodo's. I'm hoping it's the getting worse before it gets better part and heals just as the rest of the areas have.

As for oral treatments, the vet is a mess. No offense to any vets in the forum, but an absolute mess. Still doesn't think it's a fungal infection because I haven't got it. Not like me taking hygiene seriously and Frodo also getting it matters. You see, the last time they took care of a piggy with a fungal infection they got it themselves! It spread all over their face! If it was a fungal infection, that would've happened to me too, you see! /s
Doesn't agree that it's fungal, but still tells me to apply the ketoconazole cream. I told them about the oral treatments, agreed to give me a dose. Don't they have to weight the piggies for a correct dose calculation? Didn't do it, just told me to message him later so he can tell me the correct dosage over text. He didn't do that either (wouldn't have taken it either ways, what kind of treatment is that?!). What he did tell me was to stop fussing over them. Apparently me worrying about the 'unknown disease' is what caused it to get worse in the first place. Don't know why I even bothered.

On the bright side, they are bonded! Seem to like each other well enough, Frodo follows Percy everywhere and it's so cute to watch! They popcorn, zoom and eat together, they sometimes seem to nap in the same hidey too! Shame they're fighting the same infection together as well though.

On the dark side, I simply do not have the time to do laundry and deep clean every three days when I bathe them. I live alone now and deadlines are pilling up. Hopefully I've done enough on that account and won't be punished by the gods for not keeping to the routine and doing it once a week will do.

Anyways, just thought I'd give a bit of an update. Once again, thank you all for your help up till now!

Thank you!

Ringworm typically sits at the bottom of the hairs; that is why all affected hairs need to come out and why it has to get optically worse before it can get better. This however means that the hairless areas are much more difficult to clear with topical (on the skin treatment). It is concerning that the ringworm has gone inside the ears because they are impossible to reach with creams and shampoos.

When this happened with my Ceri in January 2012 because of her lowered immune system from an irregular heartbeat I was lucky to being able to persuade my vet to trial a the then new systemic oral cat medication on my own responsibility - Ceri was free of acute ringworm within a week and neither I nor my vet have looked back since.

I don't know what else I can recommend to use safely for that location.
Perhaps one of the other members have experience with this most tricky of places; especially in view of your medical limitations in Iran, both in terms of guinea pigs being a new type of pet and access to products.
@PigglePuggle, who is our medical specialist with parasites.

 

[mezmezmeeez]

Thank you!

Ringworm typically sits at the bottom of the hairs; that is why all affecet hairs need to come out. This however means that the hairless areas are difficult to clear with topical (on the skin treatment). It is concerning that the ringworm has gone inside the ears because they are impossible to reach with creams and shampoos.

When this happened with my Ceri in January 2012 because of her lowered immune system from an irregular heartbeat I was lucky to being able to persuade my vet to trial a the then new systemic oral cat medication on my own responsibility - Ceri was free of acute ringworm within a week and neither I nor my vet have looked back since.

I don't know what else I can recommend to use safely for that location.
Perhaps one of the other members have experience with this most tricky of places; especially in view of your medical limitations in Iran, both in terms of guinea pigs being a new type of pet and access to products.
@PigglePuggle, who is our medical specialist with parasites.

Thankfully, it is still possible to apply the cream on the areas inside his ears. It's not on the hole (?) but rather the outer parts (?) if that makes sense. I'm keeping up with the cream and hoping for the best.

 

[Wiebke]

Thankfully, it is still possible to apply the cream on the areas inside his ears. It's not on the hole (?) but rather the outer parts (?) if that makes sense. I'm keeping up with the cream and hoping for the best.

You can try to apply the suds (the foamy bit of the shampoo) to the ears, too, and let them dry on if the ringworm is still in places you can get to.

 

[PigglePuggle]

Thank you!

Ringworm typically sits at the bottom of the hairs; that is why all affected hairs need to come out and why it has to get optically worse before it can get better. This however means that the hairless areas are much more difficult to clear with topical (on the skin treatment). It is concerning that the ringworm has gone inside the ears because they are impossible to reach with creams and shampoos.

When this happened with my Ceri in January 2012 because of her lowered immune system from an irregular heartbeat I was lucky to being able to persuade my vet to trial a the then new systemic oral cat medication on my own responsibility - Ceri was free of acute ringworm within a week and neither I nor my vet have looked back since.

I don't know what else I can recommend to use safely for that location.
Perhaps one of the other members have experience with this most tricky of places; especially in view of your medical limitations in Iran, both in terms of guinea pigs being a new type of pet and access to products.
@PigglePuggle, who is our medical specialist with parasites.

Hi, I was giving this some thought then it occured to me that the topical treatment Surolan which is quite effective for ringworm is in fact an ear drop formulation and so designed to go inside the ears safely. Surolan is a combination antifungal/antbacterial so covers all bases really if your vet doesnt believe the infection is fungal (though it certainly sounds fungal). I dont know if you can get Surolan in your country but if you can it sounds like what you need, safe to go inside the ears and also on the skin and more effective than many antifungal creams. Healing wheeks for your piggies x

 

[Wiebke]

Here are the ingredients in surolan when researching a corresponding product in Iran:

Surolan: miconazole nitrate

Surolan contains 23 mg/mL miconazole nitrate, 0.5293 mg/mL polymyxin B sulfate and 5 mg/mL prednisolone acetate. Inactive ingredients are colloidal silicon dioxide and liquid paraffin.30 Dec 2009
https://www.drugs.com/pro/surolan.html

 

[mezmezmeeez]

Thank you both so much!
Once again, Surolan is not available here. I wonder if you're as frustrated as I am about this
I have contacted one of my veterinary student friends and if the infection still doesn't clear up in about a week (when Percy has 7 full baths), we'll look into a corresponding product with the help of her professors.
I'm going to try applying suds as Wiebke suggested today because I think the anti dandruff shampoo is the thing helping with the infection; I found a bald spot that has already healed and has hair growing on Frodo, hadn't noticed it before since his hair is long but since it's already healed without me applying cream, I'm optimistic that using the foam will help with the ears as well.