Fungus and mites treatment at same time

[Guineatte]

Our 2 10-week old girls got a case of fungus. Lucy on the rump with lots three bald areas and lots of dandruff and Toffee in the face with bloody scabs and hair loss. The vet also spotted mites. Both are quite itchy but otherwise in good shape, eating with appetite and popcorning around.
We saw the vet about 10 days ago.

The same day we ordered Xeno 450 which we applied 6 days ago, half a Pipette each, for the mites. Our vet told us to give it once but I know from past mite treatments that it has to be given 3 times 2 weeks apart to catch any newly hatched mites.

I also started immediately treating them with an anti fungal cream (Canesten for thrush) on and around all affected areas. This didn’t seem to be very effective.
We then ordered Ivamerol and bathed them and their companion 4 days ago. The same day we took their housing completely apart and desinfected everything with F10. Toffee’s face looks a bit better but she is now itching the ear on the other side of her head bloody. And Lucy’s rump shows no significant improvement. Still lots of dandruff but some new hair growth on one bald spot.

We also decided to order Itrafungol (we had to pay £18 for the prescription and £78 for the Itrafungol, still considerably cheaper than getting it directly from the vet).

Now my question (apologies for the super long intro story):
We wanted to start giving the Itrafungol but now I read that it shouldn’t be given together with Ivermectin. We gave the Ivermectin 6 days ago and will have to give it again. The Itrafungol will have to be given 3 times for a week on and off.
Has anyone experience in treating with both medications at the same time? Or should we rather stick to the bath treatment with Ivamerol?

I checked for mites today and cannot see any, only lots of dandruff on Lucy. I wonder if one application of Ivermectin is actually enough.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

From what I know mites are microscopic under the skin so you shouldn't be able to see them, unless the vet took a skin scraping and looked under a microscope? If you yourself are seeing something crawling on their skin then it is likely running lice, for which gorgeous guineas lice n easy shampoo works wonders for, but you shouldn't ever bathe a piggie with mites on top as it can cause seizures, so you need to be very careful with piggies that have both.

I've never used Xeno so I'm not sure how it's used or whether you can use other medications with it, so I'll leave that for someone else to answer. My vet always gives me Pharmaq 1% topical drops for mites/lice which has worked for my girls, but this is the only treatment I have experience with.

Hopefully someone else will be along soon with more info. Ideally you should take them back to the vet if treatment isn't working to make sure you're giving the correct treatment, as mites, lice and fungal can show similar symptoms but require very different treatments, you might be treating the wrong thing. I hope your piggies get better soon!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Xeno does need 3 treatments two weeks apart to catch the full life cycle and fully treat it. You will not be able to see mites - they are not visible to the human eye so the fact you cant see any does not mean treatment is complete.

Creaming with canesten or such like is not effective in dealing with ringworm. The spores cover a wider area on the body that you would apply the cream so they are still shed and still continue the infection and reinfection. Ringworm spores can live in the environment for up to two years, hence the need for thorough disinfection with f10, hot washing fleece and throwing away anything which can’t be washed.

The ringworm below details how to effectively deal with it and the strict hygiene measures which are needed.

Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures

 

[Guineatte]

From what I know mites are microscopic under the skin so you shouldn't be able to see them, unless the vet took a skin scraping and looked under a microscope? If you yourself are seeing something crawling on their skin then it is likely running lice, for which gorgeous guineas lice n easy shampoo works wonders for, but you shouldn't ever bathe a piggie with mites on top as it can cause seizures, so you need to be very careful with piggies that have both.

I've never used Xeno so I'm not sure how it's used or whether you can use other medications with it, so I'll leave that for someone else to answer. My vet always gives me Pharmaq 1% topical drops for mites/lice which has worked for my girls, but this is the only treatment I have experience with.

Hopefully someone else will be along soon with more info. Ideally you should take them back to the vet if treatment isn't working to make sure you're giving the correct treatment, as mites, lice and fungal can show similar symptoms but require very different treatments, you might be treating the wrong thing. I hope your piggies get better soon!

Thank you for your help. The vet saw some mites moving in the fur itself. I think these are hay mites rather than burrowing mites. At least I hope that’s what they are. She tried to show me but now I am not sure if I really saw them or if it was only dandruff being dislodged by the movement of the hairs. Because it’s so difficult to distinguish between mites and fungus I heard it is best to treat for both.

 

[Guineatte]

Xeno does need 3 treatments two weeks apart to catch the full life cycle and fully treat it. You will not be able to see mites - they are not visible to the human eye so the fact you cant see any does not mean treatment is complete.

Creaming with canesten or such like is not effective in dealing with ringworm. The spores cover a wider area on the body that you would apply the cream so they are still shed and still continue the infection and reinfection. Ringworm spores can live in the environment for up to two years, hence the need for thorough disinfection with f10, hot washing fleece and throwing away anything which can’t be washed.

The ringworm below details how to effectively deal with it and the strict hygiene measures which are needed.

Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures

Thank you for the advice. Then I was right in thinking to treat them 3 times with the ivermectin. I will do that.
The Canesten cream seemed to help a bit to stop the speed of spread while we were waiting for the Imaverol bath but really didn’t get rid of the fungus at all.
I read that Itrafungol is the best treatment to really catch all areas but I am worried to use it at the same time as the Xeno treatment.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you for your help. The vet saw some mites moving in the fur itself. I think these are hay mites rather than burrowing mites. At least I hope that’s what they are. She tried to show me but now I am not sure if I really saw them or if it was only dandruff being dislodged by the movement of the hairs. Because it’s so difficult to distinguish between mites and fungus I heard it is best to treat for both.

Neither hay mites nor mange mites are visible.
Mange mites burrow and cause a lot of discomfort.
Hay mites lay their eggs which attach to the hair shaft. They are annoying but not as dangerous as mange. Hay mites while they themselves are not visible, the eggs are and you will see them as specks stuck in the hair usually around piggy’s back end but they can be anywhere.
If any creatures are seen moving then it is likely lice which are pale crawling creatures and most definitely visible. They are still treated with ivermectin though.

Yes introfungol is the best treatment for ringworm. Bathing being the next best thing where introfungol isn’t available. Creaming is outdated and ineffective.

You wouldn’t treat for both necessarily - you’d get a diagnosis and treat for the right one. But samples being tested in a lab takes time.
Ive used Xeno but never at the same time as anything else - i can’t comment on safety with introfungol and Xeno at the same time.

New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

 

[Guineatte]

Neither hay mites nor mange mites are visible.
Mange mites burrow and cause a lot of discomfort.
Hay mites lay their eggs which attach to the hair shaft. They are annoying but not as dangerous as mange. Hay mites while they themselves are not visible, the eggs are and you will see them as specks stuck in the hair usually around piggy’s back end but they can be anywhere.
If any creatures are seen moving then it is likely lice which are pale crawling creatures and most definitely visible. They are still treated with ivermectin though.

Yes introfungol is the best treatment for ringworm. Bathing being the next best thing where introfungol isn’t available. Creaming is outdated and ineffective.

You wouldn’t treat for both necessarily - you’d get a diagnosis and treat for the right one. But samples being tested in a lab takes time.
Ive used Xeno but never at the same time as anything else - i can’t comment on safety with introfungol and Xeno at the same time.

New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

My vet gave me the diagnosis of both, mites and ringworm. I suspected only the fungus. I was told to treat for both with Xeno for the mites and Canesten for the fungus. After I read about the fungal treatment on here I went immediately back to the vet and discussed treatment with Itrafungol with her. She considered it as too strong for the guineas but in the end gave me a prescription for 0.12ml (which is on the low side as the are both around 500g). In the end we ordered both, Ivamerol and Itrafungol. But because I have already started the Xeno I am now hesitant to give them the Itrafungol because they write not to give it to cats at the same time as Ivermectin.

 

[Siikibam]

Did the vet do a skin scraping to look at under the microscope? If not and he saw something crawling, then that was lice and not mites.

Would you be able to visit another vet and get a second opinion about how to treat both? I’m assuming you’ve seen it but below is the link for recommended vets. Hopefully you don’t have to travel too far.

Recommended Guinea Pig Vets

 

[Hath]

Sorry to jump in. Hope your piggies get the right treatment! It can be difficult to diagnose. My piggie (newcomer) had lice once and they were difficult to get rid of. There was some controversy if ivermectin will kill them because of the blood sucking Vs not. Baths and ivermectin did help us.

I just wondered if anyone seen any difference between treating with xeno (ivermectin) once a week for 3 weeks compared to every two weeks for 6 weeks? Noticed it seems to be preference based on a vet. Anyone had better results with one than the other?