Hamish has a crusty patch on his ear, scared its ringworm.

[AidaB]

Why….. why poor Hamish again?!
Feeling sorry for him, and slightly frustrated.
This morning I spotted Hamish has a crusty patch at the top of his left ear, quite well hidden in his fur.
I am really scared its ringworm. No idea how he caught it.
I have read the ringworm information and feeling slightly overwhelmed by it all.
We have a vet appointment booked for friday.

 

[Claire W]

I am very sorry for Hemish Please try and not panic. I have no experience of Ringworm specifically but I do have experience of fungal. Ena had crusts on her ear that spread to the side of her face. She was only 5 weeks old at the time (had contracted fungal spores from her mum before she came to me and I was warned she may get it too).

Due to her young age, my vet gave me cream to apply several times a day to the sores and it thankfully cleared up and none of my other piggies caught it. Hopefully it will be as straight forward as that for Hemish. If Hemish has a cage mate, please don't separate them as he will already have been exposed so if he's going to catch it, he will do whether he is separated or not x

 

[AidaB]

I am very sorry for Hemish Please try and not panic. I have no experience of Ringworm specifically but I do have experience of fungal. Ena had crusts on her ear that spread to the side of her face. She was only 5 weeks old at the time (had contracted fungal spores from her mum before she came to me and I was warned she may get it too).

Due to her young age, my vet gave me cream to apply several times a day to the sores and it thankfully cleared up and none of my other piggies caught it. Hopefully it will be as straight forward as that for Hemish. If Hemish has a cage mate, please don't separate them as he will already have been exposed so if he's going to catch it, he will do whether he is separated or not x

Thank you. I won’t be seperating him from his friend Hector. They mostly “love” each other!
Just mentally preparing myself for full on deep clean of everything. Made doubly worse by hot days, so boys are in playpen everyday, extra mats, grids etc too deep clean, along with extra hygiene measures.
Will wait and see what the vet says.

 

[Wiebke]

Why….. why poor Hamish again?!
Feeling sorry for him, and slightly frustrated.
This morning I spotted Hamish has a crusty patch at the top of his left ear, quite well hidden in his fur.
I am really scared its ringworm. No idea how he caught it.
I have read the ringworm information and feeling slightly overwhelmed by it all.
We have a vet appointment booked for friday.

Hi

Please take a deep breath. It is likely fungal but not necessarily ringworm and can be therefore got on top of pretty easily.

Ringworm is such massive problem because of the commercial mass-breeding, which also means the ideal breeding ground for ringworm spores that will affect babies whose immune system is still under construction and who are not able to fend it off, as adults sometimes can. It has sadly risen over the last 15 years from an occasional to a very common especially new owners' problem.

There are milder forms around that are not contagious and aggressive the way ringworm is; you often see them on ears, the nose or feet. However, only a hands-on vet examination will tell.

If your vet thinks that it could possibly be ringworm, then please follow our hygiene measures. You should be able to get on top of it within a week or latest two. I am adding the link more for your convenience just in case, not because I think you are highly likely to need it.
Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures

All the best!

 

[AidaB]

Our vet visit went well.
The vet doesnt’t think Hamish has ringworm, but says if it doesn’t go away with treatment, or gets worse then its probably ringworm and time to do a skin scrape.
We have been given Xeno 450 (Ivermectin) as a precaution and Surolan to apply to Hamish’s ear and nipples. The vet thinks he has slightly crust nipples too.
Bless her, she asked me my opinion, and I had to confess that usually if Hamish is being held like that I am busy trying to check/ tidy his bottom, so don’t often look at his nipples!

Poor boys they played very dead.
Hamish got a double exam as the vet had a student with her, Hector got a quick look…. and lay extremely flat, pretending he was invisible!

 

[AidaB]

Oh, and Hamish also get to have metacam for a few days, thanks to having a sore willy, after the mad hump-a-thon a few weeks ago.
Boys . I do love our two despite the antics!