Is this ear looking ok?

[h.h.lovecraft]

Hi everyone. So I was checking the girls ears and have some questions and concerns. My main concern is Witchy, one of her ears on the inside looks dry, crusty and white, especially on the "ridge" of the inner ear if you know what I mean. She doesn't have any other crusty spots on her and her other ear looks normal. The outside of her ear looks a little dry, I know that could be dry skin or a fungus in the worst case. I took pictures of both her ears, her ears are different colors (one brown, one black) so it is a little hard to tell how off it actually looks compared to the other.

The normal looking ear:


The dry looking ear:




I am no stranger to ringworm and foot fungus, but is there such a thing that only sits in the ear? They had ringworm as babies, but it spread really quickly over their whole body, so I'd be surprised if this was the same fungus. I really don't think it's anything like ear mites, the symptoms don't fit. Husband doesn't think it looks very bad. It doesn't seem to affect her at all and she doesn't really scratch or anything, but I don't think her ear looks like a normal healthy ear. I am already thinking about a vet trip, but I just wanted to get some advice before I take the next step.

My other question: Hexi has a lot of ear wax build up. Her one ear is pink and there is more brown ear wax than pink skin in her ear. It's not clumps or anything, but it does seem like a lot. I asked my vet about it once and she said it was harmless and that I shouldn't do anything about ear wax, but she has course, dense fur and I know piggies of these breeds can have issues. Just wanted some opinions on this because she does seem to have more wax in her ear than when I had asked the vet a few months ago. Thanks in advance!

 

[h.h.lovecraft]

Just wanted to add that I looked in her ear again and the ear wax in the crusty ear is very clumpy, like hard little clumps. I always assumed it was supposed to be more soft and waxy?

 

[weepweeps]

Hello. When I first got Pepper he got a dry white ear. It was in lockdown so I had to have a video call with the vet. They treated for mites and it cleared up. I would definitely recommend a vet visit. Just to nip anything in the bud. Good luck.

 

[VickiA]

If in doubt please ask the vet to check it for you.

 

[metalhead]

not an expert by any means and it was a LONG time ago that i was a vet assistant but it looks like mites to me, best pop to the vet, hope it gets better soon xx

 

[h.h.lovecraft]

Hello. When I first got Pepper he got a dry white ear. It was in lockdown so I had to have a video call with the vet. They treated for mites and it cleared up. I would definitely recommend a vet visit. Just to nip anything in the bud. Good luck.

Thank you, I think I will have her seen. I am a little worried though as I have no idea how long she has had this. It couldn't have been months or anything, but maybe a few weeks. Is this something that can progress and go downhill fast? My vet can be booked up up to two weeks sometimes. Was the treatmet for you piggy an oral one?

 

[weepweeps]

It did come up quite quickly. And did spread a little bit between his eye and ear. We were prescribed the spot on treatment. Three rounds of treatment two weeks apart. So six weeks in total. Had to do Percy at the same time but he didn’t have any symptoms. It took about 5 weeks to clear up. Good luck. It might not be mites. See what the vets say.

 

[h.h.lovecraft]

If in doubt please ask the vet to check it for you.

I agree with you. I know ear issues can potentially cause serious damage if left untreated so I just made the call. They are pretty booked up, but the vet nurse said she will try to get me in this week, might be next week though. Hopefully it doesn't progress until then.

 

[Wiebke]

Just wanted to add that I looked in her ear again and the ear wax in the crusty ear is very clumpy, like hard little clumps. I always assumed it was supposed to be more soft and waxy?

Hi!

I would recommend to see a vet for the best way/product to deal with the wax build up; especially the kind of harder wax you are dealing with. DIY treatment can easily do more harm than good.

 

[h.h.lovecraft]

Hi!

I would recommend to see a vet for the best way/product to deal with the wax build up; especially the kind of harder wax you are dealing with. DIY treatment can easily do more harm than good.

Yes I will definitely bring it up, I can already tell it's not going to be easy to get out on its own. Do you think there is more going on like mites or another fungal issue from my picture?

 

[Merab]

Hope all can be easily dealt with when you go to the vet.

 

[Wiebke]

Yes I will definitely bring it up, I can already tell it's not going to be easy to get out on its own. Do you think there is more going on like mites or another fungal issue from my picture?

Hi

Your pictures are unfortunately a) too fuzzy and b) the ears should really have a hands-on and close up view examination to see what is going on.

We can only guess on limited info - and that won't get you any further whichever way.
For a precise answer I would ideally require a crystal ball with in-built microscope and stethoscope app with ideally an x-ray and scan plug-in, unfortunately, in order to give you a reliable sneak preview. A magic diagnostic wand you also come in very handy but they are even harder to come by. If you find any on offer somewhere, PLEASE let me know. I would be ever so delighted because it would make my job on here so much easier instead of muddling through on whatever info I am presented with by remote access...

Everybody would love to get a quick definite answer but that is something that online advising often cannot to do nor are we legally allowed to in a UK based public space.

 

[h.h.lovecraft]

Hi everyone. Just wanted to update. I took Witchy to the vet and she believes Witchy has a minor fungus of the ear. She also treated for mites just in case. Her ear wax was pretty clumped up in her ear canal, she must feel so much better now that it's gone. My vet also acknowledged how well they are developing since she first saw them as very sick little babies, so that made me feel like a proud guinea mom. I wanted to share a tip the vet gave me. Ear infections usually start in the inner ear before you can really see it around the outer ear. A way you can check for inner ear issues is to gently press around the base of the ear (the area diagonal to the eye, where their inner ear canal sits) and gauge your piggies reaction. Piggies usually don't like being touched there, but there is a difference between a "don't touch me because I don't like it" reaction and a "don't touch me because I'm in pain" reaction. This takes a bit of time and practice because you need to learn your pigs behavioral cues, but once you get an idea of their normal reaction, it will be easier to tell if something more is going on. Also, I know I don't have to tell most on here, but please do not dig around your piggies ears yourself, especially not around the ear canal. My vet was also adamant that piggies ears do not need to be cleaned unless there is an issue, or you have a breed that is prone to problems. My Hexi is some variety of rexoid breed, which are known for having issues, but her ears luckily looked perfectly normal. Thanks again for everyone's advice and kind words.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone. Just wanted to update. I took Witchy to the vet and she believes Witchy has a minor fungus of the ear. She also treated for mites just in case. Her ear wax was pretty clumped up in her ear canal, she must feel so much better now that it's gone. My vet also acknowledged how well they are developing since she first saw them as very sick little babies, so that made me feel like a proud guinea mom. I wanted to share a tip the vet gave me. Ear infections usually start in the inner ear before you can really see it around the outer ear. A way you can check for inner ear issues is to gently press around the base of the ear (the area diagonal to the eye, where their inner ear canal sits) and gauge your piggies reaction. Piggies usually don't like being touched there, but there is a difference between a "don't touch me because I don't like it" reaction and a "don't touch me because I'm in pain" reaction. This takes a bit of time and practice because you need to learn your pigs behavioral cues, but once you get an idea of their normal reaction, it will be easier to tell if something more is going on. Also, I know I don't have to tell most on here, but please do not dig around your piggies ears yourself, especially not around the ear canal. My vet was also adamant that piggies ears do not need to be cleaned unless there is an issue, or you have a breed that is prone to problems. My Hexi is some variety of rexoid breed, which are known for having issues, but her ears luckily looked perfectly normal. Thanks again for everyone's advice and kind words.

Good that you have had the ear seen. I was wondering about some potential fungal but the picture was just too fuzzy to make an educated guess.

Ears and eyes are such delicate organs in guinea pigs that it is always best to have them vet checked and to not home treat on spec.

 

[Merab]

Glad the vet trip went so well.