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Mange or fungal?

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Lunacoco

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I’ll start by saying I’ve been to the vet today but not sure what to do next.

I found a baldish patch with some crusty skin on my piggie a couple of weeks ago. From having previous pigs when I was younger, it looked like mange. Only a small patch, she’s absolutely fine otherwise, eating and drinking, and only bothers her when I inspect it. So I treated her with ivermectin behind the ears, and a precautionary dose for her sister, who has no issues. Nothing seemed to be improving so I gave her a second dose after 10 days. Still didn’t seem to be improving so I took her to the vet today.

Vet wasn’t sure and wanted to do a skin scrape. Piggie gets pretty stressed at most things, far more than her sister, and I don’t want to put her through it unless necessary. I have some antibiotics and xeno 450 to give her 2 weeks after the last dose I gave her.

The fur seems to be growing back on the bald patch although there is another crusty patch on her back that isn’t bald. So my question, after all that, is how long does ivermectin take to work and what are the signs it’s getting better? Do I need to remove the crusts myself? Or bathe her after the ivermectin with a shampoo?

I don’t think the vet is familiar with piggies (she said so) and can’t find an exotic vet round her otherwise I’d get a second opinion
 
I'm don't have much experience but I do know that with mites and fungal, it often looks worse before it gets better. Please don't bathe them in anything unless instructed to do so by your vet
 
The problem may be that as you had already self treated the problem it makes it so much harder for the vet to diagnose.
Even a less experienced guinea pig vet will usually be able to tell he difference between mites and fungal.
However as you had already applied medication, that may have been the reason for the skin scrape request.
A skin scrape is fairly fast and is always worth doing as it can be used to rule out fungal (in general) and also specifically diagnose ring worm, which can be transmitted from animals to humans (which is why you want to rule it out or be 110% sure that is what you are dealing with).

So having pre-treated and then turned down a skin scrape means we really can't offer any more advice than you vet already has.
Hopefully the antibiotics and Xeno will do the trick, but if it's fungal then she will need a different treatment all together.
 
Don't pick the crusts - whatever they are!

Xeno spot-on works really fast - certainly if you dose a pig with a heavy mite infestation they can scratch up a frenzy in the first few hours (the mites spasm as they die) and then it calms down as most of the mites have died. This is actually a good indicator that you've identified the culprit - although upsetting for both piggy and owner. The stuff decreases in activity over the next day or two until it wears off. The repeat doses are because it doesn't kill the eggs which will then hatch so the second dose can also trigger a flurry of scratching. My pigs have rarely had proper heavy infestations as if I spot scratching and shedding in a new pig everyone is treated pretty promptly! With fewer mites, or with lice, I don't see that immediate scratching frenzy but I do see a significant reduction in scratching and shedding over the next few days. When we first got Flora she didn't scratch so much but she shed like you wouldn't believe... when she moved from a fleece bed she left a pig-shaped 'shadow' behind! I do second and third doses 2 weeks apart - in our case these have barely been noticed apart from the lotion making long-haired Louise look a bit like a pineapple. I don't bathe after - there's no need as it just wears off - and I blitz out the cages a day or so after each application. But most of the mites will be on the pigs so that's the target.

I've never seen scabby patches with mites. The shedding has been mainly around the rump area - you can get bald spots although it's been a few years since we got that far in - but I did have a fungal piggy who was itching and a bit scabby. She turned out not to have ringworm but it was some other fungus taking hold as she was an old girl and apparently their immune system is not so good. She got special prescription shampoo from the vet which sorted her out and the other pigs did not need to be treated and did not develop symptoms. I don't think there was a skin scraping involved - I can't remember one. This is the only time we've ever shampooed a whole piggy - it's only been bum washing when necessary apart from this one girl. When we've been checked for mites they do something which usually involves a tuft of hair being plucked from the rump (with a pained squeak!) and looking at the base with a microscope. The tuft comes away alarmingly easily if they have mites - even when the vet can't see anything they've usually given xeno as a precaution. It's always been vet strength stuff in the little tubes - not any off the shelf lotions or potions. And always prescribed according to piggy's weight - although mine are hefty so we get the 450 not the mini-50 type.

I'm thinking you might be looking at a fungus - or something else less common I suppose but fungus would be my bet if xeno hasn't made any difference. You won't have harmed your girls with that stuff I'm sure - mine barely notice. Piggies often get the crusty patches around the face or head with a fungus and while that's not impossible with mites it's not something I've ever seen - that's usually thinning and shedding over the back end. Did the vet prescribe systemic antibiotics or a cream? And did they want to scrape the skin to look for mites, lice or fungus... or would it be to distinguish between 3?! If it's a fungus you're going to need something specific.

If you're in the UK have a look at the recommended vet list on the green bar at the top and see whether anyone is near you. You can add your location to your info if you want to (but nothing specific like a postcode, just the general area) in case anyone nearby might have vet related advice. Good luck poor scabby girl x
 
Thanks for your advice. The first patch is on her rump, and the second slightly further up on her back. I think I can see a slight V where the fur is a bit thinner. She has very thick fur (Rex/Teddy mix) so hard to see the patchy areas.
I used the Beaphar stuff, maybe not as good. Vet has given me Xeno. I never saw her scratching or irritated with it so it was hard to see an improvement. She is only uncomfortable when you inspect it and move the fur. The vet seemed to think more likely mange as the other pig is clear and no one has any rashes that has been handling her.
She is very nervy and had been at the vet a while already waiting, so didn’t want to stress her any more. I guess as it seems a mild case, I haven’t seen immediate relief or improvement as it didn’t affect her much in the first place. The first patch is definitely less crusty over the last couple of days
 
She has oral antibiotics as vet thought it would stop any infection and it being sore as she doesn’t like it touched. Vet wanted to test for everything I think.
 
If it's mange then Xeno won't make any difference because it's used for treating mites.
But without a skin scraping it's difficult to tell.
 
But Xeno isn't a bad place to start and if that doesn't help then the next step would be to treat for fungal.
And you are right about the Beapher stuff - it is not strong enough to do anything except possibly reduce the symptoms, but it will not cure the problem.
In the long term using low dose shop bought products simply causes resistance (a bit like the over use of antibiotics in humans).
 
I will use the Xeno next time. Fortunately this is the first skin issue they E had in 2 years and hopefully the last for a while! Is mange/mites the same thing? That’s what Xeno treats?
 
Lunacoco said:
I will use the Xeno next time. Fortunately this is the first skin issue they E had in 2 years and hopefully the last for a while! Is mange/mites the same thing? That’s what Xeno treats?
Click to expand...
Mange is caused by mites. Xeno is used to treat external parasites like mites, lice, fleas and ticks.
 
Lets hope the xeno does the trick. Sometimes if they've scratched repeatedly in one place it can break the skin and cause a scab but if the itching stops that should clear up on its own. Fingers crossed!
 
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