Poor advice from Vet

[Cavy chaos]

I am so annoyed with the vet, I took Sylvia to the vet with a round flaky red edged ring of hairlessness on her belly to the vet and he said ‘I admit it looks like ringworm but if your other piggies don’t have it might not be’. I say it does look really like ringworm and then he gave me Canaural to apply to the area! Of course it did make it look a bit better because of the steroid, but surprise, surprise the flaky area is extending at the edges with more hair loss (it just looks better in the process!). Canaural has nystatin antifungal, but I looked it up and it is not effective on tinea (ringworm). I am fuming after paying exuberant prices. Shall I go back and ask directly for medication, and possibly be refused and still have to pay the consultation ? Is there anything else I can get for her? Not the first time I have had this kind of mismangement with vets, I lost my lovely neutered boar through vet incompetence. On the bright side the ringworm wont kill her, but it isn’t pleasant and the others might get it. I have had in the past only one pig affected by ringworm, it isn’t unknown surely.

 

[Wiebke]

I am so annoyed with the vet, I took Sylvia to the vet with a round flaky red edged ring of hairlessness on her belly to the vet and he said ‘I admit it looks like ringworm but if your other piggies don’t have it might not be’. I say it does look really like ringworm and then he gave me Canaural to apply to the area! Of course it did make it look a bit better because of the steroid, but surprise, surprise the flaky area is extending at the edges with more hair loss (it just looks better in the process!). Canaural has nystatin antifungal, but I looked it up and it is not effective on tinea (ringworm). I am fuming after paying exuberant prices. Shall I go back and ask directly for medication, and possibly be refused and still have to pay the consultation ? Is there anything else I can get for her? Not the first time I have had this kind of mismangement with vets, I lost my lovely neutered boar through vet incompetence. On the bright side the ringworm wont kill her, but it isn’t pleasant and the others might get it. I have had in the past only one pig affected by ringworm, it isn’t unknown surely.

Hi

I am very sorry. The incubation period between infection and acute outbreak is 10-14 days with ringworm.
It is crucial to break the cycle and prevent further infections during this period because once there is an active spore producing spot, it has to run its due course.

The fact that Sylvia's spot is on her belly means that she has most likely picked up a spore from bedding or a cosy, so this is much more likely a secondary infection and not a primary one which typically happen on the face and ears.

Please take the time to read our very comprehensive ringworm guide. It has information on recommended treatment options and talks you through every aspect and step of the all important hygiene and care measures.

The real challenge with ringworm is getting on top of the invisibly tiny, long-lived and high contagious species jumping spores to prevent this from turning into an endless saga; it is likely the most contagious issue you can deal with as an owner because it can also affect owners and other pets or can be spread to guinea pigs by them.

We have found all possible transmission routes the hard way and are addressing each of them in the most effective way. If you follow the advice you can hopefully get on top of it once and for all, even if it means 2-3 weeks of plenty of hassle. We know that it works. But doing it right also keeps the cost down; much more so than cutting corners and falso economy with on the spot treatment which doesn't prevent the spread of spores in all possible ways.
Here is the link: Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures

All the best. Please accept that most vets are not as aware of the importance of ringworm hygiene and the problem it can pose with guinea pigs unless they are seeing ringworm cases very regularly. Unfortunately, ringworm is one of the most un- or DIY undertreated health issue. Piggies very much fall into the gap between being the most common pet that is classed as an exotic and therefore is not featuring much on a general vet's curriculum but the same applies also in reverse to the exotics buffs: they are still being considered too pedestrian and too much as a children's pet lthough research is gradually happening now.

 

[Cavy chaos]

I am going to go back and ask them to prescribe the oral anti fungal and shampoo. I have no idea what response I will get and then pay for the privilege of getting whatever that response is. The vets are so bad, even the ones that have an interest in guinea pigs. I do ask for the correct treatment again and again and they think they know best and then it doesn’t work, or the pig dies. It is impossible to find a vet that has a clue.

 

[Cavy chaos]

Should I push to get itrafungal and the shampoo?

 

[Merab]

I can only offer support

 

[Wiebke]

Should I push to get itrafungal and the shampoo?

You can push for either the itrafungol or the malaseb.

Malaseb dip is going to be a lot cheaper. It will do the trick with a full body dip every three days for all piggies until the acute outbreak is over. I did that with 16 piggies in the days before itrafungol came on the scene. It meant nonstop laundering - not just all the bedding but all the towels for the dips, even if I did my piggies in batches... but I did get past it although I learned some useful lessons for my eventual ringworm guide. It is more hassle for you and more stress for the piggies but ultimately it is just as effective because it removes any spores from the whole body. Make sure that you time the first deep clean with the first dip and be very careful around the eyes; a too strong concentration of malaseb or any other shampoo will make them swell badly.

Itrafungol was very expensive even before prices exploded. It dread to think what it costs now.
If you treat with it (and not all vets are willing to prescribe it or have in in stock in the first place since all th money is not usually going to the clinic or salaries, I may want to add) then any dandruff shampoo will do for the two baths for all your piggies at the start and the end of any treatment in order to remove any loose sitting spores from the coat - the coat is the blind spot with oral treatment that you need to plug. I had ringworm carried into the Tribe twice this way.

Any dip or oral treatment will basically do as long as you back it up with comprehensive hygiene. What is not effective is spot creaming only. Ringworm is in essence a war on the spores more than anything else.