Ringworm or dry skin from treatment?

[vhoercher]

Hi all! We are former cavie owners, but have never dealt with this. We recently purchased a female baby from a pet shop. The same day, we noticed missing hair/dry skin above her eye and brought her back to the shop. The store confirmed ringworm, treated her for 3 weeks and gave us the all clear to bring her home. I noticed that her ears are very dry and have little hair (which I know can be normal). We brought her back to the store and they say it's just dry skin from her treatment. Any ideas?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all! We are former cavie owners, but have never dealt with this. We recently purchased a female baby from a pet shop. The same day, we noticed missing hair/dry skin above her eye and brought her back to the shop. The store confirmed ringworm, treated her for 3 weeks and gave us the all clear to bring her home. I noticed that her ears are very dry and have little hair (which I know can be normal). We brought her back to the store and they say it's just dry skin from her treatment. Any ideas?

Hi and welcome!

Have you or the pet shop been following a strict hygiene routine during and at the end of ringworm treatment? The invisible spores are long-lived (up to around 2 years) and highly infectious. It only takes one spore to cause a new outbreak.
Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites

In your specific case - other than what we normally recommend - I would give your little girl a medicated anti-dandruff bath like nizoral. Be careful to only use the suds on the sensitive areas like the ears and the area around the eyes (which can otherwise swell up badly), mouth and nose in order to wash any spores out of the coat and to break the cycle.
Please follow the guidance in our bathing guide to prevent accidents from freak blind jumps in the absolutely terrified. Use our piggy whispering tips (link further down in this post) to reassure her during her ordeal.
I would also strongly recommend that you get hold of some vet grade disinfectant (which is antifungal and not just antibacterial), which is one of the best investments you can make. We have got recommendations for suitable US brands in the Ringworm Hygiene guide.
Bathing (including cleaning grease glands)

Guinea pigs regulate their body temperature via the blood flow through their ears; they should be free of hair but since ringworm usually sits at the roots of hairs and comes out with the hairs, getting rid of it on hairless parts of skin can sometimes be trickier. We can unfortunately not tell you what exactly is going on from just a picture and without being able to conduct a hands-on examination.
Guinea pig body quirks - What is normal and what not?

Your poor little girl looks absolutely petrified. Please consider getting her a same gender companion for the long term. It would the best ever and most loving gift you can make her.
Guinea pigs are group animals that should not live on their own and that are desperately relying on somepig to take them on, teach them the finer points of the much more complex social interaction that most people are aware of, how to master their environment and to protect them once they are weaned at the age they are sold in pet shops. Sadly, even Switzerland is still the only country where the sale and keeping of singles as pets and farm animals in any social social species is forbidden by law. Many countries have signed the the 5 Animal Freedoms (the five basic rights; including the UK and the USA) but they are unfortunately not enforcing it so shops are still getting away with selling singles.
PS: If you consider getting another piggy, please double-check the gender of both and give the new arrival a medicated full body bath before bonding to ensure that no further ringworm is being carried in.
Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
Companionship
Rescues, shops, breeders or online? - What to consider when getting guinea pigs

You can find all the guide links in this post in our New Owners information collection, which is currently one of the most comprehensive around and which makes a very useful practical resource. 15 years on a lively guinea pig forum and long term ownership experiences have gone into them; we do have a very good idea of the questions and the devils that can sit in the details, so our guides are as practical, detailed and precise step-by-step that we can make them.
Our second link will come in handy if you ever have to deal with illness or an emergency. You may want to bookmark the two links below so you have them easily available whenever needed. Take the time to browse, read and re-read at need.
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides
Emergency Resources and Critical Illness Care - Contents list and subforum link

 

[vhoercher]

Thank you for the info. At home, we have followed strict cleaning protocols and purchased/uses fungal cleaners. We did not contract ringworm from our 1-day exposure and used good hygiene. I am hoping that the pet store practiced as good cleaning as we did at home, but them seemed to have taken good care of her during the 3 weeks they had her. As far as her looking scared, yes, she got a bit spooked as I was taking photos, but otherwise always has a calm and happy disposition (from the 2 days that we have actually had her in our care).

 

[Siikibam]

Vet grade F10 is the cleaner we recommend on here. Any cardboard needs to be thrown away and any wood hides soaked in the solution.

Please get her a friend soon. They’re not wired to live alone.