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Ringworm

Liivish

Liivish

New Born Pup
Joined
May 17, 2020
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Location
Latvia
Hi. I am new to this forum but not new to guinea pigs.

I need some advice. I had two sows but lost one of them in January so I got a new one for company from a petstore. We don't have any rescues here. That was on March 14th. A few weeks later I noticed the new pig had a few bald spots on her sides and some hard blood on one of her cheeks. I started to treat for fungal and it got better. There were no more blood and the fur started growing back. I used fungal cream twice a day and washed her once a week with head and shoulders shampoo. I saw this on youtube and some websites. And I also at one point got the fungus myself. Now it is gone but the pig still has it. I did this treatment for about 5 weeks and it got a lot better but the fungus was still there so I asked for advice and they said to continue just wash her every other day. So I have been doing that. Still the cream and baths. And I belive it has been 2 months and I still can't get rid of the ringworm. At one point my other guinea pig got it on her nose too. It is pretty easy to treat only her nose but the other pig has pretty long hair and I can't get the cream on properly and also I have to wash all of her every time because there is so much of the fungus. It is now on one of her front paws, her ear and still both sides of the belly. I really don't know what to do. I haven't been to the vet because there is no exotic vet near us and I have no trust in regular vets with guinea pigs (from experience).
Sorry this is all over the place.
Any advice will be much appreciated.
Thanks.
 
Such home treatments are just not going to be effective I’m afraid, and as such we don’t advocate using them. They can just prolong the illness and make it much harder to treat. You really do need to go to the vet and start the proper treatment for ringworm.
You should also thoroughly clean down the entire cage ideally using a vet grade disinfectant

Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
 
I am sorry you are going through this - fungal can be really difficult to get rid of.
Sadly, as Piggies&Buns mentioned above, the treatment you are using are just not strong enough and the fungal will just keep coming back.

You really need to see a vet to get some proper prescription medication.

If you have a vet who is not experienced with guinea pigs maybe you can take in a list of the things you need from the treatment guide above.
Note both the name of the medication and the active ingredient as the name may differ in your country but the active ingredient will stay the same.
I know my own local vet (also not a piggy specialist) is usually happy to look things up for me, and if they are suitable treatments she will prescribe them.
 
Liivish said:
Hi. I am new to this forum but not new to guinea pigs.

I need some advice. I had two sows but lost one of them in January so I got a new one for company from a petstore. We don't have any rescues here. That was on March 14th. A few weeks later I noticed the new pig had a few bald spots on her sides and some hard blood on one of her cheeks. I started to treat for fungal and it got better. There were no more blood and the fur started growing back. I used fungal cream twice a day and washed her once a week with head and shoulders shampoo. I saw this on youtube and some websites. And I also at one point got the fungus myself. Now it is gone but the pig still has it. I did this treatment for about 5 weeks and it got a lot better but the fungus was still there so I asked for advice and they said to continue just wash her every other day. So I have been doing that. Still the cream and baths. And I belive it has been 2 months and I still can't get rid of the ringworm. At one point my other guinea pig got it on her nose too. It is pretty easy to treat only her nose but the other pig has pretty long hair and I can't get the cream on properly and also I have to wash all of her every time because there is so much of the fungus. It is now on one of her front paws, her ear and still both sides of the belly. I really don't know what to do. I haven't been to the vet because there is no exotic vet near us and I have no trust in regular vets with guinea pigs (from experience).
Sorry this is all over the place.
Any advice will be much appreciated.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

Hi!

Please see a vet for oral antifungal cat medication like itrafungol (active ingredient itraconazole, UK brand) or ketaconazole (US brand) to treat the ringworm systemically and get everywhere. Oral systemic treatment has been successfully used in the UK for nearly a decade now; it is not harmful for guinea pigs. You should be over the acute phase within a week or two.
Otherwise you are back to shampooing the whole piggy every three days for as long as it takes (3-4 times), which is especially difficult around sensitive areas like the eyes, mouth, nose and ears. Creams are pretty useless as they don't reach the whole affected area and don't prevent the shedding of spores.

While ringworm is not deadly, ineffectual treatment and especially in hygiene can unfortunately turn it into a never ending story. :(

Your most thorough hygiene and a vet grade disinfectant like F10 (or whatever antifungal/antibacterial product your own vet recommends) are as important as any medication to get on top of the invisible spores that are being shed in their thousands and can stay live for 18 months or even longer to cause another outbreak, again and again.

Please follow our detailed hygiene advice in order to get on top the ringworm once and for all. We have had plenty of time to work out all the potential transmission angles and how to address them the hard way, so our tips actually work. It may sound like overkill, but it is the only way to ever get on top of it for good!

Here is the link to our very comprehensive ringworm guide: Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
 
Thank you all. I really appreciate your advice. I have already contacted a vet, not exotic but I hope she will be able to help. Now I am a little disappointed that I didn't join this forum sooner. I have wasted time and money. But I am happy that hopefully now I will be able to get proper help.
 
Hope you can get some oral treatment from the vets and that things soon turn around for you and the piggies.
 
Hi, sorry for not updating for so long. All of the vets in my area declined me saying that they don't have the medication to treat guinea pigs but I don't have a car so I couldn't take them to another vet. So I ended up buying Nizoral 2% shampoo and it worked. I washed them maybe 4 times and the ringworm was gone. But now I need advice on another topic. Should i make a new thread? Tia
 
Liivish said:
Hi, sorry for not updating for so long. All of the vets in my area declined me saying that they don't have the medication to treat guinea pigs but I don't have a car so I couldn't take them to another vet. So I ended up buying Nizoral 2% shampoo and it worked. I washed them maybe 4 times and the ringworm was gone. But now I need advice on another topic. Should i make a new thread? Tia
Click to expand...

Yes make a new thread as it is about a different subject
 
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