Fungis and Mites or just mites? Links to Graphic and Sad Pic

MichiganJoe

Post   » Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:38 pm


[See summary thread in the Records Forum -- Lynx]

Hello.

I am new here and I am just trying to save my young sons poor animal.
The quick(well its not really quick) part of the story is a little over 3 weeks ago we noticed Brownies ears were dry and it looked like one of them was damaged a little like it had been bitten.
We then moved the other pig to a different cage and decided to keep them seperate not knowing for sure what was wrong with Brownie.
A day or possibly two goes by and we find brownie with her ears looking even more dry and flaky as well as large scratches. At this point we immediatly contacted a vet to find out what was going on. They said it was most likely ear mites and told us we could try mineral oil to help.
Another day and a half of that and now my poor pig is trying to scratch his face off and has some severe self mutilation going on so we take her into a vet that treats exotics and specializes in small animals. They immediatly get her on a treatment of ivermectim and tell us to come back in 14 days for a second treatment.
A few days go by and she seems to be doing better not scratching her face off but not really healing much either then around day 8 after the treatment I check on her and she has really done a number on herself scratching her face horribly.
At this point I get the poor girl another treatment of ivermectim and get my second one treated at this time as well. I also find your site and start digging through all the great information you have here and wished I had looked weeks ago. I would have never thought that the body wrap like that would have stopped her from scratching herself but it definatly did.
There is no doubt to me that Brownie has mange mites and that the treatment of ivermectim needs to continue for at least 4 to 6 treatements my question is can anyone tell me if this looks like she also has a fungal infection as well as the mites?

These photos are 2 Megs so they are very large and sad.
http://www.videospeednews.com/cavey/brownie1.JPG
http://www.videospeednews.com/cavey/brownie2.JPG
http://www.videospeednews.com/cavey/brownie3.JPG

Thanks for any help you can offer.

A concerned Dad

User avatar
Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:44 pm


Oh my - that poor little girl. She looks absolutely miserable!

This is so very bad that I'd be tempted to cover all bases and treat for both. You really can't afford to wait to find out if one treatment will work, only to discover later on you're treating for the wrong thing.

I've seen sores that look like that, but not quite as extensive. Clearly, because this is on her face you can't do some of the antifungal treatments very easily.

If she's had two mite treatments her sores shouldn't be spreading if it's mites. But at this point I'd consider switching to Revolution, which sometimes works better if the mites have become resistant to Ivermectin.

Clearly you also need - in my opinion - to rule out fungus. But, has the vet also ruled out a secondary bacterial infection here?

Have you tried putting monistat cream on those sores? That cures most fungal infections. And, have you had a test for ringworm?

MichiganJoe

Post   » Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:54 pm


She has been on antibiotics for some time and I have tried nothing to treat for fungus. I am not convinced that the sores are spreading to anywhere she had not mutilated herself and in the last 48 hours since I have been able to control her scratching she does look better. Pretty much everywhere you see scabs she did scratch her hair off or worse.

I have not had her tested for ringworm.

HollyT
Get on your bike.

Post   » Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:58 pm


Don't bother to test right now. Search the forum for a program dose and give her two doses 14 days apart. If she has ringworm you should see a difference. You can get it over the counter. Keep treating with ivermectin or revolution for mites. You should look into getting a cortisone shot as well.

Have you seen this thread?

User avatar
sus4rabbitsnpigs

Post   » Tue Mar 20, 2007 11:55 pm


14 days may be too long to wait between ivermectin treatments. 7-10 days is usually better.

Treating for both mites and fungus would probably be good.

chii
I Love Lucy

Post   » Wed Mar 21, 2007 12:47 am


When we had a pig with extremely severe mites, my vet had me use Ivermectin and Revolution (Selamectin) in combination. It worked wonders. You do have to give them a certain number of days apart, but we saw a massive improvement very quickly.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Mar 21, 2007 10:16 am


Your poor little pig! As the mites die, they likely cause intense itching. Ask your vet if your pig could have some steriods or diazepam to help control this.

Let me know if I can add your pics to the site. They are very clear and may help someone in the future.

I also would treat weekly. Some people up the dose a bit when it is so severe.

MichiganJoe

Post   » Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:06 am


Thanks everyone with the advice she sees a vet again today and I will push to get her on a steroid and fungus treatment.

The pictures as far as I am concerned are public domain and you can use them any way you like especially if it will help others.

Joe

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:15 am


Thanks. I took one of the most clear ones and cropped it for two views (one at half size).

Here you go:

Image

Image

Talishan
You can quote me

Post   » Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:15 pm


What antibiotic has she been given?

User avatar
SylvesterPiggie

Post   » Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:56 pm


Holy cow. I hope little Brownie feels better soon.

MichiganJoe

Post   » Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:55 pm


Her antibiotic is Sulfatrim Suspension and she seems to be doing a little better. The body wrap is a lifesaver.

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