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

HollyT
Get on your bike.

Post   » Thu Mar 22, 2007 6:01 pm


Hang in there. The bactrim is a good ab. You can dose program yourself. Don't let the vet give you anything else orally for ringworm.

PigWorrier

Post   » Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:00 pm


Can I ask what vet you are going to in SE Michigan. That is where I am located and I am looking for a possibly better vet.

Henle15

Post   » Fri Mar 23, 2007 10:59 pm


I would treat for mites and also fungus. Mites could be the underlying cause....but your pig definitely has some type of fungus going on....most likely ringworm. Please treat this promptly because both mites and ringworm will kill your pig!! You should get some anti-fungal meds to give orally....and topically.

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Becky

Post   » Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:12 pm


The white powdery part almost certainly is fungal, however, with the open sores and obvious infection (the honey-colored brown sugar-looking stuff generally indicates a staph infection), I'd be careful about treating for the fungus right now.

The vet only said ear mites? Did the vet actually look at your pig?

I wonder if some sort of antibiotic cream might be in order here. Is Josephine looking at this thread?

MichiganJoe

Post   » Sat Mar 24, 2007 4:04 pm


They only said mites when I took her in last. I have had another vet friend stopping by to give the ivermectim but by his own admission doesnt know anything about Gunea Pigs and has never done anything with them.
The vet I did take her to seemed knowledgable and I am going to take her back in. I was just hoping the current treatments would do the trick but while her overall health still seems fine, the scabbing and what is most likely a fungus doesnt seem to be getting less.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Mar 24, 2007 6:46 pm


An oral fungal treatment would be okay though. Yes, there may be a bacterial skin infection too.

MichiganJoe

Post   » Mon Mar 26, 2007 1:42 pm


Ok just got back from the Vets. They did a skin scraping and are doing a fungal test. I really wanted to get some sort of treatment for fungus going but the vet really wanted to get solid results worrying about side effects and complications.
The only thing I was really given to do was to continue the antibiotics which I never stopped and use an antibiotic scrub to clean the wounds (Chlorhexadine).
The fungal test should be back in a couple days and I have an appointment in two weeks. The Vet is Southgate Animal Hospital and while I don’t really have enough experience with them to recommend them but they were friendly and seemed to answer my questions fully.
I will post an updated picture later today.

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Mon Mar 26, 2007 1:48 pm


In the meantime, you're still giving weekly ivermectin treatments for mites, right? (Skin scrapings are inaccurate for mites).

MichiganJoe

Post   » Mon Mar 26, 2007 2:50 pm


Yes I will continue the ivermectim for at least 4 treatments. She has already had two.

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Mon Mar 26, 2007 2:51 pm


If this is actually caused by mites she'll need many more than 4 treatments.

MichiganJoe

Post   » Tue Mar 27, 2007 12:09 pm


I took off the wraps that were stopping her from scratching as I had her sitting next to me in my office to keep an eye on her.
She didnt itch at all from what I could see but she is a sneaky one. I left her in her cage for a while and when I checked on her she did scratch herself some but not in the face like I expected she itched right behind her front legs.
I treated the scratches with the wash and put the straight jacket back on her. I also began using the wash on her wounds.

I will keep the ivermectim up for as long as needed. How would I know when to stop the treatments?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Mar 27, 2007 1:57 pm


This is one of the most serious cases I've seen. I forget, you have more than one pig? You're treating all at the same time? I would be tempted to treat once a week for a couple months. If things are not totally healed, I'd even go longer. If you treat topically, it is very easy and a reasonable precaution. Demodex mites (another sort) are notoriously difficult to get rid of and require multiple treatments.

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