Possible Chelitis?

APastoor · Post » Sat Oct 03, 2015 12:37 am

My guinea pig Leo has some redness and scabs on the right corner of his mouth. It does not seem to be bothering his eating or behavior but I was just wondering if there was any way to know what caused it or how to treat it at home? Thanks!

bpatters · Post » Sat Oct 03, 2015 12:40 am

Have you looked at cheilitis.html and compared the pictures? There are treatment options listed there as well.

APastoor · Post » Sat Oct 03, 2015 10:02 am

Yes, I did look at this and it looks similar but I was just wondering if anyone else had this problem and how those treatments worked for them.

bpatters · Post » Sat Oct 03, 2015 10:07 am

Yes, many people have had the problem. And those treatments work -- that's why there's an article about it that includes them.

cucuzel · Post » Thu Jan 25, 2018 12:50 pm

I have a similar problem with my guinea pig. I am treating him with nystatin and he seems to be getting better, the scabs are gone and the little hairs on his lips are growing back. I have some questions, though... Is it possible for his teeth to be affected by this condition? The enamel on his upper incissors seems broken and his teeth are darker. Also does this medicine affect his appetite? He dropped about 60 grams and even if he is enthusiastic about food he’s not eating as well as usual, not even his favourite foods like bell peppers. I started feeding him Critical Care, but I hope the medicine caused this, so that when I stop the treatment he goes back to eating normally.

bpatters · Post » Thu Jan 25, 2018 1:42 pm

Are you giving him oral nystatin, or rubbing it on his nose? If on his nose, and you're rubbing it in well, the medicine is not likely to be the problem.

If you're giving him the oral stuff, it could affect his teeth, but it would take a while. How long has he been on it?

cucuzel · Post » Thu Jan 25, 2018 1:49 pm

I’m rubbing it on his nose, but I imagine he could be swallowing some of it. It’s only been 3 days, I rubbed a little bit on his nose twice a day. I imagine it hasn’t been long enough to affect his teeth. I noticed today he doesn’t seem to be eating as well as usual. Could his appetite be affected after 3 days of treatment?

bpatters · Post » Thu Jan 25, 2018 3:59 pm

Rubbing it on his nose isn't likely to affect his appetite. I'd look for some other cause.

And three days isn't nearly long enough to affect his teeth. Does he chew his cage bars?

cucuzel · Post » Thu Jan 25, 2018 4:19 pm

He lives in an open cage, so he doesn’t have bars. He was eating fine until I started treating him. I have some previous experience with a pig who was given an antibiotic for a viral infection and stopped eating for a while. This is why i assumed the same happened here.
I also looked for sign of inflammation. He was treated not long ago for inflammation. I thought it might have returned, but I can’t feel any swelling.

cucuzel · Post » Fri Jan 26, 2018 7:36 am

I also noticed this morning that he had had some diarrhea during the night. I checked him, he was clean and the problem seemed to have passed. I assume it was the antibiotic, too? I know some antibiotics may cause diarrhea sometimes.

bpatters · Post » Fri Jan 26, 2018 9:54 am

If you're rubbing it in well, I can't imagine that he's getting enough to upset his gut. But if that's the only thing that's changed, I'd certainly stop it.

If he's not eating, hand feed him. He's got to have food moving through his system at all times.

skinnypigs1 · Post » Sun Jan 28, 2018 8:11 pm

Does your guinea pig get fed acidic foods?

Best treatment I used for fungal was Ketoconazole, it is an oral antifungal and takes care of fungal any where on the body. I never found any side effects to her GI or appetite.