Overuse of medicines

[muffin]

Hi Char-x

There are some pictures in these pages of piggies with mites, and fungal, some have both at the same time when they arrive as rescues. They look very similar in the early stages, but the big giveaways with fungal are if there is mild to heavy dandruff, if the skin feels hot (sometimes if your pig has areas of pink skin, these will appear more than a shade deeper than the normal pink behind the ears), and if you can tug gently on a couple of hairs in the suspect area and they come out easily, and often have a little clump of skin attached. The Gorgeous guineas page is the best I've found for identifying and comparing symptoms.

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Fungal in the UK rarely looks like the pictures on GL. It tends to occur mostly on the mid to lower back at first from what I can gather and spreads from there. Having said that it can occur on the face. As for how it got there, it's just one of those things I'm afraid. We have a damp climate and there are mould spores everywhere in the air around us, sometimes they get settled in a piggy's coat and set up an infection. It's unavoidable, but you can minimise problems by bathing every 6-8 weeks with gorgeous guineas shampoo to remove them, or your normal piggy shampoo. Last summer was dreadful for fungal because it was so damp. Some people use disinfectant in the cage regularly, but I don't think that it's good for the piggies, and it's effects will be limited. It is often used by people with wooden outdoor cages because those cages become damp with urine and start to rot if they aren't sealed properly. Their piggies shouldn't be living in that state anyway. Indoor piggies are less prone to fungal, but humidity still builds up from drying washing, showers etc.

As far as treatment goes, very few vets can diagnose fungal, but if your vet is prepared to learn, Gorgeous Guineas are very effective. Rescues use them, and the details are on the website. However you could also use human anti-dandruff shampoos like Nizarol, T gel and head and shoulders. I think you let the shampoo soak in for about five minutes and use them about a week apart for three weeks, but I'd have to check that. You also have to do a patch test, by dabbing a little shampoo behind your piggy's ear about 48 hours before you want to bath them to check they aren't allergic. I would bath all your piggies, as fungal can spread once it's on a piggy.

[Char-x]

Thanks alot for taking you're time to type all that info and find the links! I checked her over last night and her dandruff seems to have cleared up alot, although I realise the fungal infection would still be lurking. I will check tonight if she is warmer than the other pigs, her skin does seem quite pink but it's hard to tell if it's just where she gets injected twice a day because the only white area to compare to her ears if the area she is injected into. I have before though been grooming her and a couple of hairs have come out with a peice of skin on the end. So I defiantly think she may have a fungal infection.

She doesnt seem to have any symptoms in the lower back, it's mainly around her ears. She isn't in any places with showers/washers/dryers but I definatly know that sometimes I've woken up to my windows with wet on the inside, I think I will get those checked out too because it doesnt happen in the other rooms.

I run out of disinfectant and haven't brought anymore since they moved into their C&Cs because the pee rarely touches the tarpauling.

My vet is definatly prepared to learn, he owns Guinea Pigs himself and really cares about his piggy clients, he got really into Tallulah having diabetes and spends ages learning more to help us. I will see about ordering some Gorgeous Guinea soon because I don't like Head and Shoulders especially near Guinea Pigs since its tested on them - poor Tallulah probabaly thinks she lives in a lab though will all her injections and vet trips

Thanks again I will look into getting her bathed asap in GG shampoo, the coconut neem and the other neem mixture too.

[daftscotslass]

I wouldn't use T-Gel (or other coal tar) shampoo on a piggy, nor head and shoulders. Both of these are too harsh for a piggy's skin and neither contain a particularly effective anti-fungal active ingredient.

Nizoral, however, is fine to use. A bath in it won't harm the piggy in any way. If you find the piggy has areas of localised fungal like on the ears you can use an athlete's foot cream like Daktarin (miconazole nitrate).

[muffin]

You're very welcome Char-x. It's really hard to keep moisture down inside a house, especially at this time of year. There's always moisure in the air, it condenses on windows when they're cold. If it's just your room and it's occasional I wouldn't worry too much. Just leave the door open during the day to let moisture into the rest of the house.

Gorgeous guineas shampoos and their products specifically for fungal are the best in my opinion. I've used the Nizarol before when my pigs showed mild symptoms and it did the trick. The other ones have been recommended by a knowledgeable person, but I will go with what Daftscotslass says because I reckon she knows more than me!

[daftscotslass]

I don't have particularly sensitive skin but I can't use T-Gel or Head and Shoulders on me without irritation so I won't let it touch my piggies!