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Skin Problems Ugh, ringworm!

pigger123

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Some of you might recall that I posted about my little Pi's fungal infection awhile ago. Since none of the pigs he was housed with showed any signs of ringworm, we ruled that out and treated him with Lotrimin, then someone else adopted him, and now he's fine and loving his new best friend. But "back home" with his mom and sisters, it's not going so great. First I noticed a small hairless dry patch on one of Rhoo's ears. I started treating that with the Lotrimin, and it seemed to be working. Then, I realized that Pecan had a large-ish circle of hairless, scabby skin on one of her legs. At that point, I was quite certain that it was indeed an outbreak of ringworm. One after another, every pig started showing it. Pecan's fungus spread to one of her ears, Pumpkin got it near an eye, then on an ear, and just today Peaches suddenly had it all over her nose. Rhoo's ear was doing much better now, but everyone else is still pretty bad and I'm afraid it won't ever go away unless we do something more than just applying Lotrimin (plus, I didn't want to put any next to Pumpkin's eye).

So, I called the vet. She said she would give us anti-fungal shampoo and an oral medication. I don't recall the exact names of them, but I trust her since she's a very cavy-savvy exotic vet. We're supposed to bathe them once every week with the shampoo- lather them up, let it sit for 10 minutes, and then rinse them well. During the bathing, we have to clean the cage, replace all the bedding, and basically bleach everything. That happens once a week, and I think the oral medication is given every day. Does this sound like it will work?

I don't know what would have caused everyone to get ringworm. Nobody seemed to have it until Pi, and I don't know what he could have gotten it from. Also, is there any way to clean their wooden tunnel so I don't have to throw it away?
 

PrincessAngel

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Anti-fungal shampoo should help. If I recall you do have to repeat the bathing at least two more times 7-10 days after the first bath. I used Nizoral shampoo for my pigs, it's human shampoo that you can buy at grocery stores/walmart. If you bleach everything just make sure you rinse it well, the fumes are no good to breath (one reason I stay away from bleach). Oral meds help too. When you handle them/clean cage use gloves (it is contagious) and change clothes when done to prevent spread even further. The reason fungal infections are so hard to get rid of is because they are Eukaryotes, like our cells making it hard to find something that will damage and rid of them.

As far as your wooden tunnel, I'd say lots of very hot water, soap, vinegar, baking soda, the sun. Basically anything to break down the fungi cells and let it sit for a while. Maybe a bucket of hot water,vinegar and soap outside in the sun? Perhaps using the antifungal shampoo on it as well. Or just buy a new one if it didn't set you back to much. I don't like wooden things because they are so hard to clean!!
 

pigger123

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Okay, so I got the medicine. The shampoo is called Malaseb. Guinealynx says that it's a safe anti-fungal shampoo, so that should be good.

However, the oral medicine is griseofulvin. I couldn't find that on guinealynx, but I'm reading that it has all these horrible side effects and is not safe for pigs. Should I give it to them anyway, and just keep a very close eye on them?
 
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bpatters

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I'm not a big fan of griseofulvin. I wouldn't take it myself unless there were no other way to clear a fungus up.

It's your decision, but here's what I'd do if it were my pigs. I'd use the Malaseb shampoo in conjunction with one of the antifungal creams and see if that would work. I'd save the griseofulvin for a last resort.
 

pigger123

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Ok. But since neither the cream nor the shampoo can go near their eyes, what should I do about that? I can use the cream on their ears and nose, but Pumpkin has it by her eye.
 

bpatters

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I'd very carefully use the cream near the eye, applying it with a q-tip and then rubbing it in well. Same thing with the shampoo. Be sure to restrain all of their front feet while they're soapy so they can't get it in their eyes.
 

pigger123

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Can the shampoo go on their face and ears? I wouldn't think so, but just making sure. So I think I'll keep doing the cream twice a day, and bathe them once a week until a couple weeks after it's all cleared up. If it doesn't seem to ever be going away, I might try the griseofulvin.
 

bpatters

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The shampoo can go on their face and the outside of their ears as long as you keep it out of their eyes, nose, and mouth, even while rinsing.
 

pigger123

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Okay, thank you!
 

Rywen

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Oh no (I just saw this)! I hope little Pumpkin's eye gets better without having to take the oral medication.
 

pigger123

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I bathed them all yesterday! It was the first time I'd given any of them a bath, so I wasn't sure what to expect. All 4 piggies were amazingly well behaved! I thought they would be all squirmy and hard to deal with, but they were awesome. Once they were dry I put the Lotrimin on them and put them back in their super clean cage.

Pecan's leg is looking so much better, but Peaches' nose is looking worse. Pumpkin and Rhoo are pretty much the same. I was able to successfully put the cream by Pumpkin's eye without any mishaps!

This is my cage setup right now. I took out everything that couldn't be bleached, like the wood tunnel and toys. Also, I switched to wood pellets (with towels on top, which is very temporary until I can get something that wicks) for bedding, but that's just because I wanted to try it, not because of the ringworm.
 
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