Skin Problems Mystery Sore and Vitamin E dilution rate

[treehugger]

Hi I need to find out how to dilute 5,000 IU vitamin E oil. Brand is Jason. One of my guinea pigs is having alot of skin issues, she has a mystery sore on the back of her head that has quadrupled in size in just 13 days. We have been back and forth to the vet several times, here is an overview of the history of my guinea pig Pearl and her bonded friend Sweet Potato health and treatments so far.

I adopted Pearl and Sweet Potato on April 17[SUP]th[/SUP]. The were both from a hoarding situation and came to a rescue with 20 other guinea pigs. Both of them had severe mite infestation and fungal infections. Sweet Potato is a special needs guinea pig. She has brain damage and permanent head tilt likely from ear infections. They were going to stay sanctuary guinea pigs but since I have so much experience the rescue felt comfortable with me adopting them. Before they came to me they got the all clear from their vet.
On April 30[SUP]th[/SUP] I noticed a little irritated sore on the back of Pearl’s head. I wasn’t sure if it was a bite from Sweet Potato or the start of the infection reappearing, which was a concern of the rescue. I took her and Sweet Potato to my vet that day, For Pearl to have that spot checked out and Sweet Potato to have a first check up. At that visit my vet felt that the sore on Pearl’s head was just a bite from Sweet Potato and advised me to put a little Neosporin on it everyday.
By May 8[SUP]th[/SUP] the sore on Pearl’s back had gotten much larger and felt like a lump under the skin. At this point I also noticed Sweet Potato had started barbering her belly hair. I couldn’t really tell if the reddish areas was from what was bothering her or from her biting and scratching. The concern now was that the mites may have returned. My vet did a skin cytology, and tape test on both pigs and both came back negative for fungal infections and mites. At this point my vet felt that the sore on Pearl’s back was similar to a pimple,atleast that is how she explained it to me, that there was bacteria trapped under the skin. So she gave me Mupirocin ointment to put on it twice a day and to use warm compresses to draw out the bacteria. Since Sweet Potato’s tests came back negative for mites and fungal infection my vet felt that it was an environmental irritant. I have my pigs on triple kiln dried pine shavings. She had me stop that and switch back to fleece and towels for the time being to see if that would help Sweet Potato’s itching. She also gave me a sample of a gentle oatmeal soap free shampoo to bath them in to sooth their skin.
Over the weekend things did not get better. In fact they got much worse. Pearl’s sore has doubled in size and Sweet Potato has a bunch of bald patches and sores from chewing and biting. After more research on Sarcoptic mites I think that is what Sweet Potato has. She has all the signs of it and from the research I now know that skin tests can give false negatives. Pearl however I have no idea what is going on with her. The sore on the back of her head doesn’t bother her unless I’m messing with it, putting the warm compress on or ointment on. She also isn’t scratching and chewing like Sweet Potato is. The sore is almost the size of a quarter now. It does not have any flaking. The skin is broken so there is some blood around the outside of it. The hairs do not come out if gently tugged. I have been fortunate enough that all the pigs I’ve ever had didn’t have any skin issues, but the unfortunate side of that is I can’t really recognize what this is.

Today my vet perscribed Ivermectin for both girls and we are going to try topical use of vitamin E on Pearl's head and see if that helps. But I need help with dilution rates. My vet doesn't want to try other antibiotics and steroids yet on Pearl because that could let effect getting rid of the mites.

If you have any idea on the dilution rate of liquid vitamin E or any idea what is going on with Pearl please I'd love feedback.

Here are 2 photo's of Pearl's head, sorry they are a little blurry, my phone doesn't take the best pictures. The first picture is the spot at May11. The second was taken April 30.

 

[bpatters]

The lesion on Pearl's head looks to me like it needs to be excised and drained. I'm not sure Vitamin E is going to do anything for it.

Is this an exotic vet? No vet with any knowledge of guinea pigs would recommend a bath for a pig with active mites.

 

[treehugger]

She recommended the bath after both skin tests came back negative for mites. She at first thought it was an environmental irritant causing Sweet Potato to itch.She is not an Exotic pet expert vet but she is more knowledgable than the average vet. She has saved the lives of my past pigs before so I do trust her, When there is something that she isn't sure about she tries to get advice from exotic vets that aren't in the area. There isn't one in my area.

 

[bpatters]

Generally speaking, you're wasting your time and money and causing distress for your pets by using a non-exotic vet.

(broken link removed)

 

[treehugger]

bpatters I came here for advice on vitamin e dilution rates or ideas on what this possibly may be on Pearl's head. I cannot afford an exotic vet. The one I have used in the past is very expensive. I am trying to do what I can with what I have. Right now I am paying for vet bills with borrowed money, my vet works with me. I would never subject my pigs to anything that would harm them and if it came to a point that they needed help that I cannot give them I would give them up. I exclude the vet you link as long as possible because they are very expensive and do not work with you on costs. They are also not perfect, it took them 3 tooth trimmings, weeks of force feeding and several expensive trips to the office only to find out that my guinea pig's jaw bone was nolonger dense bone but soft tissue. All they needed to do was an xray which they should have done in the beginning not 2 months into it.
If you have input on the dilution rate of vitamin E or have any idea of what is on Pearl's head please share that with me, otherwise please stop trying to scold me for not being a perfect guinea pig guardian, that is why I started to avoid these forums in the first place.

 

[bpatters]

I'm not scolding you. I'm just saying that many, many pig owners have found that non-exotic vets don't have the training or experience to treat exotic pets. They get almost no education in the care of exotics, and what they get covers pretty much everything from gerbils to giraffes.

Several things about your post raised red flags for me about your vet's care. One is that skin tests for mites are generally not recommended. They serve mainly to put money in a vet's pocket. They're painful for a pig, expensive for you, miss the mites half the time, and the recommendation is the same whether or not the test is run -- treat for mites. My own exotic vets doesn't even offer skin scrapings for mites, as he thinks they're worthless.

Your original post indicated that the treatment recommended by your vet isn't working. Compresses don't usually work for guinea pigs. They have very thick pus that does not liquefy, and is almost impossible to remove without a lesion being opened up and flushed at least daily. So while your vet may work work with you on costs and on treatment, they don't appear to be very effective.

You also indicated that there are no exotic vets in you area. That's not the case, and we've had people use exotic vets in Toledo before. It's just that you choose not to use them. I understand about the cost of vet care, and in fact, have shopped around for vet care for my pigs when I thought a vet was charging more than I could afford and wouldn't make any accomodation on price. But the other side of that equation is that if you're paying money for a treatment that isn't working, it's not really cost effective.

I have no idea about vitamin E dilution. Maybe your vet can tell you how to do it.

 

[Soecara]

Honestly I have no idea what the dilution rates are for vitamin E because I have never heard of it being used for any skin related issues in guinea pigs. I think the point bpatters was trying to make is that vitamin E is not something we have ever heard of being used so we are very unsure of the advice to use it particularly if it is coming from a non-exotic vet.

If there is an infection under the skin then yes she will need it lanced because guinea pigs lack the enzyme in their blood to break down pus so the only way to get rid of it is to cut it open and clean it out (naturally the lump keeps growing until it bursts on it's own).

If you want to apply something else to the lesion perhaps instead of vitamin E you might be better off trying some cold pressed coconut oil? That is know to help a number of mild skin ailments in guinea pigs, but given the obscurity of the skin ailment she appears to be suffering from it may or may not help at all.

 

[treehugger]

While using the Mupirocin ointment the lump under the skin has gotten much smaller, but the surface area got larger. The skin is somewhat broken so I can tell there is no pus underneath. The flash on my phone made this look whiter than it actually is so it's not really scab-like.
This spot may be where the initial fungal infection was when they were first rescued but for some odd reason the rescue has really kept stalling me every time I ask for the name of the vet they used so my vet would atleast have treatment records. I've tried several times with no answer. I will try and get cold pressed coconut oil as well. I've used more natural remedies with a few ailments with much better results.