Skin Problems HELP! Sore on back, vet says it's NOT mites

[helloalicat828]

First post! Hi all! My guinea, Brynnie, is having some serious skin issues. She has been itching up a storm for about three weeks. She has itched an open sore on her back between the shoulder blades about the size of a dime. I took her to vet, they tested and said it wasn't mites and gave an ointment. I guess I wasn't vigilant enough with the ointment because I used it until the spot cleared up but she has opened it back up AGAIN with itching! (She also has some flakey skin on belly and back and slight hair loss on back.) I have clipped her back claws and even bought a guinea-safe hot spot/itching spray. I have changed her food and bedding. I'm at a loss at this point I am going to keep putting the ointment on the spot but don't know what to do other than that. She will itch the open wound even though it's painful and SCREECH which makes my heart break that she's in pain.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

I may be wrong, but it sounds like it may be ringworm. Ringworm can sometimes take awhile to get rid of.

 

[FailedFoster]

Hello, and welcome to the forum! I'm sorry your piggy is itchy. Honestly, with mite skin scrapes, they tend to miss mites 50% of the time even when done correctly. Is your vet cavy-savvy? Guinea pigs absolutely need to go to a knowledgeable exotics vet for proper treatment. Did they say what else it might be and why the ointment was going to help? If not, it may be time to get a second opinion. Usually, the other common cause of itching like that would be fungus. GuineaLynx is a fantastic resource that has info on both mites and fungus.

Do you remember what the active ingredient(s) in the ointment was? That might help us figure out a little more on what's going on.

 

[bpatters]

Can you post a picture? A fungus will more likely look like an open sore than mites, which tend to cause patchy hair loss over a wider area. But that's not a sure-fire distinction.

If you weren't religious about the ointment, I'd try again -- twice a day, applied with a q-tip, rubbed in well, and continued until the hair is growing back in. If you quit medicating a fungus, it WILL come back.