Conditions Fungus, sore or Ringworm?

[chellebanelle]

Backstory...

3 mo old hairless purchased from a predator store, was with sister and brother.
5 mo old from a rescue, was housed with 2 other pigs.

C and C 4x2 cage with coroplast ramps they keep chewing on and an upper deck, so they do loops.

Upon rescuing the 5 mo old in early March, we were told he previously had a fungus near his ears that they cleared up.

Hairless pig earlier in week had a small sore on left rump. I put coconut oil on it, and it's increased in size quite a lot in 5 days. Sent photo to rescue, she said it could be a sore or ringworm. I've had a cat with ringworm and I have had it before...it didn't look like this. The spot is right where he'd hit the ramp sides.

I have been using generic athletes foot cream on him for 36 hours.

 

[bpatters]

It takes a while to clear up a fungus. I'd get some Lotrimin or Nystatin from a pharmacy and apply it twice a day, rubbing it in very well.

FYI, ringworm IS a fungus.

 

[chellebanelle]

I know that ringworm is a sore and like I said I am putting something on it, but I don't know if it is ringworm or a sore. I'm not sure...I've only seen ringworm on myself and a cat and it didn't look like this.

Are you saying you think it is ringworm? My exotic vet said if it was, my other pig may be a carrier and it could take 2 months to get it off both of them.

 

[bpatters]

Many things can be a "sore" -- a bacterial infection, a fungal infection, a scrape on the skin, a bite from another pig.

This looks like a fungal infection to me, and it doesn't matter whether it's ringworm or not -- ringworm is just one type of fungus. You treat it with an antifungal medicine no matter what it is.

Your other pig may be a carrier, this pig may be a carrier, both of them could be carriers.

My recommendation is that you purchase some Nystatin or Lotrimin from a pharmacy, and apply it twice a day with a q-tip, rubbing it in well. Carefully examine all pigs daily to make sure nothing else is developing. And change your clothes and wash your hands thoroughly after handling them. Throw out any wooden things in the cage, and clean everything else thoroughly with a bleach solution. There's more information here: https://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html

 

[chellebanelle]

Been using medication on him 2 full days already.

Many things can be a "sore" -- a bacterial infection, a fungal infection, a scrape on the skin, a bite from another pig.

This looks like a fungal infection to me, and it doesn't matter whether it's ringworm or not -- ringworm is just one type of fungus. You treat it with an antifungal medicine no matter what it is.

Your other pig may be a carrier, this pig may be a carrier, both of them could be carriers.

My recommendation is that you purchase some Nystatin or Lotrimin from a pharmacy, and apply it twice a day with a q-tip, rubbing it in well. Carefully examine all pigs daily to make sure nothing else is developing. And change your clothes and wash your hands thoroughly after handling them. Throw out any wooden things in the cage, and clean everything else thoroughly with a bleach solution. There's more information here: https://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html

 

[bpatters]

What medication? What is the active ingredient? And what is the strength?

It takes far longer than two days to clear up a fungus.

 

[chellebanelle]

[h=1]Clotrimazole Cream Usp 1%[/h]

 

[bpatters]

There are some scientific articles showing that the active ingredient in Lotrimin is better than clotrimazole at treating fungus. But you could keep using the clotrimazole for several more days and see if it works.

BUT, if it gets worse, or if it doesn't start to look better after 5-6 days, then switch to a triple antibiotic cream, applied the same way -- twice a day with a q-tip, rubbed in well. It's hard to tell whether a skin lesion is caused by a fungus (which is treated with an antifungal medication) or bacteria, which is treated with antibiotics. But if you start with an antibiotic and the problem is a fungus, the medication can actually make it worse. On the other hand, if you treat a bacterial infection with an antifungal, it won't make it worse, and the cream may actually soothe the lesion. So we start out assuming it's a fungus, and if it doesn't get better, switch to an antibiotic.

 

[chellebanelle]

Maybe you can explain this to me then. When my cat got ringworm, it was from a new cat we brought into the home from a rescue. I then got the ringworm in 2 places.

We brought home pig one on March 4 and pig 2 a week later. It's been 6 weeks or so since we've had them both. This issue on Niffler's rump became noticeable Wednesday last week. Follow my thoughts.... If it WAS ringworm and Bilbo had it or carried it, wouldn't it have presented much sooner than 6 weeks later?

Having had ringworm, I'm feeling pretty sick right now thinking it could be this. I know our Exotic vet will want to do a culture and do full extensive workup versus trying one thing first, like I am doing and the reason I'm here asking. I used my finger to administer the coconut oil for 2 days and have used my finger on the clortimazole too. I wash immediately after I put him back. Ugh...I hate ringworm and really hope that isn't what I'm dealing with.

 

[bpatters]

Fungi are EVERYWHERE, including on you, me, and the pigs, all the time. Most of the time there's no problem, but somebody or some animal can come along with one that causes problems, or a setback in an animal's immune system can allow the fungus to take hold even if they haven't been exposed to a new strain. But a fungal infection can appear at any time, and a six week lag isn't at all uncommon.

Ringworm is contagious. All fungus infections are. But you're doing exactly what I'd do, which is to treat him myself and see if I couldn't clear it up without a vet visit. The vet will want to do a skin scraping, which is painful for the pig and for your pocketbook. If the lesion is looking better after a week, I'd keep on with the treatment. But do keep it up for several weeks, because a fungus infection is hard to cure.

If your pig had hair, regrowth of the hair would give you a clue that the treatment was working even if the appearance of the lesion hadn't yet changed for the better. But since he's a skinny, you'll just have to wait to see if it clears up.

 

[chellebanelle]

Okey dokey. All makes sense to me. I'll keep taking photos to catalog changes and thank you for agreeing with me about the vet. She did see the pictures this weekend, we also have birds and had their annual checkup this weekend. She explained to me that the kind of "ringworm" a pig gets is not the same strain as a cat/dog and often times humans are less susceptible to getting the type pigs get because the ones pigs get contains no spores. I found that interesting too.

 

[chellebanelle]

Thoughts today? I'm on day 5 of the medicine.

 

[bpatters]

In the top picture, it looks larger to me, but not in the bottom one.

If you think it is larger, then switch to a triple antibiotic cream (any brand, any pharmacy), and see what 4-5 days of that does.

 

[chellebanelle]

It is definitely bigger, but the texture has changed. It seems to be more surface and less skin depth. I don't know how fungus type things evolve...if they get bigger before smaller, assuming this is a fungus since it seems to be responding to the medicine. I'll go get the triple antibiotic cream.

 

[bpatters]

If you think it's responding, I'd give it another few days. As long as it's not getting worse, that won't hurt anything. And it's much more likely to be a fungus than a bacterial infection.