General White patch on new pig's ear?

[kelseyy]

Hello, I just now joined the site to ask about my new pig, Luanne. We got her yesterday, unfortunately from a pet store (my parents wouldn't allow me to adopt because they wanted a young pig and all pigs up for adoption were a year old or older) and I noticed a dry white patch on the back of her left ear.

At the store I checked her eyes, nose, butt, and inside of her ears, which all looked good, but forgot to check the back of the ears and feet. I also didn't notice that she seemed to be breathing weird (though it might just be me finding things to worry about). I talked to my parents about taking her to a vet to do a check up to make sure everything is alright with her but they didn't want to because they felt it was unnecessary.

After doing research last night I am concerned that she may have a fungal infection and in the chance that she does I already purchased some monistat because I read that it helps treats those infections. We believe she is about 8 weeks old and is currently separated/in a different cage than my other pig, Peggy and will be for at least a month and I am sure she is healthy.

I am currently on mobile and I don't know if I can/how to post pictures while on mobile. When I get home from my classes today I will post a picture of her ears, full body, and whatever else is needed for help. Thank you in advance for any help.

 

[kelseyy]

I believe I posted this in the wrong thread and I cannot figure out how to remove a thread so I can move it, oops!!

I only have two pictures of her, both from the day that I got her on the way home.



The dry ear I'm worried about is on the back of her left ear (right side of the second picture) Its not very noticeable in these pictures but I do not want to overwhelm her and hold her to take pictures considering she's still getting used to her home. She is eating and drinking fine but her breathing seems heavy like full body breathing. I read that putting a little bit of coconut oil on dry skin helps and we always have quite a bit of coconut oil so if anyone thinks that'll help i'll try it.

I get very attached to pets very fast and my parents do not want to take her to a vet because the store has a two week policy. I'd take her myself but I doubt i'd be able to afford it.

 

[bpatters]

The coconut oil may very well help. And you're wise to avoid the store vets -- they're often not very competent with guinea pigs. Rub the coconut oil on a couple of times a day for a few days, and see if it helps. If not, post a picture here and we'll see if we can figure it out.

 

[piggsters]

The heavy breathing sounds like it may be a URI, but she's eating normally.
The dry spot sounds like it may be a fungal infection, but i'm not sure because it's located on the ear.
I am concerned about her foot though. The nails look very long and her foot looks like it maybe healed the wrong way. Does she seem to be in pain?

Also, what do you feed her? For some guinea pigs, being fed high quality pellets, unlimited timothy hay, and lots of fresh veggies; and having their nails down to a reasonable length, will help skin problems disappear.

 

[piggsters]

Very cute piggie by the way!

 

[kelseyy]

We did notice her nails. We were going to wait a couple days for her to get a little more comfortable before we trimmed her nails so we don't scare her too bad. And she seems to be moving fine but I'll keep a look on her to make sure.

She has a small bowl for pellets that I make sure is always full, a bunch of timothy hay, and I have been giving her veggies multiple times a day. I know she's been eating the pellets and hay and eats most of the veggies. She ate maybe a little bit less than half the bowl of the pellets today and I put in a big handful of timothy hay yesterday and she's eaten maybe half. I just refilled her bowl and was planning on giving her some more hay tonight.

And thank you!! I'm hoping she's alright and gets to grow up and be a happy pig!

 

[kelseyy]

The coconut oil may very well help. And you're wise to avoid the store vets -- they're often not very competent with guinea pigs. Rub the coconut oil on a couple of times a day for a few days, and see if it helps. If not, post a picture here and we'll see if we can figure it out.

I'll try the coconut oil! Shes still very skittish and it'll probably take me a day to try it out to see if it helps but once she calms down a bit i'll try for sure! Thanks for your input!

 

[AbbeyRoad77]

One of our girls had a rough white patch on her ear when we first got her. We think it was caused by her previous owner not feeding her properly. Once she was with us after about a week of fresh veggies, clean water, and high quality pellets, it went away. It's possible that's all it is but the monistat and coconut oil can't hurt. Hope it clears up soon and enjoy your new furbaby!

 

[kelseyy]

One of our girls had a rough white patch on her ear when we first got her. We think it was caused by her previous owner not feeding her properly. Once she was with us after about a week of fresh veggies, clean water, and high quality pellets, it went away. It's possible that's all it is but the monistat and coconut oil can't hurt. Hope it clears up soon and enjoy your new furbaby!

Thank you for the help!! I'll be sure to keep up with the fresh veggies, pellets, hay, and change out her water often and once we start holding her I'll start with the coconut oil. Hopefully its just dry skin and having a better diet will clear it right up!!

 

[kelseyy]

I was holding her today and got a close picture of her face where you can see her eyes and nose



However, shortly after I took this picture, she sneezed and there was snot (I know because she sneezed on my chest) I heard that this isn't a good thing, but I don't know if the problem is discharge when she sneezes or like, a runny nose. I haven't seen her with a runny nose but I might just be missing it.

She also tends to hide in her igloo a lot. We see her out sometimes but most of the time shes hiding. We've only had her for 5 days now so shes still getting comfortable but she isn't running around unless shes running away. She is still eating and drinking water and the coconut oil helped with her ear, but shes still breathing somewhat heavy and sneezes occasionally. I'm concerned she has a URI but my parents won't take her to a vet because they think its unnecessary and I might be able to afford it but I'd have to do some research to make sure.

 

[bpatters]

If you got her from a pet store, I wouldn't be at all surprised if she has a URI. Pet store pigs are bred and kept in horrible conditions -- overcrowded, inbred, no medical care, the sows continually pregnant, etc. If she were mine, heavy breathing and sneezing would be enough for me to take her to a good exotic vet to get checked out. Pigs can go downhill in a big hurry, and the sooner she gets treatment, the more likely she is to pull through it.

 

[piggsters]

I agree, you better take her to the vet. If your parents still think it is unnecessary to take her to the vet, be sure to explain to them she most likely has a URI and that those don't go away unless treated by an exotic vet. A URI can easily cause death unless treated. The sooner you take her, the better. Good luck!