younger guinea pig sick?

Question

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Followup To

Question -
Hi there!

I realized that there was slight hair loss during his bath. Also, there was a small circular rashes-looking patch on his back. Is this a sympton for ringworm or scabies? Im feeling so worried now...



Answer -
Hi Val,

This could be ring worm, which is a fungus not a parasite.  Or if the patch is more of a V shape it could be skin mites.

The rash sounds a little more like ring worm, but the only way to know for sure is a skin scrapping taken by a vet.  If it is ring worm get some anti-fungal athlete's foot cream like Lamisil and rub it onto the patch as directed on the package.  It can take several weeks to cure ring worm and you'll want to be careful that it doesn't spread to humans that come in contact with the piggie, so watch for round legions on your body too.  Wash well after handling him and treat any legions on you the same way you would the piggie.  Although ring worm can be a pain to treat is is usually not serious and completely curable.

Skin mites can be a little more serious.  Skin mites generally start with hair loss, usually in a V shape over the rump, but sometimes it can develop elsewhere.  The skin that is affected by skin mites can become crusty looking and sort of flaky.  The most effective treatment for skin mites is ivermectin which is available in an injectable form or a paste as a horse wormer.  I use the paste because I find it easier.  A pea size dollop on a toothpick can be placed in back of the front teeth.  Repeat in 10 - 14 days for a total of at least three doses.  If you want to use the injectable ivermec, the dosage is 0.2 ml per pound of body weight for a guinea pig.  Most breeders treat monthly as a preventative.  Skin mites can become lethal if left untreated for an extended length of time.  

It will not harm your piggie to treat for both ring worm and skin mites simultaneously, however if you are uncomfortable about treating for both conditions immediately I would advise starting with the ring worm treatment.  If you see improvement in a week or so, you are probably dealing with ring worm, if the condition gets worse you are probably dealing with skin mites.

Good luck and let me know if you need anything else.

Annie

Hi hi!
Thanks for your previous advice. I'm going to get the anti-fungal athlete's foot cream for him. He's still rather active and eats a lot.

Arggghhh my other younger guinea pig seem unwell these few days. He's not eating(even though he was always greedy and his favourite food was in his cage). Often, he lies down too.

The 2 guinea pigs have been in the same cage all the time. But, I've separated them in 2 different cages yesterday.

So I'm afraid the spreading of the ringworm to the younger guinea pig was the reason to his inactiveness and appetite loss. Or could it be something else causing this?


Answer
Hi again Val,

Ring worm doesn't usually have that kind of affect on a guinea pig, although that is a general rule and differs for individual animals and a severe fungal infection can make a guinea pig pretty sick.

I think you did the right thing by isolating them both from one another.

Does your younger piggie have any other symptoms?  Is he wheezing or coughing (respiratory infections are common in guinea pigs)?  Is he loosing a lot of hair?  Scratching?  Does he have open sores?  

Is it possible that the younger one is a female (pet stores are not good a sexing young guinea pigs)?  A guinea pig stays pregnant a long time(68 - 72 days) so if you haven't had it more than a few months it's possible...  Males have pretty obvious testicles by the time they reach 3 months of age or so.

I would need a little more detail to give you any advice except to take it to the veterinarian, which might be your best course of action.  Just make sure you see a vet who deals with guinea pigs and NEVER give a guinea pig any penicillin family antibiotics - it is toxic to them.  Baytil and Sulfa drugs are safe alternatives.

I'm sorry, I know this wasn't much help and if you can fill in a few more details I'd be glad to see what I can do.

Let me know what you decide and good luck,

Annie