Chin has a red toe + dry nose

[sammipuff]

Hello!

I've had my baby chin Josie for about 2 weeks now. A couple of days ago I noticed that she had some dry skin on one side of her nose and had lost a bit of fur in that area, but nowhere else. One of her toes also appears red and swollen Other than that, she is still eating and playing like she normally does.

From what I've read, this sounds like it could be ringworm. The rest of her body looks normal and I have not had any ringworm spots on myself - I've had it before (not from her) so I'm familiar with what it looks like. I do wash my hands after I'm done playing with her and I keep her cage very clean. I wipe down the levels of her cage every morning and every week I change her bedding and disinfect the whole cage.

Here are some photos:

Nose: http://i.imgur.com/6jFFk.jpg
Toe: http://i.imgur.com/YeVY4.jpg

What do you think? Is this something I can treat at home or should I take her to a vet? She is my first chin and I feel awful that something out of the ordinary has happened with her already! I'm very worried so I appreciate any input or advice!

 

[saphire]

keep doing what you are doing now,
you will want to put 1 tablespoon of tinactin foot powder in 1 cup of dust. Give the dust bath twice and day and change it every 4-5 days. Once you see it has cleared up you want to continue for a couple of weeks to be on the save side.

remove all fleece material, any wood you will want to remove also and destroy. Keep cleaning daily.

good luck

 

[AZChins]

It really does look like fungus, but it isn't too bad. The tinactin dust is a good idea, start treating right away. With a mild case like your baby has, it should clear up in a week or so. If it doesn't, get some of the tinactin cream. Sometimes fungal infections need a little more than just the powder...but it probably will clear up in no time.

 

[sammipuff]

Thanks you two! I will go buy her some Tinactin today. I have some Gold Bond medicated cream. Is it safe to put some on her nose and on her toe? Her toe has me concerned since it's swollen, as you can see in the picture.

 

[sammipuff]

Okay, Target didn't have any Tinactin powder, so I got her some Gold Bond maximum strength medicated powder and some antifungal cream. As soon as I got home I added 1 tbsp of powder to her dust and gave her a bath. She wasn't too keen on the powder so I massaged it into her fur by hand. When that was done, I dabbed a tiny bit of cream on her toe and on her nose, which she did NOT like but she hasn't tried to rub it off.

 

[lilchinchilla]

I would recommend the tinactin over Gold Bond. Gold Bond's active ingredient is menthol, which won't help much for what you are treating. Tinactin on the other hand, the active ingredient is tolnaftate, which is what fixes the fungus.
As well, I find that putting creams on, tend to depress the chins a bit. It might not, since it is such a small area, but if you find your chinchilla depressed acting, you might consider just going with the tinactin powder...

The tinactin powder in the dustbath, does not make them all depressed or matt their fur down.

Perhaps you could try looking in a local pharmacy near you or another store for tinactin? Just a suggestion. Good luck with her.

 

[sammipuff]

I would recommend the tinactin over Gold Bond. Gold Bond's active ingredient is menthol, which won't help much for what you are treating. Tinactin on the other hand, the active ingredient is tolnaftate, which is what fixes the fungus.
As well, I find that putting creams on, tend to depress the chins a bit. It might not, since it is such a small area, but if you find your chinchilla depressed acting, you might consider just going with the tinactin powder...

The tinactin powder in the dustbath, does not make them all depressed or matt their fur down.

Perhaps you could try looking in a local pharmacy near you or another store for tinactin? Just a suggestion. Good luck with her.

Good point about the cream upsetting her. I'll be very careful to watch for that! She doesn't mind getting it on her toe but she HATES when I put it on her face. She seems fine afterwards, though. I make sure to give her some cheek rubs (her favorite) and offer a piece of hay as a token of my apologies.

I'm happy to say her toe looks better already. She scratched a lot of fur off her nose over the course of yesterday, but it is no worse today. Here is a photo: http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6kdb4OAAO1ryo14so1_1280.jpg

 

[Terbear24]

Keep us updated on how she is looking! I'm interested to see how fast it goes away!
Thanks

 

[sammipuff]

Sorry for the lack of updates! I actually took her to the vet the other day and got some ointment. At the moment the spots are looking worse after 3 days of treatment, but the vet said that's normal as the dry skin and scabs fall off. She should be right as rain in another week and I'll post pics tomorrow when she's not literally bouncing off my walls

 

[sammipuff]

PHOTO

After a week on ointment from the vet, Josie is doing much better!

It's hard to tell from the photos, but her skin is no longer red and flaky. It's smooth and returned to its normal color. Her toe has gone back to its usual size, too. She's got another week of ointment left and she will be good as new once her fur grows back.

 

[Azalea]

What kind of ointment were you given? Zia is having a similar situation, but it's near her eyes and i was given a certain eye-area cream to treat her with for a week. It worked the first time, but i'm always paranoid.

 

[endoran1s]

Same as my chinchilla

Hi I am having the exact same problem with my chinchilla. My vet is convinced it is a tumor and I wanted to do some last minute research before having to cut my babies toe off. What is this ointment your vet gave you because I'm starting to think my vet doesn't know what she's talking about. I will do anything to make sure he keeps his toe. Thank you!