Chinchilla possible ringworm infection

potatooxx · Feb 21, 2021

Hello everyone! I just discovered my chinchilla Emi having a little bald spot on her nose. I freaked out and went to google and saw that she could possibly have a ringworm infection. I’m not sure when it could have started or what could have caused it since there could be many factors. I am a college student so there were times I was only able to clean her cage about only once a week to every two weeks. I have also realized that it could be from her possible hay since we have been using it for about a year and a half already. The best case scenario is that she is losing fur from my dog so then I know whether I isolate them but it seems unlikely that the fur loss on her nose is from my dog. I’m already set to see a vet this coming Saturday for her but I’m not sure if there is anything else I can do besides wait. The most I have done is take out her old hay and throw out the rest along with giving her a dust bath every three days until her appointment. Do you guys have any tips or advice to what I can do? Should I also throw out her wooden shelves or wait until I get to her vet to get confirmation that she has a fungal infection?
I added a before and after photo of her nose to see the difference. I’m not sure if the after photo is clear enough but I didn’t want to wake her up since she was napping.

potatooxx · Feb 21, 2021

Here’s an updated photo of what her nose looks like! Please let me know about your thoughts or what you think.

Amethyst · Feb 21, 2021

I would wait on throwing out the wood just yet. It's a bit hard to tell if it's ringworm, it doesn't look red in the pictures, and hard to tell if it's flaky or not. Is the spot getting bigger or about the same? Ringworm causes red flaky skin, it's also very itchy and the affected area gets bigger over time. It's also very contagious, so make sure you wash your hands after handling the chin or any of her stuff.

potatooxx · Feb 21, 2021

Amethyst said:
I would wait on throwing out the wood just yet. It's a bit hard to tell if it's ringworm, it doesn't look red in the pictures, and hard to tell if it's flaky or not. Is the spot getting bigger or about the same? Ringworm causes red flaky skin, it's also very itchy and the affected area gets bigger over time. It's also very contagious, so make sure you wash your hands after handling the chin or any of her stuff.

I just discovered it about two or three days ago! I asked a couple of my family members and they said it’s hard to notice unless you point it out. It doesn’t look red but it’s hard to tell since her nose has a natural pink around it. I’m going to keep an eye out for the next few days before we go to the vet for her check up! Because it’s also a small spot, it’s hard to tell whether it’s flaky or not. I heard that dust baths will help but I am hesitant to mixing some antifungal powder with her dust in case she does not have a ringworm infection at all. Would it be best to wait for her vet’s opinion before I try to treat it?

Amethyst · Feb 21, 2021

potatooxx said:
I just discovered it about two or three days ago! I asked a couple of my family members and they said it’s hard to notice unless you point it out. It doesn’t look red but it’s hard to tell since her nose has a natural pink around it. I’m going to keep an eye out for the next few days before we go to the vet for her check up! Because it’s also a small spot, it’s hard to tell whether it’s flaky or not. I heard that dust baths will help but I am hesitant to mixing some antifungal powder with her dust in case she does not have a ringworm infection at all. Would it be best to wait for her vet’s opinion before I try to treat it?

I would honestly just wait and keep an eye on it, see if the area gets bigger and see if she is itching her face. I wonder if she may be just rubbed some fur off her nose chewing on something.