Ringworm or other fungus....what will the vet do?

[Dustbunnies]

Had to call 6 different vets...no one's exotic vet was in today! Finally found one....hope he knows what he is doing!!! Let you know.

 

[Dustbunnies]

Well...the new vet sucks too!!!!

He thinks it is mites (scabies) and wants to use Revolution. They did come from a pet store....but why would it be that over fungus or biting?

He wants to give me Baytril...and when I said "please no Baytril" he chewed me out and told me if he was going to be my vet I have to trust him and do what he said!

He also thinks they only get to 400-500grams!

Idiot.

So...it is too late to see another vet today....

Do I get the Baytril (and Revolution) or call the first vet and ask for the Sulfa one?

Please help...vets close in an hour!

 

[Dustbunnies]

Anyone? Sorry if I am being bothersome...but I obviously need to get to the bottom of this.

 

[alli713]

I was under the impression that normally chins don't get things like mites due to their dense fur. The place you would notice something like this would be around the nose and ears where the fur is less dense.

Are there any breeders in your area? Honestly it sounds like the vets in your area don't know much at all about chins.

 

[Dustbunnies]

She has some fur loss around the nose....but I don't know if it is mites.

Don't know about breeders in the area....maybe.

 

[alli713]

My guess is it's not mites.

I always give my one girl Chibi scratches and she lets me scratch all down the side of her body and I've never felt what you thought was a shoulder.

Honestly, like the others said, it could very well be an absess that burst on her shoulder area.

I'm not sure about the nose area. Is it dry and scaly looking? Or just missing fur? Does she stick her nose out of the bars often?

Did either of the vets do a scraping to look for the fungus? Some types of fungus also glow under ultraviolet light (not all do)

 

[Dustbunnies]

Not much showed on the UV light. But they didn't scrape since it was already purple from the blue coat.

Nose is a little scaley...too far down on head be from the bars.

 

[alli713]

Okay, well the only thing else I could suggest is for you to get help holding her and take good, clear closeup pictures of her areas that are of concern. Use the macro function on your camera (the little flower) You may have to take a couple, but I've succeeded in taking pictures close up before when I had a medical concern.

Perhaps with better pictures of the area people could say for sure what it is.

I'm not sure what else to tell you..

 

[Dustbunnies]

She is itching all over now....could it be mites? Would it be a bite wound and she just happened to itch all over? Or is it likely still fungus?

The pic would be yucky. Have to wait anyway...Fiancee left to get meds (Sulfa).

 

[alli713]

I'm sorry I don't really know what else to tell you. I've been fairly lucky with no major health issues, so I don't have a ton of experience in this area. I'd be inclined to listen to whatever Peggy (tunes) and Claire say as they've had more experience than me.

However, in the 4 years that I've owned chins I've never come across a thread on the forums about a chin having mites.

 

[Dustbunnies]

Well....Brendan went to get the Cherry Sulfa. But, we still don't know if we have a bite wound, fungus, or mites......

She is itching herself all over.....

Which treatment beyond the sulfa should I use?

Also...I can give acidophilus (1/4th tab....more?) four hours after the antibiotic?

 

[tunes]

How often do you give dust baths and what kind of dust do you use? She could be itching because her skin is too dry. She could also be itching in reaction to the Tinactin. I've never seen that before, but chins are individuals too and can develop allergies just like anybody else can.

I'd be really surprised if she had mites. I can honestly say in 9 years I've never heard of a single chin with mites. I know of one vet/rancher who treats his herd once a year with topical horse wormer for mites (I would not recommend Revolution, especially on a chin), but he's in an area where he feels that can be an issue.

I have used sulfa with success for many puncture wounds. I tend to go with Baytril for respiratory infections, pyometra, that kind of thing. Topical wounds I've had really good luck with the trimethoprim sulfa.

ETA: Yes, you can give acidophillus four hours before or after the medication, although I've never had a use for it with sulfa.

 

[Dustbunnies]

Thanks Peggy. I was hoping to hear from you soon! I am not going back to that vet...I don't like the first one but he is at least open to suggestion.

I am about to give her the meds shortly. And later some acidophilus.

Just don't know if I should use anything topical still....as we seem to be unsure of what it is (I agree unlikely mites...unless got them at the pet store...I know hedgies get them)

But if revolution is unsafe....then there goes that anyway.

If I use blu-kote....it will be hard to see the progress.

She messes with it too much and "opens it up" (makes clear liquid come up). Should I wrap it or make her a cone/collar? Or is it not really an issue for her to mess with it?

Also, my vet mentioned benadryl before....that is not okay, is it?

edit: Sorry...I give dust baths maybe 3 times a week. I noticed she was itchy a couple weeks ago and reduced them (from every other day). She was itchy after (but not reallly before) her dust bath yesterday morning...that may have made it worse....I just wanted her to get the tinactin enough

 

[Chinmama]

Personally, I wouldn't put a topical on it. You can seal the bacteria in that way and it will take longer to heal.

If she continues to mess with it you can make her a cone, but that will make it hard for her to eat on her own so you may have to hand feed. I would just keep an eye on her and see what happens with the antibiotics.

Have you separated her from her mate?

 

[tunes]

If it was an abscess that burst, it's going to need to heal from the inside out, so keeping it open is very important. You don't want her digging at it and making it more infected, but having it drain is not a bad thing. It'll probably make her fur icky though.

For now, hold on the Tinactin, since you don't even know if it is fungus. Use the Blu-Kote with a Q-tip around her nose, "just in case." It won't hurt her if it's not fungus and it will help if it is. Use the antibiotics and you can treat the wound with Blu-Kote, but it is going to make it harder to see the progress.

As far as the Revolution, many, many hedgie people use it, but I have been told by two vets now that they don't trust it. They much preferred that I use Ivermectin on my rats because of reactions that had been happening with the Revolution. Again, many hedgie people swear by it, but if the Ivermectin works just as well, and I know it's safe, that's what I prefer to use. I know that's what the vet/rancher uses on his chins, a measured dose between the shoulder blades.

 

[saphire]

The problem with revolution, is you cannot really dose it. Even when you mix it well it does not become homogenous. Therefore making it nearly impossible to give the correct dossage and can cause serious damage to the animal that gets to much. (said by my vet)

I had inquired about it because I wanted to dose from a large vial for my small dogs and that's what I was told.

 

[Dustbunnies]

Warning: Graphic Pics

*************Graphic pics************************

]Well...let me tell you the summary of the whole thing so you know EXACTLY what has happened...

I apologize for redundancy....


....Besides some somewhat spreading hair loss on her nose Friday/Sat, this shoulder "wound" started a dime sized circular pink, slightly raised (maybe scabby feeling) hole in her fur...not yucky, but mysterious. It was discovered Sunday night. She was then dust bathed with desinex in the mix. Monday morning it still looked okay. She messed with a little on Monday and it was a bit bigger that night....we then used the gentian violet (blu-kote). Tuesday morning it wasn't much different. She had another dust bath (to get more "medication" on there). She was itchy after this (I had been limiting her baths for weeks because she itched more than Pepper). By last night it was a little bigger and yuckier (a little clear seeping from her messing with it). We added more blu-kote to kill germs/fight fungus. Sometime early this morning she made it bigger and worse....gaining in size ....at least to quarter size or bigger. We went to the vet....he made it worse by stretching and pinching it...poor baby. He put some drops on it not really intended for chins. She messed with it off and on today (plus some other itching). We went to ANOTHER vet....who messed with it a little more and thought it was mites/scabies/mange and wanted to give her Revolution and Baytril and got mad at me when I didn't want Baytril. So I called the first vet to fill a script of Cherry flavored sulfa (Bactrim?). She is to take .02cc/ml ever 12 hours. She has been itching EVERYWHERE, but messing with the wound frequently and it keeps "opening" which makes it expand. I sware it is a half dollar of missing fur, when you move the fur back....but the scabbing/splitting/rescabbing could be stretching it out and making it look worse. I have only seen a tiny bit of white (pus?), mostly it is clear fluid.



So....it looks bad and we are trying to keep her busy and not chewing it.

It would not look as horrible without being purple, of course.

I am not sure I want to put anything on it....but I don't have proof of whether it is mites, fungus, or a bite wound. If she chews another hole in herself, we might be able to find out what it is.

I know it looks bad, and we are concerned and watching. It did NOT look yucky like this at first...rather tame in fact. Any more advice on babying this wound/fungus gone wrong?[/LEFT][/LEFT]


Thanks for the help so far. Again, sorry for rambling.

 

[Dustbunnies]

She was grinding her teeth just now while Brendan was by the cage. Is she just annoyed with our presence/feeling yucky....or does it really hurt (I am sure it hurts some, but I mean really hurt)?

Also, can I clean the wound with hydrogen peroxide or something?

 

[tunes]

Never clean a wound with hydrogen peroxide. If you use it at all, use half hydrogen peroxide and half warm water. Straight hydrogen peroxide can cause tissue death. Betadine works well for cleaning, but I would think just warm water would work right now since she's already on the antibiotics and the Blu-Kote. Some people also recommend a clean dust bath to help clean up the drainage and it really does work.

My only concern with the dust is if it is a draining abscess. I've seen that several times after fights. They heal from the inside out, so gunking it up with a bunch of stuff isn't going to be real beneficial. Keep cleaning it with warm water and gently wipe away the gunk. Make sure there's nothing sticking in it. Keep her off of shavings for a while, put her on paper towel layers so nothing gets in the wound. Your vet might recommend flushing out the wound with saline or some type of fluid to clean out the discharge and pus. You might try to trim the fur back from around the edges of the wound as well, to try and keep it from matting up in the discharge and to keep a cleaner edge as it heals.

 

[saphire]

Well with Tunes advise I don't think you can go wrong. You are definitely doing your best. So good luck with it all.