Ringworm

[Cole1987]

So it’s looks like my little guy has ringworm . They did a wood’s lamp test and he glowed. I am going to throw out all his wood ledges and toys. They gave me an oral medication ( terbinafine) but I was wondering if I should do any other things to help his recovery. He shares his cage with the brother and the vet said they he more than likely has it as well but just
Might not be showing. Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Amethyst]

You can also give dust baths with anti fungal powder in it. Here is a website with some good info Ringworm(Skin Fungus)

 

[Cole1987]

Thank you. And just the regularbrand foot powder found at the drug store would work for the baths?

 

[Amethyst]

Thank you. And just the regularbrand foot powder found at the drug store would work for the baths?

Yeah so long as it's just the anti fungal not one with added scent, cooling chemicals, or anything like that.

 

[tunes]

The dust/powder combo works sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. If I have a chin with ringworm, I use Blu-Kote topically. Be warned, if you're not careful it will go everywhere and it stains, but it works really well.

 

[Cole1987]

Do you just apply the blue kote to the affected area?

 

[tunes]

Yep, but like I said, it stains badly if you drop it on surfaces, so be careful. It will stain their fur for a while, but with dust baths it goes away.

 

[Cole1987]

Thank you so much for the info. Would you happen to know when I can reintroduce all their wooden fixtures back into their pen? They have been on terbinafine and Desenex dust baths for 12 days so far.

 

[Amethyst]

Ringworm treatment normally takes about 4-6 weeks (so you are about less then half way done), but once the skin clears up and the hair grows back it's a sign they are getting better. It takes about 4-14 days for infection to show though so to be on the safe side it's best to wait 2 weeks after they appear better (so about 2 months after you start treatment) to make sure it's truly all gone and they haven't become reinfected before putting wood (not the old wood) in the cage.

I know it sucks that it takes so long to treat but there are many stories of people trying to rush it and having there pets (not just chinchillas) get reinfected and end up having to start all over again, and it can sometimes be harder to treat a second time around.

 

[Cole1987]

Thanks so much. I was just nervous about giving my guy the terbinafine for so long. I read it can cause liver damage if taken for awhile.

 

[Amethyst]

Yeah, the oral meds you might want to talk to your vet about how long those are suppose to be given, I think those might only be given for 2-4 weeks. Also to be clear I'm just going by what I've read not personal experience, the treatment is normally 4-6 weeks (could be longer or shorter depending on how bad it is), dust baths or blu kote on affected spots may be all you need after the first couple weeks unless instructed differently by the vet. After that you can stop once you notice them getting better (skin is healed and fur growing back), but as I said personally I think it's best to wait a couple weeks longer, and watch for any new infection, before putting wood back just in case.

 

[Cole1987]

Thanks so much for the info. I really appreciate it.