Suspected ringworm, please help!

[Missuschubbs]

Hello, I am a brand new owner of a chinchilla (Koji) and I suspect he may have ringworm From the photos, can anyone confirm or deny my suspicions (one shows his unaffected eye and the other his affected eye)? In addition to his left eye, I now see that he also has some balding on the left where is whiskers come out.

I am going to try mixing in Tinactin powder with his dustbaths daily to try and help. Any suggestions on how much to mix in and duration of treatment? (After some research I saw some did 1tbs powder to 1 cup dust, but is this an actual cup (8 oz) or the little cup that comes with the dust)?

Also any thoughts of using Blu-Kote? Since he is new, he is not keen on being held, so I have concerns with how I am going to apply this if necessary... any tips would be appreciated!

In addition to treatment, how often should I deep clean his cage with bleach (and will a vinegar mixture suffice?) I got rid of any wood in his cage, but am worried he may get bored...any suggestions on what can be in his cage for entertainment during his treatment period?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and respond to this

 

[Amethyst]

I've never had the misfortune to deal with ringworm in chins, but I've seen others posts over the years, so I can only give advise based on that. Hopefully someone with personal experience will chime in.

It's kind of hard to tell from the pic, but is the skin red and flaky? Also has the area spread or gotten bigger? If not have you noticed the eye being weepy/wet at all?
I'm not really a fan of home treatment for suspected ringworm, it's very contagious so I would just take the chin to the vet to confirm and rule out it being something else. Definitely go to the vet if it gets worse or doesn't respond to home remedies after about a week, it can sometimes need oral meds.

For the dust bath I'm pretty sure it's 1tb of the antifungal powder per cup as in an 8oz cup not a scoop, that sounds about right. I've never used blu-kote on chinchillas but there is two kinds, a spray (very messy but good for large areas) and a liquid that you can use a q-tip and burrito wrap the chin to apply. Also make sure you wear gloves because that stuff stains.

Other then toys he can destroy in a day I'm not sure you can give him anything since it would need to be sanitized or tossed out regularly. Maybe things like willow/vine toys, hay toys, bamboo crunchers (finger traps), and chew sticks.

Vinegar is naturally antibacterial, and humans use apple cider vinegar to treat mild fungal infections (soaking several times a day) but I'm not sure how good it would be for the cage since it requires soaking. Bleach for sure I know works and is what I've seen people use and is what vets suggest for ringworm cleaning.

 

[Missuschubbs]

I've never had the misfortune to deal with ringworm in chins, but I've seen others posts over the years, so I can only give advise based on that. Hopefully someone with personal experience will chime in.

It's kind of hard to tell from the pic, but is the skin red and flaky? Also has the area spread or gotten bigger? If not have you noticed the eye being weepy/wet at all?
I'm not really a fan of home treatment for suspected ringworm, it's very contagious so I would just take the chin to the vet to confirm and rule out it being something else. Definitely go to the vet if it gets worse or doesn't respond to home remedies after about a week, it can sometimes need oral meds.

For the dust bath I'm pretty sure it's 1tb of the antifungal powder per cup as in an 8oz cup not a scoop, that sounds about right. I've never used blu-kote on chinchillas but there is two kinds, a spray (very messy but good for large areas) and a liquid that you can use a q-tip and burrito wrap the chin to apply. Also make sure you wear gloves because that stuff stains.

Other then toys he can destroy in a day I'm not sure you can give him anything since it would need to be sanitized or tossed out regularly. Maybe things like willow/vine toys, hay toys, bamboo crunchers (finger traps), and chew sticks.

Vinegar is naturally antibacterial, and humans use apple cider vinegar to treat mild fungal infections (soaking several times a day) but I'm not sure how good it would be for the cage since it requires soaking. Bleach for sure I know works and is what I've seen people use and is what vets suggest for ringworm cleaning.

Thank you so much for your reply!

The area under his eye isn't that red/inflamed, but the area where his whiskers are is red (not pictured since it developed after the pic was taken), and both areas are flaky and there's a patch on his ear that looks flaky (not red though).

Unfortunately I'm having to resort to home remedies for now since a lot of vets in my area are not taking new patients (due to COVID)/do not treat chinchillas...I found one place that does wellness checks and will be scheduling an appointment with them, but not sure how far they can go into treatment

 

[Sophiaxfrizzx]

Hello, unfro

Hello, I am a brand new owner of a chinchilla (Koji) and I suspect he may have ringworm From the photos, can anyone confirm or deny my suspicions (one shows his unaffected eye and the other his affected eye)? In addition to his left eye, I now see that he also has some balding on the left where is whiskers come out.

I am going to try mixing in Tinactin powder with his dustbaths daily to try and help. Any suggestions on how much to mix in and duration of treatment? (After some research I saw some did 1tbs powder to 1 cup dust, but is this an actual cup (8 oz) or the little cup that comes with the dust)?

Also any thoughts of using Blu-Kote? Since he is new, he is not keen on being held, so I have concerns with how I am going to apply this if necessary... any tips would be appreciated!

In addition to treatment, how often should I deep clean his cage with bleach (and will a vinegar mixture suffice?) I got rid of any wood in his cage, but am worried he may get bored...any suggestions on what can be in his cage for entertainment during his treatment period?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and respond to this
[/QUOunfortunately

Hello, I am a brand new owner of a chinchilla (Koji) and I suspect he may have ringworm From the photos, can anyone confirm or deny my suspicions (one shows his unaffected eye and the other his affected eye)? In addition to his left eye, I now see that he also has some balding on the left where is whiskers come out.

I am going to try mixing in Tinactin powder with his dustbaths daily to try and help. Any suggestions on how much to mix in and duration of treatment? (After some research I saw some did 1tbs powder to 1 cup dust, but is this an actual cup (8 oz) or the little cup that comes with the dust)?

Also any thoughts of using Blu-Kote? Since he is new, he is not keen on being held, so I have concerns with how I am going to apply this if necessary... any tips would be appreciated!

In addition to treatment, how often should I deep clean his cage with bleach (and will a vinegar mixture suffice?) I got rid of any wood in his cage, but am worried he may get bored...any suggestions on what can be in his cage for entertainment during his treatment period?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and respond to this

Hello, I had the unfortunate time of dealing with ringworm for months. It spread completely through my house so make sure you are wearing gloves and my advice would be wear the same pair of clothes in with him and change after your done treating/cleaning him.
Depending on the strain of ringworm you may need to take him to the vet. My advice would be to take him to the vet anyway for a full check up.

For me Walt needed treatment from the vet the first two times because the dust baths were not doing anything at all. I found the treatment part very stressful but it really helped. After the first two times the daily dust baths started to clear it up on it's own. I'm from Ireland so chinchillas are not a common pet here so I found it hard when it came to treatment. I managed to get the blu-kote from the US but did not need to use it.

I had not yet bonded with Walt so like you I found it so hard to treat him because catching him when he did not like it seemed to stress him out a lot. Unfortunately I had to catch him but through talking to him and sitting with him afterwards it calmed him right down and he would come over to me and nibble my hand.

As for cleaning I cleaned his cage every day. I did not find success in the vinegar mix. My vet gave me F10 which he said was safe to use in the cage. It's an antibacterial/antifungal solutions which is used for many things. I have also used bleach to clean his cage. If you have a steamer I would recommend using it. People may think I went over the top but after 8 months of ringworm going back and forth I did everything in my power to get rid of it.

I got Walt willow sticks and willow balls which I replaced daily. At first I did not give him toys because I did not know what to give him and he seemed a little sad in himself.

I hope this helps

 

[Missuschubbs]

Hello, unfro

Hello!

Yes, I remember reading your question forum before I made my account! I'm happy to hear that Walt is doing better!

I have scheduled an appointment with a vet for this upcoming Friday, so hopefully they can provide me with even more guidance.

Thank you very much for your advice, and wishing the best for Walt and your family