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Ringworm question(s)

zarathustra

zarathustra

Warren Scout
So, as I wrote in another thread it turns out that the terrible twosome (Frank & Spencer) had ringworm when we bought them home from Pets At Home, though it wasn’t visible at the time.

It presented as a small round bald patch with white silvery skin on Franks left ear and Spencer’s right ear.

Took them to the vets and got some oral meds to give them once a day for 2 weeks, along with daily cleaning and disinfecting of their hutch. We followed the instructions to the letter and took them back to the same vets, but saw a new vet as the last one we saw had left.

He then prescribed topical medication to be applied to the area twice a day for 2 weeks, which we have been doing, although the cleaning and disinfecting had to be changed to every other day due to work commitments and the fact we were burning through a lot of hay.

Both patches seem better, the skin looks healthy and fur is starting to re-grow, although of Spencer’s ear the skin looks grey, but as he is a Dutch I put this down to pigment of the skin where the fur is coming through.

I’m going to try to get them back in the vets this weekend as that will be three weeks since we started the topical meds.

My question is, I guess, when do you know when ringworm is gone? Is it when all the fur has grown back, or, just when the symptoms have all gone?

They never seemed to be bothered by the ringworm before they went to the vets (it was about 5 days between it presenting and getting an appointment) so they never scratched at it etc, so other than the skin looking healthy I’m not really sure what else to look for.


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I think that if the skin looks healthy and the fur is starting to regrow that it's clearing up. My cat Nyx had ringworm when we got her as a kitten, she was a feral living outside at the time. We found out she had ringworm when we brought her to the vets for a checkup and such before bringing her inside, she never really had bald spots that I remember, but her tail was missing a llot of fur (but not totally bald). We also never saw her itching.

So from my experience we just made sure we kept things clean (we quarantined her in a room of the house where we could keep everything wiped down) and her tail started regrowing fur. Me and my mom got a pretty bad case of ringworm from her and we all cleared up more or less without any treatment too. Me and mom did put some topical cream on our ringworm some but mostly it went away on its own. We bought some kind of liquid medicine from the vets to bathe Nyx in but they said it was kinda harsh stuff and we also didn't want to bathe her if we didn't have to as we'd only just tamed her up, so we never did end up medicating her. I think for her it was enough that she was getting food and living in a clean environment, as she hadn't been as a feral, so her immune system was able to start fighting it.
 
zarathustra said:
So, as I wrote in another thread it turns out that the terrible twosome (Frank & Spencer) had ringworm when we bought them home from Pets At Home, though it wasn’t visible at the time.

It presented as a small round bald patch with white silvery skin on Franks left ear and Spencer’s right ear.

Took them to the vets and got some oral meds to give them once a day for 2 weeks, along with daily cleaning and disinfecting of their hutch. We followed the instructions to the letter and took them back to the same vets, but saw a new vet as the last one we saw had left.

He then prescribed topical medication to be applied to the area twice a day for 2 weeks, which we have been doing, although the cleaning and disinfecting had to be changed to every other day due to work commitments and the fact we were burning through a lot of hay.

Both patches seem better, the skin looks healthy and fur is starting to re-grow, although of Spencer’s ear the skin looks grey, but as he is a Dutch I put this down to pigment of the skin where the fur is coming through.

I’m going to try to get them back in the vets this weekend as that will be three weeks since we started the topical meds.

My question is, I guess, when do you know when ringworm is gone? Is it when all the fur has grown back, or, just when the symptoms have all gone?

They never seemed to be bothered by the ringworm before they went to the vets (it was about 5 days between it presenting and getting an appointment) so they never scratched at it etc, so other than the skin looking healthy I’m not really sure what else to look for.


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Click to expand...

Some links contain rather graphic images :

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Fungal/Fungal_en.htm

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/FungalAlgal/ringworm.htm

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/articles/case-of-the-month/dec-2014-a-case-of-ringworm
 
Ringworm is a fungus that infects the skin and hair / fur. It is quite slow growing. Basically, you have to treat until all the new skin and fur in the affected areas is clear (ie it has effectively all 'grown out' and the new growth is protected by the medication) - so for possibly a couple of weeks after it appears to have gone and fur is growing back normally. Infected hair will break off giving a stubbly appearance.

The cleaning regime is important as any infected skin or hair will contain viable fungus which can reinfect any animal it has reasonable contact with - that includes people and other pets. One it has started to clear out of the system, the most difficult part of the treatment is often remembering where the spots were that you are supposed to apply the cream to, but it is important to follow the instructions on the pack to fully be clear of it.

If the vet diagnosed the ringworm with a Wood's lamp, you may be able to get the all clear from another inspection - but not all ringworm will glow under this UV light, so it is useful but not definitive.
 
zarathustra said:
So, as I wrote in another thread it turns out that the terrible twosome (Frank & Spencer) had ringworm when we bought them home from Pets At Home, though it wasn’t visible at the time.

It presented as a small round bald patch with white silvery skin on Franks left ear and Spencer’s right ear.

Took them to the vets and got some oral meds to give them once a day for 2 weeks, along with daily cleaning and disinfecting of their hutch. We followed the instructions to the letter and took them back to the same vets, but saw a new vet as the last one we saw had left.

He then prescribed topical medication to be applied to the area twice a day for 2 weeks, which we have been doing, although the cleaning and disinfecting had to be changed to every other day due to work commitments and the fact we were burning through a lot of hay.

Both patches seem better, the skin looks healthy and fur is starting to re-grow, although of Spencer’s ear the skin looks grey, but as he is a Dutch I put this down to pigment of the skin where the fur is coming through.

I’m going to try to get them back in the vets this weekend as that will be three weeks since we started the topical meds.

My question is, I guess, when do you know when ringworm is gone? Is it when all the fur has grown back, or, just when the symptoms have all gone?

They never seemed to be bothered by the ringworm before they went to the vets (it was about 5 days between it presenting and getting an appointment) so they never scratched at it etc, so other than the skin looking healthy I’m not really sure what else to look for.


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Click to expand...


Hi there :wave:

I'm pretty sure I must have posted on your last ringworm thread. In my experience, it's more common to apply topical creams for ringworm.

What you need to remember is to keep on applying for at least two weeks after the last sign of ringworm has cleared up, to prevent recurrence.

Some graphic images in this link, but gives you the info:

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Fungal/Fungal_en.htm
 
Thanks guys. Luckily pets at home agreed to pay for the medication (which may be why the first vet opted for the more expensive oral medication). Though the last vet billed up but pets at home agreed to reimburse us.

The hardest part of the whole thing is catching the boys. They’re not fans of being picked up, but once you have them nice and secure they seem to like the attention.

Spencer even gave me some very quiet gentle toot grinding yesterday morning.

I always make sure that they get some strokes after applying the meds.

Spencer even gifts us with licks, and will lower his head for some grooming as well.


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Shimmer said:
...
The cleaning regime is important as any infected skin or hair will contain viable fungus which can reinfect any animal it has reasonable contact with - that includes people and other pets. One it has started to clear out of the system, the most difficult part of the treatment is often remembering where the spots were that you are supposed to apply the cream to, but it is important to follow the instructions on the pack to fully be clear of it..
Click to expand...

Thanks, we do our best to keep on top of the cleaning etc.

They’re due a good clean out tonight, and I’ll do my best to get back to doing them daily, although as they are outside rabbits the weather can make it tricky.

I’m loathe to do it when it’s raining, as we can’t take the boys inside, due to the risk of cross contamination etc, and we haven’t yet got them a “proper” run with a water proof cover sorted.

That will likely be a job for next year, as I’ve got a plan, but will need to paving slabs and bricks, as well as modifying their hutch so I can attach it to the run. I’m looking at the runaround run with a tunnel connector etc.


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The oral meds give a more thorough treatment as the anti-fungal drug is then incorporated in the new skin and hair over the whole body, which effectively stops the spread in that individual - although if it's only a couple of small patches, the cream is the preferred option and with fewer side effects. The spores are viable in the environment for about 6 months (I think! - not looked it up for a while), so any potentially infected hairs should be removed and destroyed properly (ie bag up, seal and bin or burn).

I hope P@H took appropriate action to protect their other livestock (and staff). Good job they are paying - the oral stuff is really expensive.
 
zarathustra said:
Nasty pictures, I’m glad that the boys didn’t get anywhere near as bad as that...


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Nickybunny rescued a rabbit in Spain who had severe ringworm on her FEET :shock:

It was horrendous, and was creeping up her ankles. Her toenails were almost falling out. Just terrible when not dealt with :(
 
Ringworm should be treated for 2 weeks (minimum) even after symptoms have disappeared to completely kill the fungus and prevent it from spreading. It can in some cases take up to 6 weeks.
Used to see it all the time at the vets in Guinea Pigs brought from P@H.... so annoying.

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Last edited:
Thanks for the advice all, we got back from the vets earlier and she (third vet we’ve seen) is happy that the ringworm has gone, and has given us the go ahead to stop the treatment. Which the boys are extremely happy about


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zarathustra said:
Thanks for the advice all, we got back from the vets earlier and she (third vet we’ve seen) is happy that the ringworm has gone, and has given us the go ahead to stop the treatment. Which the boys are extremely happy about


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Click to expand...


Good news :thumb:
 
MightyMax said:
Good news :thumb:
Click to expand...

Now it is a case of getting their jabs, and getting their bits snipped off. Both will be scheduled for the new year.

Then potentially finding a local rabbit savvy vet. As we adopted from Pets At Home the jabs and neutering are free, and half price respectively.


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