Ring Worm and guinea pigs are not a good combination. It is not always easy to spot ring worm so looking at the hair and skin of your guinea pigs are important. Ring worm typically causes hair loss in the area and will show almost like tiny bubbles in a circle or part of a circle. The area is typically red but there are some cases where it does not change color much. This is just based on the skin tone of your guinea pig. The normal area for guinea pigs to get ring worm is on their face and ears but it can spread to other areas so weekly look overs are recommended to make sure it does not get out of hand. Ring worm is a common infection in the guinea pig world and there are various ways it can be transferred and is not always the humans fault. It is recommended to fully wipe down your cage at least once a week to help prevent ring worm as well as stop the spread if they already have the infection.
Is ring worm transferred from animal to human?
The short answer is yes. Ring worm can be given to a guinea pig by their human and the other way around as well. Making sure you wash your hands before and after you handle your guinea pigs can help prevent ring worm as well as prevent spreading if they or you already have it. If a human has it or thinks they have it treat right away so it does not spread on yourself or your guinea pig.
How do I get rid of ring worm?
Getting rid of ring worm is not difficult as long as everything is clean. Quarantining your guinea pig if they have it is an important step. Changing their bedding more often then normal can help keep everything sanitized.
Below are a list of steps that worked best for me for getting rid of ring worm on guinea pigs.
- Give your guinea pig a bath using warm water and baby shampoo (other shampoo including dawn is too harsh for guinea pigs sensitive skin)
- Completely clean cage with new bedding as directed in other blog post
- Apply an animal safe antifungal topical ointment (if not better in 10 days go to a vet)
Only do step 1 once due to the fact that guinea pigs have very sensitive skin and taking all of the oil off of their hair and skin can be more harmful than anything else. I do recommend going to a vets office first. If you are not able to go to a vets office than following the steps above. Warning! I am not a Veterinary Doctor and recommend consulting a doctor. Above is what I did when in the situation.