guinea pig growth on nose

[vanessa]

my guinea pig has a whitish crusty growth on his nose....and some scabs on the outsides of his ear? whats going on?? does he need immediate attention from the vet?

[Clover]

Hi vanessa, welcome to Wheekers.

I'm sorry that your piggy has some sort of crusty growth. It may be an upper respiratory infection. How is your guinea pig in general? Here's just a small list to indicate it could be UTI.

Exsessively sneezing

Discharge from nose

Crusty Nose

Watery eyes

Looking depressed/inactive

Loss of appetite

Laboured breathing

Any of these symptoms could mean an URI, so I'd definatly get him to a vet as soon as possible.

As for the scabs on his ears, they could be ear mites, again he needs to see a vet for that problem to, as he will give you a diagnoses and treat your piggy.

Please let us know how you get on and all the best for your guinea pig.

[Bean]

I completely agree - it's definitely one for the vets. Anything out of the ordinary should be checked out by a professional as soon as possible, so any treatment needed can be given promptly. Some things which seem minor can quickly progress in to condition causing a great deal of pain or irritation, and none of us want that for our piggers!

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[kitty]

Vanessa,
My little sickly pig Milano (naturally!) had some ear crud and the vet tested her for fungal and bacterial stuff but both came back negative. He did give her some sort of salve which didn't help. What did finally clear it up-or maybe it was just TIME- was jojoba oil. I really think she just had dry skin! The nose stuff sounds more serious. So DO take your piggie to the vet as it's always good to rule out something serious. Especially if you suspect it's a URI which can be deadly serious for your baby. Let us all know what happens. Also, it just occured to me- do you have other pigs? Sometimes Bordeaux, my bully, fangs poor Milano and causes scabs on her ears! Still, go to the vet!

[vanessa]

Thanks for the help! Dude, has an appointment on thursday. This is the first time I have taken him to the vet...how much does it usually cost at the doctors??

[kitty]

Vanessa,
Glad you're taking little Dude (how cute!) to the doctor today-you'll feel better and so will he! Here in the USA at my vet it costs anywhere from $15 to $35 depending on -I don't actually what! But I think Treen had a good idea about putting a little money away for just these times. Let us all know what happens.

[vanessa]

thanks a lot. I am here in chicago. I thought it would be around that amount but I also thought that it could be like $100. I'll give an update thursday night!

[Clover]

Good look with Dude on thursday Vanessa.

[vanessa]

Update on the Dude!
We went to the vet and she checked everything. The growth on his nose was gone by today and it turned out okay. There was some dry skin where it was but it was still fine. She checked for ring worm but the tests came up negative. He has a little eye infection so that's being treated. And he has some dry skin on his ears so vaseline should do the trick. He is happy camper and popcorning again as opposed to hiding in hit hut at at the vets. Other than being a pricy $120! at the vets everything is good.
Thanks for all the help.
Vanessa

[kitty]

Whew! $100! But hey, it's Chicago and everything's more pricey. I'm in Cincinnati, but my sister-in-law lives there and my son Gordon goes to Beloit in Wisconsin which is faierly close to you. I kinda thought it might be dry skin-like I said before, jojoba oil worked too. Glad litltle Dude has nothing too serious. Send us all a photo if you can!

[Clover]

Oh that is good news vanessa Like Beth has mentioned it would be lovely if you could post a photo of Dude