Sycamore Chins
Well-known member
There are various species of 'ringworm' that affect common household pets.
These include:
Microsporum canis - mostly found in cats (surprisingly) and dogs, *rarely* found in rodents (reports of guinea pigs, and the occasional prairie dog or chinchilla)
Microsporum gypseum - mostly found in dogs, followed by cats, and rodents
Trichophyton mentagrophytes - found in dogs, cats, and rodents (commonly transmitted to dogs and cats by digging in rodent burrows)
Only ~50% of Microsporum canis will fluoresce when exposed to a Wood's Lamp (Black light). The other species do not!
The point: Using a Wood's lamp is pretty much a useless diagnostic in our rodents!
The best diagnostics:
1) A culture on the hair follicles from the affected area - this can be easily done at most vet hospitals but can take some time (up to 2 weeks) for results since fungus is slow-growing.
2) Examination of the affected hairs under a microscope, using a stain, looking for the fungal spores.
I've attached an excellent journal article on fungal diseases in rodents.
It also includes drugs for more serious treatments, but there is a thread here on CnH with the basic treatment.
(And if anyone finds an article that they want to read but can't access (have to pay or something) let me know - I have access through two universities to various journals and could probably get anything between the two!)
These include:
Microsporum canis - mostly found in cats (surprisingly) and dogs, *rarely* found in rodents (reports of guinea pigs, and the occasional prairie dog or chinchilla)
Microsporum gypseum - mostly found in dogs, followed by cats, and rodents
Trichophyton mentagrophytes - found in dogs, cats, and rodents (commonly transmitted to dogs and cats by digging in rodent burrows)
Only ~50% of Microsporum canis will fluoresce when exposed to a Wood's Lamp (Black light). The other species do not!
The point: Using a Wood's lamp is pretty much a useless diagnostic in our rodents!
The best diagnostics:
1) A culture on the hair follicles from the affected area - this can be easily done at most vet hospitals but can take some time (up to 2 weeks) for results since fungus is slow-growing.
2) Examination of the affected hairs under a microscope, using a stain, looking for the fungal spores.
I've attached an excellent journal article on fungal diseases in rodents.
It also includes drugs for more serious treatments, but there is a thread here on CnH with the basic treatment.
(And if anyone finds an article that they want to read but can't access (have to pay or something) let me know - I have access through two universities to various journals and could probably get anything between the two!)