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Post by whitmoregirl on Jun 24, 2005 11:12:02 GMT -8
It was apparantly not blood, but she has an infection in her nose and I have eye stuff (  ) to put on her nose once every day, but otherwise she's fine. She did try to bite Ingrid though when she was applying the stuff! ;D Oh and apparantly I have ringworm. I have no idea who gave it me but gahh!! I wondered what these red rings were! And now I need the doctor for some cream!!! So now I'm in cleaning mode. Cleaning cages with bleach, cleaning plastic toys with bleach, cleaning my hands every few minutes... and it's typical timing too, I have to go to my Grandparent's Diamond Anniversary party tommorrow - and guess what my conversation piece will be.... Oh and I've not got anything to treat the ringworm in the gerbils with. They would have to take tests at the vets as none of them are showing signs of carrying it, and the tests on all five would be a pretty hefty bill....  So I'm taking Ingrid's advice and leaving it too take its course. She said they should get over it in a few weeks but if there is any sign of balding on the sides and such, I should take them back in. So there you go... my lovely trip to the vets... I think I hated it more than the gerbies! |
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Post by sandy on Jun 24, 2005 12:29:12 GMT -8
Wow, I've never heard of people getting ringworm from gerbils before, usually they get them from dogs and cats that are outdoors and have contact with other animals, or from other people. I had it as a kid fairly often, and I think after a while you just get immune to it. I think a lot of animals are immune to it as well.
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Post by malabui on Jun 24, 2005 13:02:45 GMT -8
My gerbil once got an infection in her nose. I found the best way to keep them still when aplying medicen is to wrap something like a towel around them first
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Post by whitmoregirl on Jun 24, 2005 13:06:32 GMT -8
Thanks Malabui - I'll try that tommorrow  And yeah, it was a surprise to me too Sandy... But I should get an immunity, right? *pleaful eyes* |
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Post by meganb52 on Jun 24, 2005 18:00:03 GMT -8
I can totally sympathize with you on the whole ringworm thing. I have it right now too! I was playing with my friend's new kitten (who TOTALLY had ringworm and I just ignored it) and I broke out with it, somewhere in the mix, I also gave it to my dog! I had to take her to school with me and give her a dip in this horrid stuff that smells like sulfur - I felt so bad for doing it to her - but she's almost all healed now. I'm still working on it. For me, I've just been using over-the-counter athlete's foot/jock itch cream, the active ingredient is miconazole, an antifungal, day and night, and mine is clearing up. So if you want, save yourself a trip to the doctor and just buy some of that and try it for a few days to see if it gets better. The dilute bleach should also kill it too. Let me know if you have any more questions about ringworm, I certainly know my stuff after being quizzed all about it by my teachers!
-Megan
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Post by malabui on Jun 25, 2005 0:51:00 GMT -8
The other advantage of wrapping them in a towel when aplying medicene is that they cannot turn around and nip you or move their head away when you are just about to apply it.
Jade (black female) would somehow wriggle out of my hand and shed be sitting on the top of it when I had to give her medicene!!!
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Post by whitmoregirl on Jun 25, 2005 0:52:02 GMT -8
Ooo thanks Megan I'll show my mum that  |
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Jun 25, 2005 2:45:32 GMT -8
Wow, I've never heard of people getting ringworm from gerbils before, usually they get them from dogs and cats that are outdoors and have contact with other animals, or from other people. I had it as a kid fairly often, and I think after a while you just get immune to it. I think a lot of animals are immune to it as well. Actually all mammals can have this (not sure about other animals actually) and transmit it, including gerbils and humans! Ringworm infection does not create lasting immunity. A person can be repeatedly infected by the same type of fungus. |
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Post by whitmoregirl on Jun 25, 2005 7:55:24 GMT -8
darn Peter, why you go and tell me that??  |
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Post by southcore on Jun 25, 2005 9:45:27 GMT -8
Its just like athletes foot, in that, you can always get it at anytime from anyone/thing carrying it. I had it one summer, and didn't evenreally realize it was ringworm...i just thought it was athletes hand lol. THAT was annoying. right in between my pinky and ring finger.
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Post by whitmoregirl on Jun 26, 2005 1:53:32 GMT -8
;D Southcore!
How long did it take to go?
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Jun 26, 2005 7:58:04 GMT -8
darn Peter, why you go and tell me that?? Sorry! ;D But now people know that they still have to be careful, even when they have already had ringworm before. |
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Post by southcore on Jun 26, 2005 9:29:38 GMT -8
;D Southcore! How long did it take to go? Well at one point i thought it was gone, but it came back with a vengence a few months later...i'd say counting the second outbreak of it, it took about 8 months ...of course i didn't start treating it with Athlete's Foot meds till late in the game, so that will probably help it go away faster. |
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Post by whitmoregirl on Jun 26, 2005 10:48:18 GMT -8
 !!! It'd better be gone before I go to Oz Actually it seems to have gone a little paler - so mebbe the cream and stuff is working - plus I have to wear these huge washing up gloves everywhere I go... even outside. *shudder* The looks I got! And I put Kali in a blanket to put on her nose stuff, she started chewing the blanket to shreds so I quickly dabbed a load on and put her back in the cage. Kess and Sienna immediately wiped it off ;D |
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Post by meganb52 on Jun 27, 2005 6:21:38 GMT -8
How long did it take to go? I'm going on three weeks now, and I've gotten a few new lesions, but I think I got a particularly nasty strain... most of them don't itch anymore, but you can still see the red rings a bit. I think they go away quicker if you don't scratch them, so I've also been using cortisone cream to cut down on the itch factor. With the cream for your gerbil, it helps to get a good, firm grip on them, you can steady their head in your fingers (thumb and forefinger on either side of their head) and use just a little bit of ointment - you're shooting for a very thin layer, and if possible, keep her (or her cage mates!) from grooming it off too quickly (10-15 minutes if possible)... one way I just thought to do this was food bribery - Isolate her from her sisters in a box or separate cage/carrier and feed her treats (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc) She'll be too preoccupied with the treats to groom the medicine off... Now that I think about it, it may be a good idea for me to take some pictures of how to properly restrain a gerbil for medical treatment... Do you think it would help you (and/or anyone else)? Hope you and Kali get better soon! -Megan |
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) to put on her nose once every day, but otherwise she's fine. She did try to bite Ingrid though when she was applying the stuff! ;D
