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My chinchilla has ringworm. How long for ketoconazole to work?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Small Animal | Chinchilla | Female

How long does it take for Oral Ketoconazole to take affect and show improvement for ringworm in chinchillas?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Miranda Sadar, DVM, DACZM

Veterinarian

Published on January 13th, 2019

Thanks for your question about Ali, and I am sorry that you two are going through this. Unfortunately, it can take quite a while for you to be able to see improvement of the skin in cases of ringworm. Frequently the courses of medication are long, as the skin takes a long time to repair itself as the ringworm is killed by the medications. Hopefully you will see improvement in Ali's clinical signs within about a week or so - I am not sure if she had a great deal of itching or not, but that is a common sign that is exhibited. As far as your question about how fast it takes effect - this starts to happen quickly, which is why the animal begins to feel better within the week or so. But, it takes a long time to be fully effective, which is why the length of time that Ali will likely be on this medication is so long. Your veterinarian will likely want to check Ali at least a couple of more times for evidence of ringworm growth before saying that the ketoconazole can be stopped.
I hope that helps to answer your question, and I hope that Ali has a speedy recovery!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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