Skin Scraping & Fungal Culture

Finds the mites and ringworm behind itching and hair loss.

About this test

A vet scrapes the skin gently and plucks a few hairs. Under the microscope the scraping shows mange mites; the hairs are also grown in a culture to find ringworm, a fungus that can pass to people. The microscope result comes the same day; the culture takes up to two weeks.

What it measures

Skin scraping for mites (Demodex, Sarcoptes)
Skin and hair cytology
Fungal culture for ringworm (dermatophytes)

Before the test

Don't bathe your pet or put anything on the skin for 2 days before.

Good to know

Ringworm can spread to people: wash your hands after handling a pet with patchy hair loss.
Done at our centre: the scraping is taken by a vet.