Can guinea pigs get fleas and/or ticks?

[Pat Shields]

I have been wondering about this - I have learned here that they can have ear mites, so am curious about other external parasites. The cats and the dogs occasionally have a tick or two from walking through the woods, though they haven't had fleas in years (I keep anti-flea and tick medicine on them). Can these external parasites be attracted to guinea pigs?

 

[mikulinek]

You know that's a really good question. The answer is I don't know. I have a few books on GPs and I can't find any reference to fleas or ticks. They can get various mites and can be affected by blowflies so I suspect the answer may be yes. The only thing that makes me think otherwise is that guinea pigs have hair rather than fur but in all honesty, I don't see how this would make a difference.

I hope somebody on here has a better answer for you and I'm sure they do but if in doubt, ask your vet.

(I have Margaret Elward and Mette Ruelokke's "Guinea Piglopaedia" and Myra Mahoney's "Mini Encyclopedia of Guinea Pigs" which talk about GP health and there's nothing in there)

 

[Pebble]

Piggies do not "get" fleas in the same way cats/dogs/rabbits do. A flea seen on a piggie has normally strayed from an alternative host/source and you certainly won;t find a "self-supporting" infestation developing on a piggie like you would on a cat or dog.

Piggies can get ticks but this is very rare as most of them live in conditions where they are not exposed to them eg proximity to sheep/deer/grassland/scrub etc. Lots of wild animals and birds carry ticks but the ticks are normally associated with the animal's home/burrow/roost. Again, if you have a cat or dog that routinely carries ticks then there is more of a risk of exposure. I have only ever found one reference to a guinea pig having a tick and that was a sheep tick.

I know you;re "across the water" but think the same thing would apply as in the UK

HTH
x

 

[Pat Shields]

I know you;re "across the water" but think the same thing would apply as in the UK

I would think so, too. I don't have any neighbouring sheep, but there are cows and horses in the next pasture over, and the reason I have ticks here is because the deer cruise through quite often, and of course the ticks drop off when they do. I try to keep the deer away as much as possible and I keep the brush and weeds down. That and the flea and tick medicine keeps them off the other beasties. I was just wondering if I should check the g.p. for them as fleas do jump and ticks do fall off and crawl into other spaces. But since it does make sense that guinea pigs don't harbor infestations, I won't worry about it too much, I will just keep a lookout. And mikulinek suggested, I am going to ask the vet on Monday.

 

[guineagurl]

Yes. They can get Lice and things. You just have to treat it carefully. Do yours have them?

 

[gogoguineas]

They can get mites, when you speak to your vet ask him what to treat Red with, i use a spot on treatment once every 3 months, just to prevent anythign occuring.

I had a piggie that developed mites. Basically all piggies are born with a type of mite (invisisble to the naked eye) that lives in the eperdermis of the skin. If the pig is ill or stressed out or something it can trigger them to come to the surface and it gives them a nasty series of scabs, makes them all sensitive to the touch so they dont like to be held. Think of it like a coldsore, we all have the strain of herpes in our bodies that lies dormant until something, normally illness, triggers it then we get the dreaded coldsores.
This is how it works for them. My pig then went to the vet for a series of injections, once a week for 4 weeks i think, to eradicate them.
So if you concerned get some advise from your vet

 

[SweetsPig11]

I have to say they can get both if exposed to them and the fur hair thing shouldn't make a difference because humans can get both as well but if they arent exposed to them then they should be fine.