Do Hay Mites/static Lice Cause Irritation?

[Dilly's Piggies]

My piggies appear to have an infestation of hay mites, the little specs that cling to the hair. What's the best way to treat these? They are very itchy but I remember reading that these don't cause irritation, unless they have something else going on..

The pigs have had this itchy problem for months, recently switched them to grain free pellets, dust free hay and zero fragrance non bio wash powder for their fleece to see if the itching is allergy related.

I have one pig who had ringworm which is healing up now, thankfully the other piggies haven't caught it, but of course I'm on edge about skin problems after that. As I say, all the pigs have been itchy for a very long time and I've never been able to stop it.

My idea is to bathe them in lice n easy shampoo to remove the hay mites and then use malaseb right after, and use ivermectin in-between to eliminate every possibility.

Does this plan sound OK?

 

[Wiebke]

My piggies appear to have an infestation of hay mites, the little specs that cling to the hair. What's the best way to treat these? They are very itchy but I remember reading that these don't cause irritation, unless they have something else going on..

The pigs have had this itchy problem for months, recently switched them to grain free pellets, dust free hay and zero fragrance non bio wash powder for their fleece to see if the itching is allergy related.

I have one pig who had ringworm which is healing up now, thankfully the other piggies haven't caught it, but of course I'm on edge about skin problems after that. As I say, all the pigs have been itchy for a very long time and I've never been able to stop it.

My idea is to bathe them in lice n easy shampoo to remove the hay mites and then use malaseb right after, and use ivermectin in-between to eliminate every possibility.

Does this plan sound OK?

You need to wait at least 2 days after each skin application for it to be full absorbed and to go work whether that is a bath or a spot on, and any ivermectin course needs to be a full three rounds at the product specific interval. Have you had indication of hay mites (eggs and/or scurf)?

Here is a picture of my Nye, who has a history of skin issues (both hay and mange mites) due to a somewhat impacted immune system and who has just been put on a bath to remove as much scurf and then on a course of stronghold (selamectin) by his treating vet on Thursday after a check-up. He is getting slowly better with longer intervals between outbreaks, but we are unfortunately not there yet. There is however no sign of hay mite eggs in his bum hairs this time like when he arrived.


Well done on you for confining the ringworm! That is not quite easy and requires determination and discipline.

Malaseb is only necessary if your other piggies haven't had a fungal bath to eliminate the risk of spores hanging around in the coat since the outbreak of ringworm, but as this is a mechanical job, any shampoo will basically do to wash any spores out, so you can jump

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

You need to wait at least 2 days after each skin application for it to be full absorbed and to go work whether that is a bath or a spot on, and any ivermectin course needs to be a full three rounds at the product specific interval. Have you had indication of hay mites (eggs and/or scurf)?

Here is a picture of my Nye, who has a history of skin issues (both hay and mange mites) due to a somewhat impacted immune system and who has just been put on a bath to remove as much scurf and then on a course of stronghold (selamectin) by his treating vet on Thursday after a check-up. He is getting slowly better with longer intervals between outbreaks, but we are unfortunately not there yet. There is however no sign of hay mite eggs in his bum hairs this time like when he arrived.
View attachment 84220

Well done on you for confining the ringworm! That is not quite easy and requires determination and discipline.

Malaseb is only necessary if your other piggies haven't had a fungal bath to eliminate the risk of spores hanging around in the coat since the outbreak of ringworm, but as this is a mechanical job, any shampoo will basically do to wash any spores out, so you can jump

That picture looks exactly what Dolly has (my fungal pig), we've only been giving her malaseb baths every 2 days for the past week and her hair is coming back already. It's amazing that the others didn't catch it, I didn't even separate her... I have been very good with hygiene though so maybe that's why.

Yeah my piggies have had hay mites for a very long time, they tend to just have a few most of the time but the numbers increase into a huge infestation around this time of year, spring seems to bring them on in my piggies. Plus last month I bought alfalfa king timothy hay as my oxbow hay was out of stock, and it was awful hay, extremely dusty, I think that is why they suddenly have another infestation of the hay mites and possibly how Dolly got a fungal infection too, just my suspicions...

None of the others have any hair loss, just these little specs and light scurfing clinging to the hairs. I have given them all a bath today in lice n easy and then malaseb right after, as they haven't had a fungal bath yet, I grasped the opportunity and just did both treatments in one go lol... Got loads of muck and mites off them, very satisfying, they are wheeky clean now!

Will be contacting my vet next week to see if they can give me a course of ivermectin for all the piggies just in case

 

[Wiebke]

That picture looks exactly what Dolly has (my fungal pig), we've only been giving her malaseb baths every 2 days for the past week and her hair is coming back already. It's amazing that the others didn't catch it, I didn't even separate her... I have been very good with hygiene though so maybe that's why.

Yeah my piggies have had hay mites for a very long time, they tend to just have a few most of the time but the numbers increase into a huge infestation around this time of year, spring seems to bring them on in my piggies. Plus last month I bought alfalfa king timothy hay as my oxbow hay was out of stock, and it was awful hay, extremely dusty, I think that is why they suddenly have another infestation of the hay mites and possibly how Dolly got a fungal infection too, just my suspicions...

None of the others have any hair loss, just these little specs and light scurfing clinging to the hairs. I have given them all a bath today in lice n easy and then malaseb right after, as they haven't had a fungal bath yet, I grasped the opportunity and just did both treatments in one go lol... Got loads of muck and mites off them, very satisfying, they are wheeky clean now!

Will be contacting my vet next week to see if they can give me a course of ivermectin for all the piggies just in case

In Nye's case it doesn't help that he is a teddy with dense that is not well aerated fur and obviously an inclination to 'teddy skin'.

PLEASE Do not combine shampoos - the second will simply wash the first away before it can get to work. You need to leave 48 hours between every medicinal bath!

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

In Nye's case it doesn't help that he is a teddy with dense that is not well aerated fur and obviously an inclination to 'teddy skin'.

PLEASE Do not combine shampoos - the second will simply wash the first away before it can get to work. You need to leave 48 hours between every medicinal bath!

As far as I'm aware lice n easy does not need to be left on to work like malaseb does, it washes the lice away during application and serves no purpose afterwards until the next bath whereas malaseb does serve a purpose. Using malaseb after lice n easy is not a problem, my vet told me it was fine, I spoke with them today to make sure before doing it.

Regarding 'teddy skin', do Lunkarya's have that also? (Dolly is a Lunkarya)