Do you treat as prevention?

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Graceandowen

Graceandowen

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Hi All
Have seen a lot of threads here on mites recently and was wondering,, Do any of you treat your piggies as a prevention against them?

I regualrly use Frontline for my dog but have never treated Sonic for mites as he doesnt show any signs of them,,,,

As I understand it you only treat with Ivermectin when you suspect the pig has a case of mites / lice?

Sonic has the odd scratch now and again but I think I'm getting a bit paranoid about it, Checked him over thoroughly and there are no signs of any infestations, no 'dandruf' bald patches, hair thinning or wounds.
 
He's more likely to get static lice on his rump than mites. If you bath him every 6 weeks say in Gorgeous Guinea's Lice & Easy or Flea or Die then it will kill any lice & should keep them well at bay :) they pick static lice up in their hay. On a black piggie you will be lucky to see them, they are black specks on the hair shaft, near the skin.
 
I have to admit now and I'm pretty ashamed to say this now I have read lots on the forum.
But I have never bathed him :red:red
Do you have a link for the shampoo? and I shall order some and give the bath a go :red
 
Graceandowen said:
I have to admit now and I'm pretty ashamed to say this now I have read lots on the forum.
But I have never bathed him :red:red
Do you have a link for the shampoo? and I shall order some and give the bath a go :red
Click to expand...

I've never bathed my boys, I've only ever bathed long haired beauty Cameo x)

All my boys are castrated though - so they don't really smell of anything than hay!

As for the original Q - It depends on their lifestyle I guess. Like with dogs. I worm my dogs religiously every 3 months, as they have regular exposure to potential sources, however I only ever use a flea/tick preventative on my dog in the summer months, when we walk in places where ticks are prevalent. Until recently, I've never used any routine flea preventative on my dogs. I don't actively do it now, it just happens to be in with the tick preventative.

I worm my pigs every 3 months, as they go out in the garden eating grass etc. so have exposure to potential wormies. I've never used a louse/mite preventative, as nothing else really came in my garden. It might be worth it if you have a large number of foxes frequenting your garden. I just keep some on hand "just in case".
 
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I asked Chrissie at Gorgeous Guineas which shampoo she would recommend for a regular 6 week preventative bath. She said a lot of the rescues she supplies use Manuka and Neem and find this the best at preventing nasties so that's the one I went for.
 
Wouldn't let me edit as I'd left it too long...

Another reason I worm my piggies regularly (with panacur) as it covers against the protoctist Giardia too.
 
Amanda1801 said:
I worm my pigs every 3 months, as they go out in the garden eating grass etc. so have exposure to potential wormies. I've never used a louse/mite preventative, as nothing else really came in my garden. It might be worth it if you have a large number of foxes frequenting your garden. I just keep some on hand "just in case".
Click to expand...

What do you use to worm your piggies? I've heard of worming them but I don't know the product/s used!

Personally, I only treat if I notice a potential problem. One of my boys had lice, so he got the insecticidal shampoo for that and I'm keeping an eye on everyone else just in case. But that seems to have been an isolated incident as a week on, we have no nasties.

In the summer months though I do tend to give everyone a bath using insecticidal shampoo every 8-10 weeks just to be safe. Cleans them up lovely and they smell great for weeks! They usually need a bath anyway; I just choose to use the insecticidal over a normal shampoo.

EDIT: Just saw your post above! :)
 
I think the hay is the issue, some hay does have the static lice in. Oxbow Timothy hay (imported from the US) is expensive but is sterile, so if you use that & fleece/vetbed your piggies shouldn't pick up anything :)

Personally I found normal meadow hay bought in most pet shops did have the static lice in, & was particularly bad in the spring/summer months.

To check your piggie, just lift his fur on his rump above the grease gland then stick a little bit of sellotape on his fur, then look under a microscope, that is the only definite way to know rolleyes

http://www.gorgeousguineas.com/

That's the link
 
ghostbusterbunny said:
What do you use to worm your piggies? I've heard of worming them but I don't know the product/s used!

Personally, I only treat if I notice a potential problem. One of my boys had lice, so he got the insecticidal shampoo for that and I'm keeping an eye on everyone else just in case. But that seems to have been an isolated incident as a week on, we have no nasties.

In the summer months though I do tend to give everyone a bath using insecticidal shampoo every 8-10 weeks just to be safe. Cleans them up lovely and they smell great for weeks! They usually need a bath anyway; I just choose to use the insecticidal over a normal shampoo.

EDIT: Just saw your post above! :)
Click to expand...

I use panacur (as you have seen!) - just give it once a day for three consecutive days, dose depending on their weight.

You might find this thread helpful :)

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=47407
 
i personally don't treat as a preventative against mites/lice and i also don't worm them. i don't like the thought of giving chemicals when not needed so if they got anything i would treat then. :)

i use the manuka and neem shampoo from gorgeous guinea's. i don't bath them loads, maybe 2-3 times a year. ches doesn't seem to need baths but maisie has longer hair so she does need them. inbetween the bathes i give maisie bum baths if she need them. :)
 
Graceandowen said:
I have to admit now and I'm pretty ashamed to say this now I have read lots on the forum.
But I have never bathed him :red:red
Do you have a link for the shampoo? and I shall order some and give the bath a go :red
Click to expand...

I use these drops - kills lice mites worms everything
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ANTI-PARASITE-IVERMECTIN-SPOT-RABBIT-LICE-FLEAS-A16-/150531663559?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Small_Animals&hash=item230c62e6c7

This is great shampoo to kill lice mites etc it smells divine tooo :))
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125ml-Insecticidal-Shampoo-Guinea-Pigs-Rabbits-Ferrets-/260812406767?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Small_Animals&hash=item3cb9a17fef

How often to shampoo I dont know - i shampooed my girlies the day i bought them home - I have not needed to do this again as they are very clean.

Piggy was a boar and his coat became greasy a lot and was always having a little scratch so i bathed him once every two months.

Dont want to wash them too much as they have natural oils in their coats - but if boars get too greasy use a little bit of shampoo and rinse off. Its up to you I dont want to advise how often!!
 
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Thanks for all the replies :)
Sonic doesnt smell bad really, he has a hay smell about him lol but I often snuggle him to my face and sniff his head lol and never pongs.
I wouldnt say he is greasy either. But want to make sure he has a bath incase he has any lice etc so have ordered the Lice and Easy shampoo from the gorgous guineas website :)
 
i use xeno on mine all year round then every three months when the dose has ran out they are bathed in neem shampoo and then the next dose applied a few days later :)
 
Poppy'sMum said:
He's more likely to get static lice on his rump than mites. If you bath him every 6 weeks say in Gorgeous Guinea's Lice & Easy or Flea or Die then it will kill any lice & should keep them well at bay :) they pick static lice up in their hay. On a black piggie you will be lucky to see them, they are black specks on the hair shaft, near the skin.
Click to expand...

can static lice live on humans cos I'm feeling a little itchy now LOL LOL ?/
 
I bath the boyz with a shampoo once a month.

Fingers crossed, no nasties so far.

I use the Johnsons shampoo for small animals :)
 
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