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Flea And Worming Treatments

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Lady Kelly

Lady Kelly

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I just wondered if anyone could shed some light on the impact of flea and worming treatments on guinea pigs. One of the rescues I have spoken to mentioned that one piggy is due his next flea and worming treatment next week. Now I have never ever given either of these treatments to my pigs in the 6 years I have owned piggies. Mostly because I don't see these as issues impacting guinea pigs, I know for example that there are no species specific flea to affect guinea pigs.

So, are these treatments pointless and also, perhaps more importantly, do they have the potential to harm the animals?
 
Lady Kelly said:
I just wondered if anyone could shed some light on the impact of flea and worming treatments on guinea pigs. One of the rescues I have spoken to mentioned that one piggy is due his next flea and worming treatment next week. Now I have never ever given either of these treatments to my pigs in the 6 years I have owned piggies. Mostly because I don't see these as issues impacting guinea pigs, I know for example that there are no species specific flea to affect guinea pigs.

So, are these treatments pointless and also, perhaps more importantly, do they have the potential to harm the animals?
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I've never used flea and wormer either!
 
I wonder if the piggy in question has had/is having a known problem with parasites and the vet is treating the issue, as opposed to preventative treatment like you do for dogs and cats. You can't just buy flea powder, for example, and give it to guinea pigs, you risk a fatal poisoning.

I would hope they know what they are doing! It's certainly not something I've ever had to do. The closest thing I've had to do is treat one of mine with Ivermectin injections (at the vets) for mites.
 
The CCT advocate regular worming but I'm not so certain of it myself. Especially as my pigs don't have access to grass that other creatures might have been on. Years ago when I didn't have access to a good vet I used the CCT quite a lot. One of my pigs was put on a worming treatment by them and to be honest it did him no harm, but it didn't help him either. Ivermectin sorted him out in the end.

I have used a wormer though, panacur. When Anselmo was having his neurological issues he was on Zithromax, which wasn't really doing anything. I was recommended trying panacur and I spoke to Simon @ The Cat and Rabbit Clinic about trying it, and he said it was a good idea. Unfortunately Anselmo deteriorated too much to tell whether it had any impact before I had to have him put to sleep.
 
I've used Panacur before when the vet thought Olive had a worm problem. But I've never heard of anything being preventative for them. Same with fleas.
 
When I used to go to the CCT my pigs were wormed every year. However my own vet said internal parasites are extremely rare in pigs even ones with access to grass & any piggies I had that had fecal samples sent off for digestive problems no worms/parasites were ever found.
 
Ok well that's cleared a few things up. I think if I decide to reserve him I will double check that it's preventative rather than a problem he's had
 
At my practice, we don't actively encourage regular flea and worming treatment, as it doesn't seem to be an issue. We tend to treat for parasites when the need arises, and it is normally Cheyletiella (walking dandruff) or sarcoptic mange. If a treatment is needed I always recommend Xeno 200 spray (Ivermectin). (or the 50 'mini' pipettes/ 450 'big' pipettes depending on size of piggie). These are under the SAES (Small Animal Exemption Scheme), so only some places can sell them. Vets being one of them. Accurate dosing is extremely important. Some vets like to use other medications off-license, but this requires a consultation before prescription. Stronghold (containing Selamectin) is one of these. I hope this helps!
 
CDRVN said:
At my practice, we don't actively encourage regular flea and worming treatment, as it doesn't seem to be an issue. We tend to treat for parasites when the need arises, and it is normally (walking dandruff) or sarcoptic mange. If a treatment is needed I always recommend Xeno 200 spray (Ivermectin). (or the 50 'mini' pipettes/ 450 'big' pipettes depending on size of piggie). These are under the SAES (Small Animal Exemption Scheme), so only some places can sell them. Vets being one of them. Accurate dosing is extremely important. Some vets like to use other medications off-license, but this requires a consultation before prescription. Stronghold (containing Selamectin) is one of these. I hope this helps!
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I've alwyas wondered how you treat baby piggies for mites, I didn't realise there was a Xeno 50 - that makes sense now
 
Rochester Piggy said:
One of my piggies currently has worms, she has had treatment for them. Could they kill her?
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If she has had treatment, then that should eradicate the problem - the medication should kill the worms and she may pass dead ones, so look out for that! If intestinal worms are left for long enough they can cause major problems that include rapid weight loss and malnourishment, therefore leading to death due to the lack of absorption of the nutrients from the diet. More severe complications could occur as well, but due to the nature of small mammals, these won't be as well noticed and would be almost impossible to correct before it got worse such as anaemia and intestinal bleeding. Out of curiosity, what treatment have you been recommended? @Rochester Piggy
 
CDRVN said:
If she has had treatment, then that should eradicate the problem - the medication should kill the worms and she may pass dead ones, so look out for that! If intestinal worms are left for long enough they can cause major problems that include rapid weight loss and malnourishment, therefore leading to death due to the lack of absorption of the nutrients from the diet. More severe complications could occur as well, but due to the nature of small mammals, these won't be as well noticed and would be almost impossible to correct before it got worse such as anaemia and intestinal bleeding. Out of curiosity, what treatment have you been recommended? @Rochester Piggy
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Just to let you know that Rochester Piggy started a new thread for this question and there is more information about the treatment on that post Can Worms Kill A Piggy?
 
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