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Fleas? Whats that?

F&G

F&G

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi guys,

Today I notice tiny black insects on my guinea pig around the butt..what is it? His cagemate dont have any! I bathed them and used insect spray for small animals. What it could be? Can it spread across the cage? I'm terrified
 

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Piggies don’t get fleas. It could be mites but I’m not sure. Best thing is to get a clearer photo and send to your vet. I wouldn’t use the sprays though. Piggies don’t have ‘insects’.
 
I called the Vet but they said that it's not an emergency and I should go to Pets at Home to get some drops.. I meant lices, not fleas.
 

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Are they little dark specks on the fur that you can't see moving? If so they are most likely what are often revered to as "static lice" which are the eggs of hay mites. Hay mites are debris feeders so do not bite or burrow in the skin and cause harm like mange mites do, tho it is nicer not to have them. They are much more noticeable on white piggies and most commonly seen on the backend
 
Once I used to have white specs all over the cage and the room they were in. We binned and disinfected everything, since then was fine and I started to freeze the hay for 24h before 'serving'.

This time they are black and are only on the piggie. I can see them moving though. I gave them a bath and cut their fur a bit, moved to a different cage but no idea what else I can do. I'm a bit OCD, cant live knowing that my piggies have something black moving on them..
 
If there is not much skin irritation or fur loss these are probably hay mites as @Pound Shilling & Pig says, but treatment for any ectoparasite is basically the same. If you are buying a treatment yourself then try to get a prescription strength ivermectin spot on treatment like Xeno450, you can buy this online, and dose according to the piggy's weight. You apply it to the skin on the back and neck, usually part the fur and dribble it along the spine. Its a good idea to treat all pigs who live together, usually 3 doses each, 2 weeks apart, and get rid of any open hay bags and cardboard or woven grass furniture, hot wash any fleeces, and deep clean your cage with a veterinary disinfectant like F10.
 
When it first happened I read that freezing the hay helps to kill the mites. Is that not true? I just ordered different hay from haybox but they'll need to eat this one until the new one arrive.
 
Freezing the hay for 24 hours will kill the mites, but it might leave you with rather damp soggy hay... but yes in these uncertain times you could freeze it rather than throw it away until you get fresh, as long as you check it isnt damp afterwards!
 
I managed to contact someone who sells invmectm but it will take time to arrive. I sprayed the piggies with the spray and thinking about applying the anti parasite spot on that I've got at home.

Btw I've always frozen the hay so no idea why they got the mites :( and the hay never was damp afterwards. It's so so stressful. Thank you..
 

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If you have already sprayed them then don't give them the spot on as well as the mix of toxins could be very harmful.
 
Okay, thank you. Should I give them spot on in a week time then?
 
I would look for xeno450. The beaphar brand doesn’t tend to be the correct dosage so likely won’t work.

I’m not sure I would trust that spray purely because it also has fleas on it. Piggies don’t get fleas. You could get this shampoo to use. @VickiA please confirm.
 
Today when I called the vet I was told that I should get something over the counter at Pets at Home as it's not an emergency and ivermectim is only on prescription, so the vet would need to see them but it's not possible due to coronavirus.

I ordered ivermectin from vetuk.co.uk, but I need something for them until it'll arrive, thats why I sprayed them. I guess that's better than nothing if I shouldn't apply the spot on after the using the spray. I appreciate any advice. Thank you so much.
 
Did you send them a photo? It’s a difficult time anyway.
 
They never asked me for it..just said that I should try to get something from the pet shop until I get rid of them or the coronavirus is over.
 
Doesn’t sound like a good vet. But I guess it’s not an emergency.
 
I was advised to apply 1drop per 500g of guinea pig per week of the ivermectim. Although of my piggie weights 1250g, should I still give him 2 drops?
 
Read the packaging I think there should be a dosage guide on there. Else you’ll have to wait for someone else to reply b
 
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