• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Guinea pig lice and scabbing

Butterfluf

Butterfluf

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Oct 29, 2019
Messages
201
Reaction score
46
Points
240
I recently took my Guinea pigs to the vet as they had scabs and were itching a lot and found they had lice. The vet gave me some topical ivermectin pipettes to apply to the pigs. I feel really bad for them and I don't know how long it takes for the lice to go away and I don't know if there's a way that I can help ease their pain of the scabbing. I was hoping someone might know of a way to ease their scabs and have an idea of how long it takes to cure. Thank you
 
Generally you are looking at 2-3 doses of ivermectin around a week apart to ensure all the lice are killed. Usually you will notice a quick improvement in discomfort and the scabs shouldn't be far behind for healing depending on how bad they are
 
The brand is xeno 50-mini. The vet only gave me enough for one more dosage and she suggested in 3 weeks. I saw this vet on Monday and applied the same day and they are still itchy and scabby and I still see the little black dots on their fur. :/
 
Gorgeous Guineas sells a lice shampoo which is really good I have used it alongside the treatment I had from the vets. I noticed a difference straight after their first bath with it that they weren't itching so much but my girls didn't have a lot of scabs so I would double check it's safe to use first.
 
That's helpful thank you. I'll look into it and make sure it's safe first I just feel so bad for them. The fuzzy haired ones are the only ones with scabs and dry/flaky skin the smooth haired ones have the lice but I can't find any scabs it's strange.
 
All my girls are long haired but all have different coat types and there was a difference in how much each one was scratching so perhaps it affects them differently depending on breed/coat type.
 
Alisa3114 said:
All my girls are long haired but all have different coat types and there was a difference in how much each one was scratching so perhaps it affects them differently depending on breed/coat type.
Click to expand...
Mine are 3 of those fluffy types with hair sticking out everywhere and 2 smooth haired. The smooths have next to no scabbing that I can see but the fluffy ones are really bad. I'd like to try the lice shampoo I just can't find anywhere online that says if it's safe to use when they have scabbing :/
 
Butterfluf said:
Mine are 3 of those fluffy types with hair sticking out everywhere and 2 smooth haired. The smooths have next to no scabbing that I can see but the fluffy ones are really bad. I'd like to try the lice shampoo I just can't find anywhere online that says if it's safe to use when they have scabbing :/
Click to expand...
Give me two minutes and I will check to see if it says anything on the instruction sheet they sent with the shampoo.
 
Worst case scenario pop an email to gorgeous guineas. From what I remember they are fairly quick on responding and very helpful
 
Butterfluf said:
You're a star thank you very much
Click to expand...
It doesn't say anything about not using it on scabby or irritated skin just do not use until 48 hours after using ivermectin. But it does recommend using their Neem gel on irritated skin where there is a lot of itching/scabbing so that might be worth a try.
 
Alisa3114 said:
Fingers crossed you get it sorted soon for them
Click to expand...
I did just find that I have a tube of aloe Vera gel from Holland and Barrett in the house. I'm not sure if it's safe for Guinea pigs would you happen to know if it is?
 
Butterfluf said:
That's OK it's 99.9 % aloe Vera but still some things Ive read say aloe irritates piggies and other things say its a good relief. So confusing 🤔
Click to expand...
That's the problem with everything these days too much conflicting information on the web. It's so hard knowing what to do for the best.
 
Alisa3114 said:
That's the problem with everything these days too much conflicting information on the web. It's so hard knowing what to do for the best.
Click to expand...
I hate being so worried but I want them to be safe. I've been reading and I'm worried they might have bumble foot now. I clean their cage regularly and I thought sawdust and hay would be soft bedding...they always have a supply of hay and pellets and water I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Maybe it's the stress of having the lice I feel really bad about all this I thought I was doing things right for them
 
Butterfluf said:
I hate being so worried but I want them to be safe. I've been reading and I'm worried they might have bumble foot now. I clean their cage regularly and I thought sawdust and hay would be soft bedding...they always have a supply of hay and pellets and water I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Maybe it's the stress of having the lice I feel really bad about all this I thought I was doing things right for them
Click to expand...
Don't stress yourself out so much. Lice is just one of those things that happens and someone said to me would I be stressing so much if my kids caught head lice or would I just get on with treating them for it. I did feel a bit better after hearing that lol. I have no experience with bumble foot but if you searched it on the forum I think there is loads of advice and pictures of what it looks like. I have never used sawdust with my girls as I am allergic to it. I use a mixture of fleece, Vetbed and bath mats in their cage which they seem to love.
 
Are your guinea pigs very small? I've only got the Xeno 50 when Mabel was young otherwise I've used the Xeno 450. it works on the weight of the guinea pig so from a google search it says that you use one pipette of the Xeno 50 for body weight 200 to 250g.
Also I've used the lice and easy shampoo but I think its only to wash away the dead lice and eggs after they've been killed by the ivermectin
 
AMMAH said:
Are your guinea pigs very small? I've only got the Xeno 50 when Mabel was young otherwise I've used the Xeno 450. it works on the weight of the guinea pig so from a google search it says that you use one pipette of the Xeno 50 for body weight 200 to 250g.
Also I've used the lice and easy shampoo but I think its only to wash away the dead lice and eggs after they've been killed by the ivermectin
Click to expand...
Thank you, I have 3 babies that are roughly 5 weeks old so I believe that's why the vet provided the 50 for them. She gave me 450 for the two adults, but only 50 for them as a follow up. Unfortunately the vet didn't seem super experienced with small animals but I don't think there is a professional small animal vet near me. I am considering getting shampoo but I want to try and ease their scabs and flaky skin first before I do just incase that makes it worse.
 
Alisa3114 said:
Don't stress yourself out so much. Lice is just one of those things that happens and someone said to me would I be stressing so much if my kids caught head lice or would I just get on with treating them for it. I did feel a bit better after hearing that lol. I have no experience with bumble foot but if you searched it on the forum I think there is loads of advice and pictures of what it looks like. I have never used sawdust with my girls as I am allergic to it. I use a mixture of fleece, Vetbed and bath mats in their cage which they seem to love.
Click to expand...
Well thank you for all of your help. I wish the treatment was instantaneous I just feel bad for not spotting it sooner. I'll try relax a bit more I just want to give them the best life I can. I'm going to go and find some fleece blankets tomorrow and use towels underneath I hope that will ease them a bit more and I think it should help with their feet too.
 
It can happen to the best of us. And piggies are very old at hiding illnesses.

If you’re worried about bumblefoot, you could try posting photos here - but bear in mind we’re not vets and can’t really diagnose from photos. Alternatively (and the best thing to do) take pig(s) to the vet.

If you add your location maybe we can help with vets, if there’s another member from your country.
 
Siikibam said:
It can happen to the best of us. And piggies are very old at hiding illnesses.

If you’re worried about bumblefoot, you could try posting photos here - but bear in mind we’re not vets and can’t really diagnose from photos. Alternatively (and the best thing to do) take pig(s) to the vet.

If you add your location maybe we can help with vets, if there’s another member from your country.
Click to expand...
I just took them to the vet for the lice and she didn't say anything to me about their feet she just gave me stuff for lice. On the bottom their feet are a bright red and one has some broken skin aswell as the redness I was thinking to use aloe Vera. I'm from the south of Ireland. Thanks for replying. I'm going to get fleece blankets today and replace their bedding from newspaper and sawdust.
 
Red feet and broken skin would be concerning and a cause for concern of bumblefoot. I suggest you take them back to the vet to get checked and treatment for potential bumblefoot. Don’t put anything on it yourself - anything you use needs to be vet prescribed

Don’t forget fleece needs something to absorb the urine through, so you need something absorbent underneath fleece such as puppy pads. Fleece also needs to be washed several times to check it is wicking through (and not leaving urine pooling on top).
 
Piggies&buns said:
Red feet and broken skin would be concerning and a cause for concern of bumblefoot. I suggest you take them back to the vet to get checked and treatment for potential bumblefoot. Don’t put anything on it yourself - anything you use needs to be vet prescribed

Don’t forget fleece needs something to absorb the urine through, so you need something absorbent underneath fleece such as puppy pads. Fleece also needs to be washed several times to check it is wicking through (and not leaving urine pooling on top).
Click to expand...
Thank you, I'm just trying to locate a vet that has a better understanding of small animals as the one I went to didn't seem to know much about Guinea pigs. I'll check the fleece I get and I was thinking to put a towel underneath
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top