Hay mite advice

[J668]

Hi all
A couple of weeks ago I noticed that Snowy had picked up the dreaded hay mites. (I suspect from a batch of Timothy hay from B&M).

I checked the forum for advice and duly ordered a bottle of lice n easy from
Gorgeous Guineas. Last Sunday was de-miting day. Complete empty and disinfect of the cage, all cardboard bits thrown away, brand new hay and bedding.
Then came the dreaded bath (shampoo, rinse, shampoo, leave, rinse) which Snowy found really traumatic. She screamed, shivered, pooed everywhere (unformed panic poos), hid away for ages afterwards and refused to talk to me for a couple of days.

Six days later and she is still mite free. I’m due to repeat the treatment tomorrow.

My question is, do I leave it as she seems ok and risk going back to square one or do I apologise profusely, repeat the treatment and follow it up with treats and cuddles to make her love me again?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all
A couple of weeks ago I noticed that Snowy had picked up the dreaded hay mites. (I suspect from a batch of Timothy hay from B&M).

I checked the forum for advice and duly ordered a bottle of lice n easy from
Gorgeous Guineas. Last Sunday was de-miting day. Complete empty and disinfect of the cage, all cardboard bits thrown away, brand new hay and bedding.
Then came the dreaded bath (shampoo, rinse, shampoo, leave, rinse) which Snowy found really traumatic. She screamed, shivered, pooed everywhere (unformed panic poos), hid away for ages afterwards and refused to talk to me for a couple of days.

Six days later and she is still mite free. I’m due to repeat the treatment tomorrow.

My question is, do I leave it as she seems ok and risk going back to square one or do I apologise profusely, repeat the treatment and follow it up with treats and cuddles to make her love me again?

Please always conduct a full course of treatment with skin parasites to prevent a return. Be also aware that our treatment recommendations have changed in the last few years; it sounds like you may have googled an old thread.

The current recommendation is to see a vet for diagnosis and to do a full three rounds course of a good high dosed ivermectin brand. We only recommend to resort to lice'n'easy shampoo in combination with the ivermectin treatment if the hay mites or lice are hard to shift. The shampoo is not necessarily as effective. With other good products available, we do no longer recommend medicated baths unless prescribed by a vet because of the stress and the impact on the skin.

Here are is our current advice on guinea pig specific skin parasites: What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)

PS: Unfortunately we do not have any control over what comes up when googling. We recommend that you please always open a thread to ask for advice and to not home treat on spec from information gleaned online. So much is currently in flux in the guinea pig world.