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Lice- feeling like a terrible Pig Mum!

machuandpicchumummy

machuandpicchumummy

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi, when grooming my just under 4 month Texel boy Friday evening I noticed some tiny light brown/cream bugs crawling around near his rear end and what looked like eggs. I managed to get him in the vet within 20 minutes just before they closed and got him seen by our normal exotic vet who diagnosed lice 😷 He was treated with a pippette of selamectin and we were given some spray to apply once a day for 3 days following. He’s looking much better already I haven’t seen any live lice since the vets and there are much fewer eggs than when I first noticed.

I just cannot work out where he got them from. The vet said it’s because he has long curly hair he will find it difficult to groom the areas nearest his skin, so he will be getting a fetching new bum haircut shortly! I have five other piggies, one that lives in the same enclosure as the affected one and four in a separate enclosure. I have checked them and none of them have them so not sure how he has caught them. His enclosure is 8x2 and is kept clean and he is groomed every single day being a Texel. He hasn’t had any other signs, no excessive scratching or anything.

We got him after our older boar passed away from a breeder (we had to move quickly as his friend wasn’t doing so well without a friend, not eating etc, so didn’t have time to go through a rescue). Could he have arrived with the lice or eggs and they were unnoticeable for two and a half months? The living conditions at the breeders were not what I’d call ideal. Not absolutely horrendous or anything but obviously a fair few piggies in a smallish space.

I just feel like a terrible Pig-Mum for not noticing and that my care isn’t good enough or something 😥
 
You won't ever really know where they came from but it is in our nature as caring people to blame and question ourselves constantly when things happen. I'm no expert at all but hopefully one will be along soon to advise on getting the others checked/treated 💐
 
machuandpicchumummy said:
Hi, when grooming my just under 4 month Texel boy Friday evening I noticed some tiny light brown/cream bugs crawling around near his rear end and what looked like eggs. I managed to get him in the vet within 20 minutes just before they closed and got him seen by our normal exotic vet who diagnosed lice 😷 He was treated with a pippette of selamectin and we were given some spray to apply once a day for 3 days following. He’s looking much better already I haven’t seen any live lice since the vets and there are much fewer eggs than when I first noticed.

I just cannot work out where he got them from. The vet said it’s because he has long curly hair he will find it difficult to groom the areas nearest his skin, so he will be getting a fetching new bum haircut shortly! I have five other piggies, one that lives in the same enclosure as the affected one and four in a separate enclosure. I have checked them and none of them have them so not sure how he has caught them. His enclosure is 8x2 and is kept clean and he is groomed every single day being a Texel. He hasn’t had any other signs, no excessive scratching or anything.

We got him after our older boar passed away from a breeder (we had to move quickly as his friend wasn’t doing so well without a friend, not eating etc, so didn’t have time to go through a rescue). Could he have arrived with the lice or eggs and they were unnoticeable for two and a half months? The living conditions at the breeders were not what I’d call ideal. Not absolutely horrendous or anything but obviously a fair few piggies in a smallish space.

I just feel like a terrible Pig-Mum for not noticing and that my care isn’t good enough or something 😥
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Hi

With just a few weeks, it is possible that he could have arrived with some eggs but with thick hair they are more difficult to spot and to control. Teddies and long-haired piggies can be more prone because of their coats.

Please give him a short haircut - especially if you live in the southern half of the UK where we are due another heatwave, so it has a dual purpose. It will help you to keep a much better eye on him in the coming weeks. The hair will grow back again. Lice live all over the body and not just at the bum end. They live on blood from tiny skin bites. ;)
An Illustrated Guide to Hair Cutting

Please don't feel bad. Skin parasites are actually not related to bad care, they are just carried in somehow. Only that with neglected, highly pregnant/newborn or frail piggies their weaker immune system cannot help controlling them and fending them off like with well kept healthy piggies, so skin parasites can take over. And of course, money for proper treatment won't be spent on them in those situations... :(

They sometimes just happen. You have done exactly the right thing.
 
Don't feel bad, it's not your fault these thing happen to us all at sometime. The important thing is you got him treatment at a vet very quickly. We would love to see photos of your boys, they sound lovely.
 
Thanks guys for your reassurance 🙂

I’ve just checked them all again and think I saw a single louse on one of my girls (in a separate cage with 2 other girls and a neutered boy) 😥😥😥😥

I’ve treated all the pigs with the spray as the vet suggested if I see anything on anyone else and will ring the vet tomorrow to see if they all need a selamectin treatment 😥😥
 
piggieminder said:
Don't feel bad, it's not your fault these thing happen to us all at sometime. The important thing is you got him treatment at a vet very quickly. We would love to see photos of your boys, they sound lovely.
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IMG_9357.webpAs you can see he’s basically a walking mop so easy to see why lice love him!
 
machuandpicchumummy said:
Thanks guys for your reassurance 🙂

I’ve just checked them all again and think I saw a single louse on one of my girls (in a separate cage with 2 other girls and a neutered boy) 😥😥😥😥

I’ve treated all the pigs with the spray as the vet suggested if I see anything on anyone else and will ring the vet tomorrow to see if they all need a selamectin treatment 😥😥
Click to expand...

All the best. How easy you can get rid of lice depends on catching them early and how resistant a strain you are dealing with.

New Guinea Pigs Health Problems: URI - Ringworm - Skin Parasites
 
machuandpicchumummy said:
View attachment 274101As you can see he’s basically a walking mop so easy to see why lice love him!
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He may enjoy a haircut until the lice saga is over - it will be much easier for both of you to keep track of them. The hair will grow back again.

Spray may not be effective. Please use the ivermectin your vet has prescribed and be aware that ivermectin can be overdosed; the dose is weight related.

For any bathing and hair cutting; here is the link for finding helpful tips, pictures and videos:
More Practical How-To Care Guides (Sub-forum Links): Haircutting, bathing & grease glands
 
Wiebke said:
He may enjoy a haircut until the lice saga is over - it will be much easier for both of you to keep track of them. The hair will grow back again.

Spray may not be effective. Please use the ivermectin your vet has prescribed and be aware that ivermectin can be overdosed; the dose is weight related.

For any bathing and hair cutting; here is the link for finding helpful tips, pictures and videos:
More Practical How-To Care Guides (Sub-forum Links): Haircutting, bathing & grease glandy
Click to expand...
Yep he’s getting a fetching new hair cut later on today. I’m sure he’ll look excellent but also important for the heatwave!
 
Our vet didn’t actually send us home with any ivermectin, he just applied it there and gave us the spray to do at home. Do I need to ask him to give us some ivermectin to do at home?
 
Please do not feel bad. These things can happen and it isn’t your fault. It’s obvious that you give your piggies amazing care and you got him in at the vets and started treatment as soon as you noticed.

He’s lovely by the way 🥰
 
Thanks guys. Just checked the whole herd again and couldn’t see anything live. There’s some things that are probably just flecks of dried skin but I’m paranoid they’re eggs 🥲
 
Thanks everyone he’s looking a lot better. Haven’t seen anything live since Friday but still a few egg casings on his hair. He’s had his last treatment with the spray today supposedly. Are the egg casings still normal and dead would you say? Not sure whether to wash him in some GG lice and easy to try and wash them out?
 
machuandpicchumummy said:
Thanks everyone he’s looking a lot better. Haven’t seen anything live since Friday but still a few egg casings on his hair. He’s had his last treatment with the spray today supposedly. Are the egg casings still normal and dead would you say? Not sure whether to wash him in some GG lice and easy to try and wash them out?
Click to expand...

Why not gently cut the egg cases out with a pair of scissors wherever possible? It may be drastic but never underestimate the power of mechanical/physical removal. ;)
 
Wiebke said:
Why not gently cut the egg cases out with a pair of scissors wherever possible? It may be drastic but never underestimate the power of mechanical/physical removal. ;)
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That’s a good plan! I had planned to try and comb them out but I’m sure my mother would tell you trying to get them out of my crazy curly hair when I was a kid was bad enough so I cant imagine any better on a guinea pig🤣
 
machuandpicchumummy said:
That’s a good plan! I had planned to try and comb them out but I’m sure my mother would tell you trying to get them out of my crazy curly hair when I was a kid was bad enough so I cant imagine any better on a guinea pig🤣
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Just give him the necessary haircut in view of the prolonged hot weather and then remove any eggs you can still see, whether that is actually lice or hay mites.
 
He’s had his hair cut and I got as close as I could with the hairs the eggs are on to remove them but there are still a few dotted about which I can’t get close enough to the skin to clip out without nicking his skin with the scissors. He was screeching every time I got anywhere near his skin! Dramatic boy! The eggs only seem to be around his bum/back leg areas and a couple under his armpits. I sprayed him with the spray from the vets again once the hair was shorter.

I have some Gorgeous Guineas Lice n Easy shampoo, would you think it’s a good idea to give him a quick bath with that? It was on Friday he had his ivermectin so beyond the 48 hr no bathing period.

I haven’t seen anything live since he’s been treated with ivermectin on Friday so hopefully that’s a good sign!
 

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