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Lice/mites?

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lawz

lawz

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all,
I have been nursing a poorly piggy and trying to get her to gain weight before xrays and dental work.
And while giving her her Gut stimluant (emipred) i noticed on her rump(black fur) she has what could be lice I'm guessing, they are appox 2mm or so in length, very thin and move and are of a sandy colour?
Suggestions to get rid of these please? I know ile have to treat all other 5 and completely fumigate the entire hutch and wooden accs too.
Thank you in advance
 
I am very sorry that you are dealing with yet another problem. Lice are opportunists and tend to thrive when the immune is compromised and not able to fend them off. it would be good if you asked your vet for suitable products and a proper diagnosis as she may need more support than a healthy piggy in fighting them off.

Gorgeous guineas have got a lice'n'easy shampoo, which may help additionally.

http://www.guinealynx.info/lice.html
 
well piggy in question is actually going to vets on weds night for treatment thursday for dental work, so will get them to look at her then, but still have to treat others.
Going to try Beaphor spot on and i have just brought lice n easy actually, so can bathe them all.
Beau might be tricky as shes had a bad past and hates being picked up or approached :(
What is the best hay to buy that has a lower risk of lice? or is that possible?
 
lawz said:
well piggy in question is actually going to vets on weds night for treatment thursday for dental work, so will get them to look at her then, but still have to treat others.
Going to try Beaphor spot on and i have just brought lice n easy actually, so can bathe them all.
Beau might be tricky as shes had a bad past and hates being picked up or approached :(
What is the best hay to buy that has a lower risk of lice? or is that possible?
Click to expand...

Please DO NOT use two topical treatments at once!

@helen105281 Can you please remember which one is currently the most effective treatment; I can;t remember the name of the product right now? I haven't haven't had lice in 10 years with any of mine (touch wood).
 
@Wiebke....no sorry i should have said i wouldnt be...will be at very least 48 hours if not more.
Just wanted to start intitial treatment....i know with my exczema its not pleasant to be itching all the time so know how they must feel (to an extent)
 
Wiebke said:
Please DO NOT use two topical treatments at once!

@helen105281 Can you please remember which one is currently the most effective treatment; I can;t remember the name of the product right now? I haven't haven't had lice in 10 years with any of mine (touch wood).
Click to expand...

Do you mean which spot on?

I tend to treat lice with shampoo (Lyclear) but I know that is not an option in this case. I would think Xeno from the vets would be most effective but I am not the biggest fan of spot on as you know so I always opt for Panomec either orally or by injection.
 
To answer your hay query, there are no guarantees, but if you look for a good quality, dust extracted hay it's a good start. I like the hay from dustfreehay.co.uk.
 
In my experience the best hay without unwanted visitors is something like Alfalfa King (Brand name) Timothy hay, which you can buy online or from PAH or Western Timothy by Oxbow. They aren't cheap but as they are imported from the US they are free from crawlies :) I've been using Timothy hay by Alfalfa King for 5 years & not had any problems thus far :)
 
Thank you.
As one of my piggies is going to vet for treatment this week, i didnt want to give her a spot on and then cos i had the vets couldnt treat her. So phoned them and asked specialist vet if i should leave her till she gets there, and she advised me to treat with the beaphor spot on as the lice i described to her sounded like theyre the ones that could respond to that treatment, and if no improvement in a week or 2 to consult with her again to discuss further treatment. ive also brought some lice n easy too, so thats on stand by should i need to. All were ok with treatment except beau who i know would be a struggle due to her apparent history so a spot on is not only less stressful for her but easier for me, i just had to scoop her up into her cosy.
As for Hay thank you for suggestions, is all timothy hay imported?
I got an excel brand of timothy at week end and they demolished it(nothing new, i know why they have pigs in their name,hehe) ....and to be honest while we all like to save money if spending more gets better quality then so be it. I always look for greener hay that is always dust extracted, I'm a bit OCD about it to be fair and drives my dad nuts!
Cheaper option would have been great as they love their current hay and abandon pellets for it so i get through quite a bit......but if more expense means better quality and thus less money spent on treatment in long run...then its a win win.....swings and roundabouts. :)
I just feel that ive been hit by one thing after another lately with piggies, but wouldnt change them for world and its all a learning curve for me.
Just glad their is a lovely lot on here to always offer advice
 
Hi, I ended up needing Xeno spot on from the vets for my boys just a few weeks ago for their lice, unsure if it was the hay or from our new piggy Marv as he was the worse effected :)
The vet works out the amount of drops needed for the weight of each of your lice effected piggies and in my case the cost was appox £5 for each Xeno treatment, and it worked :) he recommended treating each piggy with a second dose 7-10days after the first treatment.
I hope this clears up quickly for you :)
 
Hi All,

*update*
Fumigated all hutches at week end and bathed all piggies in lice n easy and all seem alot happier, does anyone know where i can get xeno 50 from? I'm reluctant to get off ebay if can help it.
thank you in advance
 
lawz said:
Hi All,

*update*
Fumigated all hutches at week end and bathed all piggies in lice n easy and all seem alot happier, does anyone know where i can get xeno 50 from? I'm reluctant to get off ebay if can help it.
thank you in advance
Click to expand...
I got mine from the vets, it's only around £5 per treatment the nurse at your vets can give it to you this appointment is often free depending on your vets surgery :) they need to weigh you piggy to work out the amount of drops.
 
Oki doke, will speak to her.
Was only there last night and by looking at my poorly piggie she says the Beaphor and then the bath i gave them appears to have done trick, just wanted the xeno so I'm prepared for further potential outbreaks :)
 
@lawz just to clarify, the Timothy hay must be imported from the US as it's sterile, the Burgess hay isn't as far as I know. I have used the Timothy hay by Alfalfa King for 4 years & not had any hay mites. From what you describe yours had running lice, so change of hay should prevent them coming back.
 
@Poppy'sMum Thank you :)
Run they did ;)
All their coats are alot better after using beaphor and bathing them 4 days later - another bath this week end and fingers crossed all will be ok.
Ive got a gut feeling it came from Burgess excell hay, so have binned it and brought some of the American timothy hays :)
 
Glad you sorted it! I must say although it is dearer, as the packs are compressed a pack lasts my 3 about a fortnight & they eat every last scrap, they have a constant supply of hay & I don't throw much away as they eat the lot!
 
paying cheap obviously appeals to everyone (who doesnt like to save money), but its not always best and paying more often pays.
Got the alfalfa king timothy and its gone so quick I'm sure they inhale it-but then they all love hay!
My poorly one has started nibbling hay, ide just like to try and encourage her to eat more of it as she only had dental work not too long ago - but shes eating veggies and grass which she never done before dental work
 
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