Lice or mites?

[FrankieandGeorgie]

Hi all

My boys have each had a scab on their backs, both healed, but now Frankie has another. I assumed they had had a scuffle while I was out as they are 3 1/2 months old, however, Frankie now has another scab, and I found tiny yellow creatures in both of their fur (Frankie is white and peach and Georgie is a particularly plushy agouti). They dont seem abnormally itchy and are eating fine, but I would like to nip this in the bud before it becomes a problem.

Do I need to take them to the vets, or is there something I can buy to bath them/treat them with?

I'm annoyed as I have been really strict with freezing their hay, which isnt that convenient, but maybe it needs to be in the freezer longer than overnight?

Also I have a mouse at large in my house (ongoing battle - I cant catch it!) could it have passed on anything to them? The pigs live in a pen in the kitchen, but I have only ever found mouse evidence upstairs.

Hope someone can help!
Helen (rather itchy!)

 

[Pepperdog]

generally speaking lice you can see, mites you cannot.

mites http://www.guinealynx.info/mites.html
lice http://www.guinealynx.info/lice.html

I am constantly battling with lice as my rex is uber sensitive to them and it seems is allergic to hay as well rolleyes well something is irritating her lately (other than me handling her). Lice can be a light yellow/white to a browny colour and just visable in the hair, usually static lice that are contained in the hay and I would suggest you seek veterinary advice if this is causing your pig to scratch so much, it could be mites as well or instead of lice.

I have got the lice and easy shampoo as other chemical treatments irritate my rex's skin badly http://www.gorgeousguineas.com/shampoos.html and is always handy to have on hand but I would suggest getting them checked out before going for home treatments

 

[Poppy'sMum]

Do they look like this:

http://www.guinealynx.info/lice.html

If so they are running lice. Really you need to see a vet for definite diagnosis & treatment though if you aren't sure.

A mouse can wee & leave droppings which could be hazardous to piggies, if their food is accessible the mouse will live off it, or out of your food cupboards as mice can get in gaps the size of a biro rolleyes

Have you tried humane traps baited with chocolate for the mouse?

 

[FrankieandGeorgie]

Thank you both!

I had a rummage in their fur today, and couldnt see any, but the creatures are the same colour as Frankies peach bits, which makes it quite hard to spot them.

I'm wondering where they could have come from, I've had them since they were 5 weeks old and I havent had any contact with other pigs and neither have they. They have only recently started to go outside in their pen - could they have picked something up outside?

I wash their bedding (fleece) at 40 degrees, and wonder if I should be doing it hotter than that to kill off anything.

I shall book them into the vet next week. In the mean time, is there anything I can put on the scabs to soothe it for them?

As for the mouse, I found more evidence upstairs, and already have 2 humane traps baited with nutella (I figured they couldnt run off with the bait then!), but might move them. The cupboards in the kitchen were all cleaned a few weeks ago, and we found no poo or chewing. The mouse has been in the house for a few months now and has seriously outstayed its welcome (not that it ever was welcome)

Helen

 

[Wiebke]

Many skin parasites can come with the hay - not just with other rodents; there is not much you can do about it but be on the alert. Guinea pigs need to eat up to 80% of their daily food intake in hay.

The important thing is to make sure that you treat for the right thing and that you have your piggies seen as soon as you can for a proper diagnosis by a competent vet (piggy savvy exotics vets preferred); you can cause a lot of unnecessary suffering by treating for the wrong thing and with too low dosed shop products. The quicker you treat, the less of an issue or problem it is. Please always treat all piggies living together.

Here is another link to what skin problems guinea pigs can suffer from:
http://www.guinealynx.info/parasites.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html

Best of luck of getting hold of your mouse-at-large!

 

[FrankieandGeorgie]

Update!

We went to the vet this morning. Both boys have lice and Frankie may have mites too, so he has had an injection to help with the itching, and they both have invomectin.

I'm now freezing my hay for 24 hours instead of overnight, and have upped my washing temperature for their bedding.

The vet thinks they may be more cooperative with me once they are better - they have always been quite skitty chaps, despite this being a quiet house with only me in it. I'm glad they are in the house with me, as if they were in a hutch outside, I dont think I would have noticed this as soon.

The mouse is still at large, but the vet said the parasites are species specific, so the mouse is unlikely to have passed them on. I still need to catch it though!

Thank you all for the links and info
Helen

 

[Poppy'sMum]

I'm glad you got them sorted, this is why it's always best to get a vet's opinion about these things for treatment, as Wiebke says the shop bought pest stuff is not that effective.

You can shampoo them in a week or so to get rid of any dead stuff in their fur. Gorgeous Guineas Lice n Easy or Flea or Die are great. Don't shampoo within 48 hours of any treatment though.

If you want to get hay that doesn't have any mites, then go for the Oxbow range like Western Timothy or Alfalfa King Timothy hay. Both of those are mite free as they are imported from the US, the EU regulations mean they have to be made sterile before exporting. Hope that helps