Lice Stowaways!

[sazmatazz]

As many of you know, we recently lost Dora but have just adopted another piggy as a friend for Poppy who is called Mabel.
Unfortunately, she appears to have brought some unwelcome guests with her from the rescue!
I'm pretty sure they are static lice.

I've always previously used Beaphar anti-parasite spot on for lice and potential mites, with 100% success rate after 1 treatment.
I was thinking about buying some Xeno spot on, after reading about it on here, but I was wondering, how is it different to the Beaphar stuff? The main ingredient is the same but the price is quite a lot different.
It looks like people use 1 pipette per piggy of the Xeno 450, for guineas over 750g the Beaphar recommends 2 pipettes, so I'm guessing it's different concentration. Is that the only difference?

It works out cheaper to use the Beaphar ones as it's around £5 for 4 pipettes. So you can essentially get 4 treatments (of 2 pipettes) for 2 piggies, for the same price as 6 treatments in total of the Xeno. It is also handy as I can buy the Beaphar locally. However, if there's a reason not to use it, I won't.

We also already have some anti-parasite (Johnsons?) shampoo, is that worth a try first or will that require multiple attempts? The new piggy is very nervous and I'd like to avoid over-stressing her in her first few days if she can be treated without a bath.

(Obviously they will both need to be treated)

Thanks

Saz

 

[Pigpog]

When I bought my first two piggies one was unfortunately infested with lice. I used the Beaphar spot on treatment first (this cleared it up after 1 treatment) I then used the Johnson's shampoo just to make sure!

 

[Rodentopia]

From what I can understand spot on treatment won't kill lice as they don't bite the skin. Spot on kills mites but lice cling to the hair and feed off debris so doesn't kill them. Bathing is the better option. The idea of two baths is that first bath kills the adults and second kills any babies that have hatched. I have used Johnsons and it cleared them up in one bath, not had any since. I would personally bath them

 

[Poppy'sMum]

You need to establish exactly what they are before treating them. Are they running lice (Small, usually white/grey can be seen wriggling & moving) or static mites (Hay mites)? Static mites/lice are tiny little black specks that appear near the hair shaft on the rumps mainly. To check for these, lift the fur above the bottom area & use a piece of sellotape to stick firmly onto the base of the hair at the roots. When you lift the tape off it will have little black specks on, like dust, look under a magnifying glass & you will see the legs waving You need to treat these by bathing in Gorgeous Guineas Lice n Easy or Flea or Die shampoo, once a week for a couple of weeks. Giving Xeno won't kill these as they live on the hair shaft itself, Xeno treats Sellnic mites that live inside the skin.
http://www.guinealynx.info/parasites.html

 

[Wiebke]

I am very sorry about the lice!

Here is more information on guinea pig skin parasites. Please always make sure what it is that you are treating, and if in any doubt, please see a vet. The wrong home treatment can make things worse. Static lice or fur mites live on and from hair (mainly in the bum area), so ivermectin won't do the trick. A specific lice shampoo is much more effective. Static lice tend to turn up in hay at this time of the year; they are the most harmless of all skin parasites.
http://www.guinealynx.info/parasites.html (static lice and fur mites are the same; mange mites can also be called selnic mites)
http://gorgeousguineas.com/parasitic.html

Just out of interest; which rescue have you been using? Guinea pigs with an existing parasitic problem should not be rehomed.

 

[sazmatazz]

I'm positive they are lice, they are black specks clinging onto the hairs. I recall the guineas I had as a child having them & both bathing them & using some sort of powder on them - however this was a very long time ago now.
The spot on (both kinds) gives the impression that it deals with all parasites so is a bit misleading. My existing piggy has had mites before, which were treated with ivernectin, but we bathe them every few months with the anti bug shampoo anyway, even if no sign of any bugs. The one we have is johnsons I think, will that do the trick? You dilute it a bit & apply the mixture.

Thanks everyone x

 

[Rodentopia]

Ivermectin is misleading I agree but it only works for biting parasites and lice don't bite so has no effect. I have used Johnsons with great success for lice multiple times

 

[bubble&squeak4ever]

If it is lice you will need to bath your piggie in a special shampoo such as johnsons insecticidal shampoo or gorgeous guineas lice'n'easy shampoo.

Alternatively you can use wipes that you wipe over the fur to remove the lice. My piggy recently had static lice and I removed them using this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Petlife-Wip...1378317253&sr=8-2&keywords=Pet+wipe+out+wipes she doesnt like baths so it is a lot less stressfull for her
You only need one wipe as it is very big!

hope that helped x

 

[sazmatazz]

First bath done! Poor Mabel was not happy. Possibly her first bath ever! Poppy is quite relaxed at bathtime now as she's quite used to it, she looks a bit freaked out but doesn't wriggle or try to escape, unlike Mabel! Bless her she was crying and everything.
Thanks for the advice guys - do you think another bath in a week is a good idea? Or a bit sooner than that?

 

[bubble&squeak4ever]

First bath done! Poor Mabel was not happy. Possibly her first bath ever! Poppy is quite relaxed at bathtime now as she's quite used to it, she looks a bit freaked out but doesn't wriggle or try to escape, unlike Mabel! Bless her she was crying and everything.
Thanks for the advice guys - do you think another bath in a week is a good idea? Or a bit sooner than that?

Week will be fine