• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

mites/fleas

Status
Not open for further replies.
E

entwisi

Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Hi,
newbie owner having rescued two boys from a unloving home, both were underweight, had no toys to play with little evidence of hay being given etc. anyway, after 3 weeks they are now a decent weight and loving their food and toys.

I do though have an issue that one of them ( Babbett ) had had an issue with mites before we got him though the previous owner had taken him for an injection and I was told the vet had said he would be fine after a couple of weeks. The very night I'd taken him home he was literally jumping/squealing and scratching like mad so much that he has a large patch where he has scratched himself red raw.. I took him to the vets on the saturday afternoon( not my preferred Vet but the only one open. They gave him another injection ( Same stuff as frontline allegedly), some dermosil cream and gave the other boy ( Jamie) a usual drops behind the neck.

I have since taken them to my usual Vets who checked what they had and gave me some antibiotics.

3 weeks on though and they are still scratching and Babbett is still having periods of obvious discomfort meaning his sore is still there and not really getting any better.

We are cleaning the cage every day at the moment including discinfectant to ensure any eggs etc are being cleared out, have replaced the sawdust with vet bed which is equally being swapped out and washed.

MY Question is has anyone else suffered similar? is there anything else I can be doing or is it really just a matter of keep dosing with frontline and wait for it to work? my Vets did say I could try putting a "sock" over his main body to stop him from being able to scratch the sore but as we were still using th cream we haven;t tried that yet> The vets has said to stop using teh craem to see if it will let it dry up a little better.

TIA

Ian
 
Mites need to be treated with a full repeated course of an ivermectin product, at least 3-4 times every 10-14 days apart in order to kill any emerging eggs that are burrowed in the skin. In severe cases like you are describing (fitting), injections are best, before oral and then topical. Please keep the wounds clean, but do not bathe, as that could aggravate the already painful skin and trigger another fit.
http://www.guinealynx.info/mites.html

You can also help by feeding a good diet:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=17
http://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html

and by weighing your piggies regularly to make sure that they are putting weight on and not losing it. The next month will be hard on you and the piggies, as it takes time for the ivermectin to take hold and every extra fit is another strain on a piggy's heart. They will need all the tlc you can give to help them pull through.

I have seen people using a little dress specially made for a piggy with a permanent fitting problem due to a trigger spot on the back. Most piggies will wiggle out of socks very quickly.
 
Last edited:
Sorry to hear that Babbett is so unwell but thank goodness you're able to give them the kind of home and love they deserve! Good for you.

Just wanted to add that some people use a tubigrip type elasticated bandage instead of a sock. You can cut leg holes if needed.

I could be barking up completely the wrong tree but just wondered if the Vet is sure that he just has a parasite problem? It's just that often piggies get fungal skin infections at the same time as mites and a fungal skin infection would also make his skin very sore and sensitive.

Also what temperature are you washing the Vetbed at?

Good luck x
 
washing the vet bed by hand but as hot as I can stand( and I am reputed to have asbestos hands :D ) with rubber gloves so I'd say somewhere between 60-70C.

I'd thought about tubigrip, any advide as to what "size"?

the Vet we used is very good and has been giving a thorough examination each time so I'd expect them to see if it was anything else and have confidence in her ability from our years of dealing with her with other animals.


Diet wise, since getting them they get a bowl of veggies twice a day, mixture of sweet peppers/brocolli/sprouts/apple/carrot/kale/few grapes/courgette/celery( with stringy bit peeled off)/cucumber plus as much hay as they want and a treat is we have a large patch of corn ( not sweetcorn, corn as in grass/hay type) which they get a good handful of fresh green just pulled each day( this is their very fav food which they will demolish within minutes of it going in the cage irrespective of what else is in there!).

They have fresh water daily, seagrass tunnels and wooden toy/chews plus a seed wheel suspended to play with. Ping pong balls add some other entertainment.

weight wise, they are both putting on fast and have bulked out immensely since we got them, Jamie is 1080g and Babbett 760g, this was up from last weeks 1005 and 730 respectively. for reference they are about 7 months old as far as I know.

I've "liked" a page on Facebook that is recommending some shampoo from "gorgeousGuineas" if anyone has heard of them?

Ian
 
With regard to tubigrip, thankfully I've never needed to use it myself but apparently it's best to use the size sold for human knees and then cut it down to piggy size. This thread contains useful advice (see Dindypig's post and link to further instructions from well-renowned guinea pig expert Peter Gurney):
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=73388&highlight=tubigrip

I'd say that Gorgeous Guineas is very popular in guinea pig circles and highly recommended. Their site is very informative and a useful resource, so worth a look even if you don't end up buying anything. They are very helpful and happy to be contacted for advice on skin conditions etc.

With regard to washing vetbed, it's ages since I've used it (I switched to fleece as I found it much easier to wash) but I'm sure someone else can advise on suitable temperatures for killing nasties without damaging the vetbed itself. 60 deg C sounds perhaps just about hot enough, personally I wouldn't wash it any cooler than that while they're being treated for mites.

It's great that you're happy with your Vet but, as you're new to guinea pigs, it's worth being aware that most UK Vets (I assume you're in the UK) don't receive much, if any, training in guinea pig specific health matters and therefore their expertise is often limited. Despite guinea pigs being a popular UK pet, guinea pigs are classed as "exotic" pets! Even the best cat/dog/rabbit Vets can be shockingly inexperienced/lacking in knowledge when it comes to guinea pigs, as many of here have discovered, however there are still some fantastic piggy savvy Vets dotted around the UK and if you ever need a recommendation, just ask. Also some people choose the services of BAR trained Rodentologists to complement their Vets.

Just wanted to ask about the seed wheel...sorry if this is a stupid question but what is it exactly and what do the piggies do with it?! I assume it's nothing like the type of wheel which a hamster would 'run' in as that wouldn't be suitable for pigs.

Reading your original post again, I'm a bit unclear as to how many mite treatments they've had, and the timings. As Wiebke advised, treatment should be a drug called Ivermectin and, as it is very likely to take more than one dose to kill everything (from eggs to burrowing mites), it's very important that Ivermectin has been given at precisely the correct intervals (10-14 days apart). If left too long inbetween treatments then you risk ending up back at square one and if not repeated enough times then it won't clear up fully either. (Sometimes 2 treatments is sufficient but sometimes it requires more.)

I really hope you can get Babbett back to full health soon :)
 
Last edited:
Hi Ian the Gorgeous Guineas products come highly recommended by many people on this forum x) and as far as the US and Australia too!
Sorry to hear about the issues with mites......... poor little ones starting off life like that :(
If you have a look at the top of each section you'll see some great threads/stickies full of info.
I have never dealt with mites before so no first hand knowledge, sorry.
Best of luck with Babbett and Jaime XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
Hi, thanks again for the replies, yes end are uk based (east lancashire) and our vet has been looking into some more esoteric questions so she isn't an obvious expert so if you know of any experts round here that would be great.

Re treatment, il try and detail whats ben given when

prior to us getting them babbett has an injection approx end of july.

I took them both on the 13 th august and jamie had a drops behind head and babbett had another injection and we were given some cream

The week after I took them to our vet who gave us some anti biotics as well

WE have been given some more drops to be given in a week for jamie and another 2 weeks for babbett

The seed wheel is not a hamster wheel type toy, its just a circle of seeds etc to chew. I am aware that gp s shouldn't be put in them.

I will check out GG's website and probably get some shampoo...
 
Hi, thanks again for the replies, yes end are uk based (east lancashire) and our vet has been looking into some more esoteric questions so she isn't an obvious expert so if you know of any experts round here that would be great.

Re treatment, il try and detail whats ben given when

prior to us getting them babbett has an injection approx end of july.

I took them both on the 13 th august and jamie had a drops behind head and babbett had another injection and we were given some cream

The week after I took them to our vet who gave us some anti biotics as well

WE have been given some more drops to be given in a week for jamie and another 2 weeks for babbett

The seed wheel is not a hamster wheel type toy, its just a circle of seeds etc to chew. I am aware that gp s shouldn't be put in them.

I will check out GG's website and probably get some shampoo...
 
entwisi said:
Re treatment, il try and detail whats ben given when

prior to us getting them babbett has an injection approx end of july.

I took them both on the 13 th august and jamie had a drops behind head and babbett had another injection and we were given some cream

The week after I took them to our vet who gave us some anti biotics as well

WE have been given some more drops to be given in a week for jamie and another 2 weeks for babbett
Click to expand...

Hi Ian,

I'm no expert but I personally wouldn't feel at all confident that the Vets have given them the appropriate treatment.

In Babbett's case, do you know exactly which drug was given by injection on those 2 occasions? I understand that Vets don't always bother to tell owners exactly which drug was given (and one injection happened before you took ownership) but if I were you I would call them and ask, if possible. I honestly think it's vital that you confirm everything they've been given and take that information to a guinea pig savvy Vet for them to review.

In your original post you mentioned one of the injections allegedly containing "the same stuff as Frontline". I could be wrong but if you mean Frontline for cats & dogs then I believe that the active ingredient is Fipronil. Frontline spot on is specifically contra-indicated for use on rabbits and I'm worried that it might also be extremely dangerous for guinea pigs also (I don't actually know for sure but have never heard of anyone using it on their pigs). Apparently Frontline is only licensed for use on cats & dogs so if I were you I would look into this ASAP.

To be honest, based on the info you've given we can only speculate as to how effective this treatment plan might be. The more I think about it, the more important I think it is to get them to a recommended guinea pig vet as a matter of urgency, Babbett especially. Ineffective treatment for mites/skin conditions can lead to fitting and eventually death.

I understand that you care about these animals and have offered them a loving home, so I really wish you well with finding out the best way forward. I don't know of any good Vets in the East Lancs area but have asked on this thread, on your behalf:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1788&page=27

Please keep us up to date. Fingers crossed for you, Babbett and Jamie x
 
Just bumping up this thread to ask if anyone knows of a good guinea pig savvy Vet in East Lancs please?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top