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Mites?

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MrPid

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Hi All

Unfortunately posting here again. Red wasn't happy that I had only posted once about him.

I noticed that Red has lost some hair above his left eye and kept an look on it. It got a little worse so I took both he and Morgan to the vet this morning. I didn't look through Red's fur as he didn't seem to be in discomfort, itching or off his food. However the vet had a look and noticed what she said were mites. Small light coloured 'dots' around his fur and put some Xenex on the rump of his hair. Same with Morgan as they share a cage.

Unfortunately he is now getting a little irritated and running around the cage and scratching a bit now, which he didn't do before the Xenex was applied. I'm hoping this is because it is irritating the mites themselves.

I've searched through the forums and I'm not sure whether these are lice or mites, but the vet stated they were mites. I've also read that they are most likely to have come in through the hay.

The vet has stated that everything in the cage needs to go, including bedding and all. Logically I was going to wait until next weeked as my thoughts about replacing it all today may result in live mites still living on the new fleece. Any thoughts about this?

Also, the water bottle sits on the side of the cage and doesn't come into contact with the piggies per se. Does this also need replacing?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Stu
 
The much rarer fur mites are visible, while mange mites are definitely NOT. I hope that the treatment your vet has prescribed will work. Are your parasites looking like this? http://www.guinealynx.info/furmites.html
 
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Sorry about your piggies. Your vet is probably right, but as said, Xeno will treat all possiblities of mites/lice/mange mites. The only other possiblity it is is fungal as this usually appears above the eyes. But just keep an eye, if your vet says its mites then the Xeno should do the job.

As for the cage, i would throw out all bedding, any plastic items i would disinfect and the water bottle. Make sure you use a high level disinfectant. Ask your vet for some is necessary. So that you kill any nasties off. As for any wooden things I'm not sure if mites would live on it. If need be zap them in the microwave for 10-20secs. Anything else i'd probably throw to be on the safe side i guess.

x.
 
Wiebke said:
The much rarer fur mites are visible, while mange mites are definitely NOT. I hope that the treatment your vet has prescribed will work. Are your parasites looking like this? http://www.guinealynx.info/furmites.html
Click to expand...

Hi there

Yes, looks like these little blighters.

We will definately replace all bedding and unfortunately their snuggle-oo's will have to go. I'll have to buy some more of those... My question is though, when do you do that? I don't want any live ones to accidently live through it, so i'm thinking leave it a short while before replacing bedding. Or is this incorrect?

Stu
 
I would replace things in the next few days (week maximum), the mites should only really be living on the piggies, so the environment is just to clear up any odd ones. It may also be useful to bathe your piggies in a few weeks to get rid of any dead mites on their fur.

x.
 
Abi_nurse said:
I would replace things in the next few days (week maximum), the mites should only really be living on the piggies, so the environment is just to clear up any odd ones. It may also be useful to bathe your piggies in a few weeks to get rid of any dead mites on their fur.

x.
Click to expand...

Cheers Abi. We've just been out and picked up new fleeces, new plastic igloo, new hay, new food.

The vet has advised treating again with Xenex in two weeks and has given another small tube. Morgan weighs 1kg! but Red is only about 2/3 of that, so 10 drops for Red and 12 for Morgan.

I will hold off until a while after the second treatment to bathe them. Any pesticide or shampoo that would help?

Stu
 
You can bathe anytime, but not within 48 hours of any spot on treatment. Mites treatment needs to be repeated 2-3 times every 10-14 days in order to catch any hatching eggs most effectively. Fur mites you can treat like lice; they live on the hairs and not on/in skin. Some people call fur mites static lice (as they don't move around). They are brown/black speckles clinging to mainly bum hair and can come in hay.

One of the better shampoos is Lice'n'easy from gorgeous guineas. You can ask Chrissie anytime about the most effective way to treat your boys. she is very helpful.
http://www.gorgeousguineas.com/shampoos.html
 
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Dindypig said:
Hi Stu, here is a link to a thread that might be of interest to you.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=80787
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice guys. One bottle of lice'n'easy will be ordered because they're worth it :)

They aren't grey in colour though, more like pale yellow or white.

The piggies are going nuts today, exhibiting symptons of irritation and itching, which they didn't do prior to today. Poor piggies :( I hope the Xenex is working...

Stu
 
Hi Everyone

Two weeks since the vet visit. The hair above Red's eye is growing back now so looks like the Xenex did the trick. However, as instructed by the vet applied more Xenex to them today.

I'll leave them for a few days then we'll bathe them probably on Tuesday/Wednesday.

Stu
 
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