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needed help on this, urgent

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tyson_chan

Hi, my name is tyson. recentlly, i just bought a male guinea pig which is only 5 weeks old. However, my sister notice there are very tiny small dots on its fur and the dots are moving (ALOT). We are not sure what it is but we guess it might be lice. My guinea pig does not show any sign of itchyness or sratching but i am worry so on the next day, i took it for a normal bath. As stated on some websites, guinea pig's head are not allow to touch water so i didn't wash its head. After the bath, the lice were gone. However after minutes, they were back. My sister guess the lice must have hide in the head when we were washing the body. Can any kind soul help me n tell me what i can do or what types of medicine i can get for my guinea pig to treat that tiny dots. i do not want to bring it to a vet because the vet around my areas charge very expensive and do not have much experience. thank you
 
will it work?

Hi, this is tyson once again. i went to read up on a website, its say if i am not willing to use any kind of medicine to treat the tiny dots which may be lice on my guinea pig, there is another way. They ask me to use bleach soap for washing floors, pour a very very tiny amount n mix with lots of water. Then bath my guinea pig with that mixture. Will it works? the website also says that bleach soap can kill any kind of bacteria, including insect, germs and lice. They say people have try to use that to bath a dog with full of lice and it works. i need answers please help. thanks
 
please dont use bleach soap that could do alot of damage! as the wee guinea is only 5 Weeks you shouldnt really bath! did you use a lice shampoo? gorgeous guineas does a lice shampoo type it into google itll bring the website up? get one for tiny feet if there is one to treat lice
 
Hello Tyson, welcome to the forum!

You are right in thinking that the moving parasites are lice; these may be brown, white or black in colour. They tend to live on the hay, so please check the quality of the hay your guinea pig has. Parasites can live in the hair around the head, especially the ears. While it's not a good idea to pour water on the head, you should use a wet flannel/facecloth or even just wet hands to damp the hair on the face (avoiding the eyes, nose and mouth) and massage a small amount of the lather - not the neat shampoo, only the lather - into the hair. A wet flannel can then be used to gently remove this lather from the face.

An anti-parasitic shampoo is the usual solution to the lice problem, a normal shampoo will rinse off some of the lice but it won't deal effectively with the problem. www.gorgeousguineas.com sell a suitable shampoo called Lice 'n' Easy, and provided the instructions are followed it works very well. A further useful tip is to apply a conditioner after washing, comb through the hair with a human nit comb, and then rinse and dry as normal.

Please don't use a bleach solution, there is a lot of misinformation on the internet and what might be suitable for dogs may well not be suitable for guinea pigs.

My main concern is his age, a bath must be dealt with very carefully and I wouldn't use 'just any' shampoo on him. I think the Lice 'n' Easy is safe if small amounts are used, although it may be worth emailing Chrissie of Gorgeous Guineas who can advise you further.

Whereabouts are you? We might be able to help you find a guinea pig experienced vet, most of us understand the frustration of not having a skilled vet nearby!
 
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Sorry I just want to say again. Definitely NOT bleach soap mix.

Gorgeous guineas do trial sizes in their lice shampoo and they are pretty cheap and that will last a while on a baby. I've used it on mine and it worls well

Definitely email the lady and ask about a boar 5 weeks old - is that okay.

Well done for asking for advice too! That's brilliant.

I'd love to see a photo of your baby guinea if you have one too. :)
 
thanks

Hi, thanks for all the answer. Would definitely try out the lice shampoo. Btw, i type wrongly, the website says dettol solution, not bleach solution. Very sorri about that. So will the dettol n water mixture works?
 
NO - do not try this; ESPECIALLY on a baby!

You can use any insecticidal or lice shampoo for small animals, if very urgent, you can usually get some at pets@home or from your vet; the best is lice'n'easy from http://www.gorgeousguineas.com.

Do NOT use powder either - they are not very effective. Bath is the best and need to be repeated.
 
the website says lice n easy can only be used when the guinea pig is 3months or older. does this mean that if i wanted to use that, i just pour a very little amount?
 
tyson_chan said:
the website says lice n easy can only be used when the guinea pig is 3months or older. does this mean that if i wanted to use that, i just pour a very little amount?
Click to expand...

I would use a smaller or amount, maybe email Chrissie she is lovely and explain the situation she would be able to advise you further :)!
 
I had a look and gorgeousguineas have sadly just closed for Christmas.

Alternatively, try to ring your vets and ask for advice. You may be able to get something suitable at the reception.

If the infestation is really bad, he could do with a treatment of xeno50 (baby ivermectin) additionally to the bath.

PS: You will need to treat all guinea pigs living with that boy; if he is on his own, PLEASE consider getting him a companion, as guinea pigs are group animals and should not be kept alone (or with rabbits!). If you go for a piggy from a proper guinea pig rescue, he will be guaranteed free of any unpleasant surprises!

Here is more info on lice:
http://www.guinealynx.info/lice.html
 
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As i am new to keeping guinea pigs, i have another question. is it important that guinea pig must really eat hays? because most website says hay is the main cause for lice n mites. the purpose of hays is for guinea pig to bite n trim their teeth if i am not wrong. But if i am right, i could replace with hard carrots or pallet so they can trim their teeth. so is hays a must food for guinea pigs?
 
"One of the most important items in the guinea pig diet is grass hay, which should be fed in unlimited quantities to both adults and baby guinea pigs. It is important to provide an unlimited source of hay because pellets do not provide enough long fiber to keep their intestines in good working order. The long fibers stimulate muscle contraction of the intestines to improve and maintain gut motility (to prevent gastrointestinal obstruction).

http://www.guineapigcages.com/hay.htm more information here :)!
 
See other thread for my reply about hay.
An alternative treatment for lice is to shampoo the pig using a hair conditioner and then to comb the hair using a nit comb. This avoids the problem of using toxic chemicals on a baby pig.
 
I am so happi ,thanks for all the help n sharing. seem like most of the lice on my piggy fur have died. the reason i say this is because usually, i touch my piggy, the lice would quickly move into the fur n hide. however this time i touch my piggy, alot of them were not moving, only a butch of them are. how do i get those lice which has died out of my piggy fur? seem to have stick to it
 
Repeat the above advice and wash your pig then comb its hair this will get the dead ones out,
Your pig really needs hay as its good for there teeth and tummy function,without hay or at the least good green grass they get very unhealthy,they also need it in unlimited amounts;)
 
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