New medicine for mites?

[Maryjames]

Hi Guys,

So I took Pickles to another vet to get a second opinion. She said that Pickles had mites and she gave her this medicine called Stronghold. Has anyone ever heard of it? I have never and I looked it up on the internet and couldn't find anything specifically for guinea pigs. She wants me to give her 15mg of the stuff. I'm a bit nervous. If anyone has ever used this on their guinea pig I would be most appreciative of your reesponse. She seems to think that its the mites that are causing the hair loss. Thanks

 

[PigglePuggle]

Just looked this up for you, Stronghold is a spot-on treatment containing selamectin which is very similar to the drug ivermectin which is safe and effective for piggies.
The cat dose is 15mg for a kitten under 2.5kg then 45mg for a 2.6 to 7kg cat. So a 1kg plus piggy should be ok with a 15mg dose. But do please note this looks to me to be a spot-on treatment you apply to the skin on the back of the neck, it is then absorbed through the skin- it is not a medicine to give by mouth!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi Guys,

So I took Pickles to another vet to get a second opinion. She said that Pickles had mites and she gave her this medicine called Stronghold. Has anyone ever heard of it? I have never and I looked it up on the internet and couldn't find anything specifically for guinea pigs. She wants me to give her 15mg of the stuff. I'm a bit nervous. If anyone has ever used this on their guinea pig I would be most appreciative of your reesponse. She seems to think that its the mites that are causing the hair loss. Thanks

Hi!

Stronghold (active ingredient: selamectin) is the UK brand name for us brand Revolution. It can be safely used in guinea pigs as an alternative to ivermectin. Spot-on xeno (vet grade ivermectin) is generally the preferred option for vets but not every vet may have small furried xeno stocked.
New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites
Guinea Lynx :: Mange Mites

 

[PigglePuggle]

Hi!

Stronghold (active ingredient: selamectin) is the UK brand name for us brand Revolution. It can be safely used in guinea pigs as an alternative to ivermectin. As Stronghold is usually given by injection or orally, spot-on xeno (vet grade ivermectin) is generally the preferred option because it is a lot easier to apply.
New piggy problems: URI - ringworm - skin parasites
Guinea Lynx :: Mange Mites

Do you have to inject ot give orally?

There is a Stronghold cat spot-on too now @Wiebke, I thought this was what was being referred to? Sorry if it wasn't! I thought it would be the 15mg kitten spot-on...
Best double check the product details @Maryjames and if in any doubt check with the vet whether you have an oral medicine or one to put on the skin!

 

[Wiebke]

There is a Stronghold cat spot-on too now @Wiebke, I thought this was what was being referred to? Sorry if it wasn't! I thought it would be the 15mg kitten spot-on...
Best double check the product details @Maryjames and if in any doubt check with the vet whether you have an oral medicine or one to put on the skin!

Not come across this yet, but it always takes some time to trickle down to piggies.

I have had Nye treated for hay mites he came with with stronghold injections at the vet's, which were very effective in totally clearing them out; considering that he suffers from a weaker simmune system and is prone occasional mange mites outbreaks.

Anyway, stronghold is safe to give to guinea pigs in the first place. Dosage/strength with both ivermectin and selamectin is calculated by body weight. Both ivermectin and selamectin can be given as a spot-on, as injection or orally.

 

[Maryjames]

Just looked this up for you, Stronghold is a spot-on treatment containing selamectin which is very similar to the drug ivermectin which is safe and effective for piggies.
The cat dose is 15mg for a kitten under 2.5kg then 45mg for a 2.6 to 7kg cat. So a 1kg plus piggy should be ok with a 15mg dose. But do please note this looks to me to be a spot-on treatment you apply to the skin on the back of the neck, it is then absorbed through the skin- it is not a medicine to give by mouth!

Thank you so much for looking this up for me. I feel so blessed to have found this site. The wealth of knowledge from all of you is just amazing and I'm so thankful for all the help. Thanks a million.

 

[Maryjames]

Hi Guys,

So I took Pickles to another vet to get a second opinion. She said that Pickles had mites and she gave her this medicine called Stronghold. Has anyone ever heard of it? I have never and I looked it up on the internet and couldn't find anything specifically for guinea pigs. She wants me to give her 15mg of the stuff. I'm a bit nervous. If anyone has ever used this on their guinea pig I would be most appreciative of your reesponse. She seems to think that its the mites that are causing the hair loss. Thanks

UPDATE: A huge thank you to all who have replied. You have eased my nerves for sure. Big hugs to everyone! Mary

 

[PigglePuggle]

I think 15mg sounds a little bit high for a dose of an oral medicine, certainly for the more commonly prescribed drug ivermectin the usual veterinary dosage is 2.5mg per kg of body weight. But of course check the product formulation and if in any doubt what to do check again with the vet. And as @Wiebke says from her own experience (and she has much much more piggy experience than me!), selamectin is a safe and effective mite treatment for piggies

 

[Fluffbabies]

Not come across this yet, but it always takes some time to trickle down to piggies.

I have had Nye treated for hay mites he came with with stronghold injections at the vet's, which were very effective in totally clearing them out; considering that he suffers from a weaker simmune system and is prone occasional mange mites outbreaks.

Anyway, stronghold is safe to give to guinea pigs in the first place. Dosage/strength with both ivermectin and selamectin is calculated by body weight. Both ivermectin and selamectin can be given as a spot-on, as injection or orally.

@Wiebke

Hi Wiebke, I‘m taking my 4 to the vet for hay mites. I shaved their hair short to get rid of a lot of the eggs and have given them two mite baths 5 days apart but as you suspected it hasn’t got rid of them. Still a lot of egg casings around their back ends. I know it may be different for mine but can I ask how many stronghold injections your Nye had and how far they were spaced apart or was it just the one treatment? I’m glad you found something that got rid of them as they’re so persistent! They don’t seem bothered but I am! I’m so sensitive to even the thought of these things I can’t stop scratching!

Also, may i ask if you take more than one piggy to the vet do they charge you for each piggy? My vet has said it’s £30 for each piggy making one appointment for one issue £120 which I think is excessive as they have one issue. Then plus the cost of the treatment and follow ups if they don’t get it right the first time.

I don’t have much faith in the vets around Southampton. I‘ve been to the recommended ones but when Ginger had her two abscesses, one said to leave it it would go by itself as it was just swollen lymphnodes and the other said it was an abscess but it was 50-50 if she would die if untreated and same if I tried an operation which didn’t exactly fill me with confidence! I took her to the cat and rabbit clinic in Northampton who were great, saw the urgency and operated on her two abscesses on her throat and helped me with after care. That was two years ago and she’s doing great. I would take them there but it’s a 4 hour round trip.

 

[Wiebke]

@Wiebke

Hi Wiebke, I‘m taking my 4 to the vet for hay mites. I shaved their hair short to get rid of a lot of the eggs and have given them two mite baths 5 days apart but as you suspected it hasn’t got rid of them. Still a lot of egg casings around their back ends. I know it may be different for mine but can I ask how many stronghold injections your Nye had and how far they were spaced apart or was it just the one treatment? I’m glad you found something that got rid of them as they’re so persistent! They don’t seem bothered but I am! I’m so sensitive to even the thought of these things I can’t stop scratching!

Also, may i ask if you take more than one piggy to the vet do they charge you for each piggy? My vet has said it’s £30 for each piggy making one appointment for one issue £120 which I think is excessive as they have one issue. Then plus the cost of the treatment and follow ups if they don’t get it right the first time.

I don’t have much faith in the vets around Southampton. I‘ve been to the recommended ones but when Ginger had her two abscesses, one said to leave it it would go by itself as it was just swollen lymphnodes and the other said it was an abscess but it was 50-50 if she would die if untreated and same if I tried an operation which didn’t exactly fill me with confidence! I took her to the cat and rabbit clinic in Northampton who were great, saw the urgency and operated on her two abscesses on her throat and helped me with after care. That was two years ago and she’s doing great. I would take them there but it’s a 4 hour round trip.

Nye had 3 stronghold injections at the Cat&Rabbit, two weeks apart. That did the trick for him thankfully, despite his lowered immune system and a history of skin problems and repeated mange mites issues. But never any more hay mites in the Tribe!

 

[Fluffbabies]

Nye had 3 stronghold injections at the Cat&Rabbit, two weeks apart. That did the trick for him thankfully, despite his lowered immune system and a history of skin problems and repeated mange mites issues. But never any more hay mites in the Tribe!

thank you for your reply!

 

[Fluffbabies]

Nye had 3 stronghold injections at the Cat&Rabbit, two weeks apart. That did the trick for him thankfully, despite his lowered immune system and a history of skin problems and repeated mange mites issues. But never any more hay mites in the Tribe!

Hi Wiebke when you say 3 injections two weeks apart. Is that 2 weeks between each injection? So treatment over 6 weeks?