No piggies no don't lick the Xeno!

[PigglePuggle]

So I decided to treat my other 4 piggies with Xeno after Jezebel was treated for hay mites last weekend, and it all went on fine at the correct dose for their weights but... now the little are trying to lick it off each other! How do I stop this? Its tastier than a bag of mixed salad and burgess excel hay apparently... been watching them for an hour and pushing away inquisitive snouts from the other pigs backs and offering extra food and hay but they are very persistant and sooner or later I need to go to sleep... crapulous cavidae and other swear words for disobedient guinea pigs eating stuff they shouldn't that could make them ill!

 

[Wiebke]

So I decided to treat my other 4 piggies with Xeno after Jezebel was treated for hay mites last weekend, and it all went on fine at the correct dose for their weights but... now the little are trying to lick it off each other! How do I stop this? Its tastier than a bag of mixed salad and burgess excel hay apparently... been watching them for an hour and pushing away inquisitive snouts from the other pigs backs and offering extra food and hay but they are very persistant and sooner or later I need to go to sleep... crapulous cavidae and other swear words for disobedient guinea pigs eating stuff they shouldn't that could make them ill!

Hi! Please don't worry. Ivermectin can be given in three forms with increasing effectiveness: topical (i.e. on the skin), oral or - in severe cases - via injection. There is no harm in them licking it off; it is going to be equally absorbed into the body.

 

[PigglePuggle]

Thank you for the reassurance! The vet assured me there was at least a 50% safety margin for toxicity and efficacy for the topical application of Xeno 450 (he said half to three quarters of a tube of Xeno 450 was better for a smaller pig than several tubes of Xeno 50 because of the large volume of liquid needed with the lower strength formulation meaning it rarely all reached the skin and makes a mess and wet fur) but I didn't think they'd deliberately lick it off each other's backs! Clover got a full tube and I shared 2 tubes between Puggle, Piggle and Theo as instructed by the vet. Jezebel got her dose last sunday, then 2 more doses each 2 weeks apart and a few thorough cage cleans and hot fleece washes in the meantime...