Piggie Mites

[hayls<3]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone could answer a few questions for me regarding mites.

I have two gorgeous piggies, Muffin at 6yrs and Baby at 1yrs.

After giving Baby a long stroke I noticed some flaky skin sticking to my palms, and then when lifting the fur to have a look at her skin she appeared to have dandruffy skin. Baby has longer fur than Muffin but I wouldn’t class her as long haired but her skin was flakier than Muffin’s. I booked the two in for the vets and in the mean time bought them some soothing shampoo to hopefully lift the dandruff. After giving the two girlies a bath, the dandruff was lifted and there coats looked a lot better but it became apparent that there was a slight thinning of the fur. I had a go at researching the skin condition and had a suspicion it was mites.

When visiting the vets, she gave the two an all round check and confirmed that they had mites.
I felt so badly for them both, but the vet reassured that there health otherwise was fine, they are a good chunky weight and their teeth, claws and feet were healthy. After keeping guineas herself she was impressed so that gave me abit of hope. She gave me the option of a course of injections or a spot on treatment; I chose the spot on for a less stressful solution for my piggies.

The vet ordered in some Xeno 450 which is a spot on with 6 pipettes costing £40. I was advised to treat my pigs in a course of 3 pipettes each, 1 every 2 weeks.

I treated my piggies on saturday giving them both a pipette on the skin at the back of there necks and down the spine as instructed. I also disinfected there cage with an insecticide and cleaned everything plastic. I have replaced their cardboard and cosies with igloos to ensure easy cleaning and upmost hygiene.

I was wondering if anyone else has used Xeno 450?
How long was it before you saw a difference or/and how long did it take to clear the infestation?
Did you use anything else to help? Like creams or shampoos?
Can a spot on be used every month to help prevent mites?
And is there any other advice you can give me?

Anything would be appreciated and apologies for the essay!

 

[katiepops]

Hello welcome to the forum.
Sounds like your vet knows her stuff and you're doing all the right things.
I'm going through the same thing at the moment. I treated mine with the spot on on Thursday and they're less itchy now.
You can use a CocNeem Melt and Manuka and Neem Shampoo from Gorgeous Guineas to help as well. You must leave 48 hours between using the spot on and shampooing.
You can use the Manuka and Neem shampoo regularly (every 4-6 weeks) as a preventative method to keep problems at bay but I believe using the spot on every month can reduce it's effectiveness.
Hopefully you should have itch free piggies soon!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome.
Your vet has given you the right treatment; I would think that that price also includes the consultation fee.

it takes about 2 days to start working and your piggies may continue to itch until after the second round, just not as much hopefully. The further rounds are for catching any emerging eggs most effectively; these are what are causing the damage and irritation to the skin.

Mites happen and when treated properly and promptly, they can be kept well under control. Coco neem and manuka are more for fungal treatment. I usually give mine just a bath after the end of the whole treatment to help removing any dead skin and promote regrowth.

 

[Abi_nurse]

Hello and welcome,

Please dont feel bad about the infestation, it happens so easily and you spotted it and its sorted so no need to worry. All piggies will tend to get mites once in a while, they usually come in on untreated hay/straw.

Your vet has prescribed exactly what they need, there is no need to give them anything else. Xeno is a drug called ivermectin and will kill and creepy crawlies on you piggies. You may wish to bathe them again once the treatment has ended to rid any dead parasites in their fur.

Hope to see pictures of your little girls soon. They sound cute.

x.

 

[hayls<3]

Hello welcome to the forum.
Sounds like your vet knows her stuff and you're doing all the right things.
I'm going through the same thing at the moment. I treated mine with the spot on on Thursday and they're less itchy now.
You can use a CocNeem Melt and Manuka and Neem Shampoo from Gorgeous Guineas to help as well. You must leave 48 hours between using the spot on and shampooing.
You can use the Manuka and Neem shampoo regularly (every 4-6 weeks) as a preventative method to keep problems at bay but I believe using the spot on every month can reduce it's effectiveness.
Hopefully you should have itch free piggies soon!

Thanks for your reply Katie and the info you've given on your experience. I saw the Neem products on Gorgeous Guineas and read that it has soothing properties and should be used if you are unsure if your pig has a fungal or parasitic problem. The flaky skin has come back but it isn't half as bad as before but its not nice to watch them itch. But hopefully they will begin the recover soon

Hi and welcome.
Your vet has given you the right treatment; I would think that that price also includes the consultation fee.

it takes about 2 days to start working and your piggies may continue to itch until after the second round, just not as much hopefully. The further rounds are for catching any emerging eggs most effectively; these are what are causing the damage and irritation to the skin.

Mites happen and when treated properly and promptly, they can be kept well under control. Coco neem and manuka are more for fungal treatment. I usually give mine just a bath after the end of the whole treatment to help removing any dead skin and promote regrowth.

Thank you for your reply Wiebke and the info you've given. The £40 was just for the Xeno with a £16 consultation fee but obviously piggies health comes first. I was wondering what would be the best way to keep the mites under control? Would it be simply bathing them in insecticidal shampoos every now and again?

Many Thanks

 

[hayls<3]

Hello and welcome,

Please dont feel bad about the infestation, it happens so easily and you spotted it and its sorted so no need to worry. All piggies will tend to get mites once in a while, they usually come in on untreated hay/straw.

Your vet has prescribed exactly what they need, there is no need to give them anything else. Xeno is a drug called ivermectin and will kill and creepy crawlies on you piggies. You may wish to bathe them again once the treatment has ended to rid any dead parasites in their fur.

Hope to see pictures of your little girls soon. They sound cute.

x.

Thanks Abi, i've read a few conflicting things about mites. I've read that mites are always present in any guineas skin but only flare up when they experience stress etc. But then read on a different site that mites are often passed on in hay. They have had running lice once already in the summer since they spent most of it outside but this was quickly treated with a powder. ill try and get a picture for you all soon (:

 

[Abi_nurse]

There are burrowing mites called demodex, these live in the skin of the animal and come out when the animal is stressed or unwell, you cannot see these at all as they live in the hair follicles. These mites are different from the usual common (hay related) mites which live on top of the skin and in the fur. So both statements are right.

x.

 

[katiepops]

Mange mites are the ones that live under the skin as Abi said and they need treating with Ivermectin.
Hay mites are actually lice and don't need Ivermectin. Gorgeous Guineas do a shampoo called Lice N Easy for these.

 

[katiepops]

You did the right thing getting it confirmed by the vet but just incase you need it in future you can buy Xeno 450 from The Hay Experts and it's £22.98 plus postage.

 

[hayls<3]

I noticed that Xeno is quite cheap on the internet, i found it at £19.99.

I saw other pet shop brands like Beaphars spot on that contains Ivermectin at £4.50 but the pack only contains one pippette.

In the instructions it says to retreat piggies every 4 weeks to prevent reinfestation but if this is abit unnecessary then I may just keep stocked on the Xeno just in case.

x

 

[lolatheguineapig]

When I first got my piggies - one of them had mites and the vet jst gave her an injection without even asking us whether we wanted it or not! (even though we would of if it was the only way)

 

[Wiebke]

You can order xeno450 (for piggies over 800g) online or use easimec. I wouldn't use beaphar as the ivermectin content is quite low.

However, it is usually enough to treat them when and where with a full course of three rounds. Once you have had skin burrowing mites (mange or selnick mites), they can make a comeback whenever the immune system is lowered from stress or after an illness.
http://www.guinealynx.info/mites.html

Please note that fungal complaints can produce quite similar symptoms to mange mites but need different treatment, so it is important not to home treat unless you are absolutely sure you know what you are up against.

Injections are another efficient (and cheaper) method of administering ivermectin.

Fur mites/static lice come with hay and are visible to the naked eye. They live on the ends of hair, typically at the bum end and look like yellow, brown or black dots.
http://www.guinealynx.info/furmites.html

 

[hayls<3]

1st week after treatment:

Piggies are still flakey and Muffin is still irritable towards little Baby and the itchyness continues.

Muffin was always very sensitive towards her back end but this seems to have mellowed slightly.

The two still have the plastic igloos and tubes in their cage.

Hopefully will see an improvement in the next treatment. x