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Possible Lice?

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ayemee

ayemee

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I've never had to deal with anything like lice before so I'm not sure what I'm dealing with.

Tonight I noticed two tiny wriggling things on one of the pigs. They were brownish/pale in colour and not rounded... They're more long than they are round. (Trying to explain the best I can!)

Could this be from the hay? If so how do I treat it?
 
I'm not an expert but it does sound like lice to me. My two have had them, came with them! I took them to the vet who wanted to get a sample before treating them. He brushed them over a piece of paper so he could look under the microscope. Luckily I noticed quite a large one on a clump of hair that had fallen on the table otherwise he wouldn't have found them. Might be worth trying to get some on a piece of selotape when you see them then a vet can see what they are.
You can definitely see them move, they are a creamy grey colour and they're oblong shaped. I think I only saw them because I spend a lot of time sitting with my two. You could mistake the young ones for a spec of dandruff. I'd only had my piggies for a week so they def got them from their previous home. Not sure if they would be in bedding or not though?
I've had to put treatment on every 2 weeks. Next week is the last lot.
 
ayemee said:
I've never had to deal with anything like lice before so I'm not sure what I'm dealing with.

Tonight I noticed two tiny wriggling things on one of the pigs. They were brownish/pale in colour and not rounded... They're more long than they are round. (Trying to explain the best I can!)

Could this be from the hay? If so how do I treat it?
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It sounds like running lice. If in doubt, please see your vet for a correct diagnosis and get some good quality treatment from him.

Please do not home treat on spec with pet shop products; they are usually too low dosed. You may also need to bathe any companion piggies to prevent them from picking up lice. They can come with hay, but they can also just turn up; often when a piggy's immune system is a bit lowered, so it can't fight them off quite as well as a healthy piggy.
 
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