Possible Mites

[Janey]

I'm fairly sure that Alice has mites as since yesterday I've noticed her biting her back, towards her rump and today there appears to be a loose V shape in her fur, where it looks thinner. I'm taking her and Maisie (her cagemate) to the vet tomorrow to get them both checked.

I've been reading up on the guides here and on Guinea Lynx about mites and it appears the usual treatment is Ivermectin. However this is what is says on Guinea Lynx:

"Ivermectin is used to rid animals and humans of many internal and external (blood sucking) parasites . Lice and hair mites which do not ingest the blood of the host are not affected by ivermectin administered orally or by injection."

So does this mean Ivermectin by injection only treats mange mites successfully and not other types?

*****

Also, in my other cage are the youngsters - although they are housed separately, they do share hides (logs, fleece items and cardboard tubes) in the joint pen for floor time. They have only once been in the pen together with a divider in, but the pen itself stays in the same spot, so they are sharing the same carpet space! So my question is do the youngsters need dosing as well, as I read they could be carrying mites even if they're not displaying symptoms? Any advice on whether I should clean the logs/fleece hides (and what with) and in future should I keep separate hides for the different cages?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Wiebke]

I'm fairly sure that Alice has mites as since yesterday I've noticed her biting her back, towards her rump and today there appears to be a loose V shape in her fur, where it looks thinner. I'm taking her and Maisie (her cagemate) to the vet tomorrow to get them both checked.

I've been reading up on the guides here and on Guinea Lynx about mites and it appears the usual treatment is Ivermectin. However this is what is says on Guinea Lynx:

"Ivermectin is used to rid animals and humans of many internal and external (blood sucking) parasites . Lice and hair mites which do not ingest the blood of the host are not affected by ivermectin administered orally or by injection."

So does this mean Ivermectin by injection only treats mange mites successfully and not other types?

*****

Also, in my other cage are the youngsters - although they are housed separately, they do share hides (logs, fleece items and cardboard tubes) in the joint pen for floor time. They have only once been in the pen together with a divider in, but the pen itself stays in the same spot, so they are sharing the same carpet space! So my question is do the youngsters need dosing as well, as I read they could be carrying mites even if they're not displaying symptoms? Any advice on whether I should clean the logs/fleece hides (and what with) and in future should I keep separate hides for the different cages?

Thanks for any help.

Alice sounds like she has mange mites. Ivermectin can be applied by injection, orally or - most commonly - topically on the skin. Injection is the most effective way of battling a persistent or very bad mange mites infestation in a weakened or long time neglected guinea pig. In a mild and promptly treated case topical ivermectin, like xeno, is perfectly OK.

You need to be aware that a full course consists of three applications at the product specific interval to get on top of mange mites. In very bad cases or with frail piggies it may take more.

Ivermectin is most successful with mites, OK with blood sucking lice and least effective with hay/fur mites as they do not burrow their eggs into the skin but fix them to the hairs at the bum end; they are just about visible, especially in a light coloured guinea pig. It looks like somebody has turned a peppermill over the piggy. The mites themselves are invisible. On the other hand, the efficiency of ivermectin corresponds to how pernicious a skin parasite is - mange mites are by far the worst.

Good that you have her seen. You need to treat all piggies in contact with each other. Please keep an eye out for the other piggies, especially little Meryn. You may discuss with your vet whether it would be advisable to treat them preventatively. Meryn is old enough for this to be done safely now; she is the same age as shop babies.

 

[Julia Rafferty]

It is the same for my one piggie who has ringworm. Unless maybe he has mites but I was told it was ringworm. It started as just thin fur in a little semi-circle

 

[Janey]

Alice sounds like she has mange mites. Ivermectin can be applied by injection, orally or - most commonly - topically on the skin. Injection is the most effective way of battling a persistent or very bad mange mites infestation in a weakened or long time neglected guinea pig. In a mild and promptly treated case topical ivermectin, like xeno, is perfectly OK.

You need to be aware that a full course consists of three applications at the product specific interval to get on top of mange mites. In very bad cases or with frail piggies it may take more.

Ivermectin is most successful with mites, OK with blood sucking lice and least effective with hay/fur mites as they do not burrow their eggs into the skin but fix them to the hairs at the bum end; they are just about visible, especially in a light coloured guinea pig. It looks like somebody has turned a peppermill over the piggy. The mites themselves are invisible. On the other hand, the efficiency of ivermectin corresponds to how pernicious a skin parasite is - mange mites are by far the worst.

Good that you have her seen. You need to treat all piggies in contact with each other. Please keep an eye out for the other piggies, especially little Meryn. You may discuss with your vet whether it would be advisable to treat them preventatively. Meryn is old enough for this to be done safely now; she is the same age as shop babies.

Thanks Wiebke. I will ask the vet about the possible preventative treatment of the other piggies tomorrow.

With regard to shared floor space and hideys, what would you recommend?

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks Wiebke. I will ask the vet about the possible preventative treatment of the other piggies tomorrow.

With regard to shared floor space and hideys, what would you recommend?

Give the hideys and hard surfaces a wipe/dunk with F10 disinfectant about 3 days after the first ivermectin treatment of all piggies, and wash any fabrics at a higher temperature.
Most mites seem to actually come up from a reservoir of eggs in the skin, which is normally kept under control by a fully operational immune system, so the best is to treat promptly whenever there is an outbreak. Ivermectin cannot kill the eggs; we are lucky to have it, as before mange mites could not be killed at all. If you step in as soon as you notice, it never gets past nuisance level. Overtreating with low dosed ivermectin can create resistence.

Ivermectin takes about 2 days to be fully absorbed and to get to work; during those two days the discomfort gets worse. itching becomes more noticeable again towards the time the second round is due but should be totally gone two days after the second round. A third round is there is catch any stragglers and prevent them from creeping back in.

 

[Janey]

Give the hideys and hard surfaces a wipe/dunk with F10 disinfectant about 3 days after the first ivermectin treatment of all piggies, and wash any fabrics at a higher temperature.
Most mites seem to actually come up from a reservoir of eggs in the skin, which is normally kept under control by a fully operational immune system, so the best is to treat promptly whenever there is an outbreak. Ivermectin cannot kill the eggs; we are lucky to have it, as before mange mites could not be killed at all. If you step in as soon as you notice, it never gets past nuisance level. Overtreating with low dosed ivermectin can create resistence.

Ivermectin takes about 2 days to be fully absorbed and to get to work; during those two days the discomfort gets worse. itching becomes more noticeable again towards the time the second round is due but should be totally gone two days after the second round. A third round is there is catch any stragglers and prevent them from creeping back in.

Thank you, I'll google it and get some. These 2 piggies are my rescues and I do remember the lady saying that she uses ivermectin on her pigs regularly ..... so that might have made them more resistant to it then. So the shared carpet space isn't an issue?

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you, I'll google it and get some. These 2 piggies are my rescues and I do remember the lady saying that she uses ivermectin on her pigs regularly ..... so that might have made them more resistant to it then. So the shared carpet space isn't an issue?

Just hoover the carpet space and treat all piggies with ivermectin. I always treat all my piggies with it when I have an outbreak as they will all get itchy.

 

[Janey]

I'm back from the vets and aren't going down the invermectin route as my vet also thinks Alice and Maisie's resistance to it could well be compromised if the dosage they were previously given before I had them, wasn't sufficient enough to be effective. Instead she has recommended we try a topical treatment that is applied once a month, for 3 months - it's a Stronghold one in a pipette. With regards to the other piggies she's given me the same medication to treat them once as they aren't showing any clinical signs.

 

[Wiebke]

I'm back from the vets and aren't going down the invermectin route as my vet also thinks Alice and Maisie's resistance to it could well be compromised if the dosage they were previously given before I had them, wasn't sufficient enough to be effective. Instead she has recommended we try a topical treatment that is applied once a month, for 3 months - it's a Stronghold one in a pipette. With regards to the other piggies she's given me the same medication to treat them once as they aren't showing any clinical signs.

The active ingredient in Stronghold is selamectin, which is related to ivermectin.

I have been prescribed Stronghold for my Nye's hay mites which he came with. Since Nye has a slightly defective immune system and suffers from recurring mange mites, he has also been given selamectin by his treating vet in order to prevent hime from developing resistence to ivermectin. It is in my experience as effective.

 

[Janey]

The active ingredient in Stronghold is selamectin, which is related to ivermectin.

I have been prescribed selamectin for my Nye's hay mites which he came with. Since Nye has a slightly defective immune system and suffers from recurring mange mites, he has also been given selamectin by his treating vet in order to prevent hime from developing resistence to ivermectin. It is in my experience as effective.

That's the name - I couldn't remember it! They've had their first dose at the vets, so will need to make a note on the calendar when to give their further doses. I'm glad there's another option to invermectin and that it works.