HeatherW
Adult Guinea Pig
My two floofy beauties are prone to catching mites. Usually, the six-week Ivermectin treatment (I've been using Xeno 450) is enough, but, after the last couple of times, they've still been scratching excessively.
The first time, the vet said it was because their skin was still inflamed and so they were prescribed 0.66ml each of Dog Loxicom (a brand of Metacam, I believe). For reference, Jasmine usually weighs between 1040g-1080g, and Pickle between 1370g-1460g. After the five-day course, they'd stopped scratching and their hair started to grow back. (I know it's bad when Pickle loses her hair, it's so thick).
However, this time round, I saw a different vet and was given a lower dose of Cat Loxicom instead (0.3ml and 0.4ml each). So I gave them another five-day course of this, but they were still scratching excessively and continuing to lose hair which meant a third trip back to the vet.
I've seen posts on here about Cat Loxicom now being licensed for guineas but not being strong enough, and so I raised these concerns with the vet who fortunately understood my situation. After checking them over, she said the mites have gone and the skin didn't appear to be inflamed anymore, but it was clear that they're both chewing their hair because of the way it's been shortened in places, indicating stress. The vet suggested a skin scrape to check whether it really is mites still causing these issues, but she was happy to prescribe Jasmine and Pickle 0.33ml and 0.46ml of Dog Loxicom each to see how they go. If needed, it's still possible to increase the dosage as well. They finished their five-day course on Friday.
It's a bit early to say whether or not this has solved the problem, but has anyone had any experience of skin scrapes and/or continued scratching after mites? If the latest course hasn't helped, what else could it be? I find it very difficult to watch my poor piggies keep scratching to the point where Pickle is giving herself scabs - although at least the Cat Loxicom has stopped it from being that bad now.
The first time, the vet said it was because their skin was still inflamed and so they were prescribed 0.66ml each of Dog Loxicom (a brand of Metacam, I believe). For reference, Jasmine usually weighs between 1040g-1080g, and Pickle between 1370g-1460g. After the five-day course, they'd stopped scratching and their hair started to grow back. (I know it's bad when Pickle loses her hair, it's so thick).
However, this time round, I saw a different vet and was given a lower dose of Cat Loxicom instead (0.3ml and 0.4ml each). So I gave them another five-day course of this, but they were still scratching excessively and continuing to lose hair which meant a third trip back to the vet.
I've seen posts on here about Cat Loxicom now being licensed for guineas but not being strong enough, and so I raised these concerns with the vet who fortunately understood my situation. After checking them over, she said the mites have gone and the skin didn't appear to be inflamed anymore, but it was clear that they're both chewing their hair because of the way it's been shortened in places, indicating stress. The vet suggested a skin scrape to check whether it really is mites still causing these issues, but she was happy to prescribe Jasmine and Pickle 0.33ml and 0.46ml of Dog Loxicom each to see how they go. If needed, it's still possible to increase the dosage as well. They finished their five-day course on Friday.
It's a bit early to say whether or not this has solved the problem, but has anyone had any experience of skin scrapes and/or continued scratching after mites? If the latest course hasn't helped, what else could it be? I find it very difficult to watch my poor piggies keep scratching to the point where Pickle is giving herself scabs - although at least the Cat Loxicom has stopped it from being that bad now.
