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Recurring Lice Problem?

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ShelbyD

ShelbyD

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Peterborough, UK
I've had the privilege of spending 2 years with our lovely three girls. They have been outdoor pigs up until the weather became really cold and strong winds in November (Peterborough UK). I then set them up indoors to live with us . Not once in the 1 and a half years of outdoor living in a hutch and run (in a nature orientated area with lots of wildlife) have they ever suffered with Lice or mites or any illnesses. Since being indoors for couple of months they started scratching and Coco started losing her fur in January/feb. I took them to the vets immediately and they had 4 lots of injections of xeno 450 I think it was, spaced 10 days apart. I disinfected the cage every clean they had and every time they came back from the vets. Now today I notice they are scratching again and Floss our white pig has black specks on the very outward tip of her fur on nape, behind ears and back legs. Does anyone have any advice what we can do to keep it in check, what may be happening or why the treatment possibly didn't work? Does it wear off after a few weeks?
We have no other pets.

I am very confused on this matter.
Sorry for the long post, I am worried because I noticed that our girls have become more lethargic and hiding away more. Eating ok but drinking excessively.

Coco also had a previous illness in Jan/feb which ended up being her back teeth were growing diagonally and had to be cut by the vets. She has recovered now.

Thankyou in advance
 
I think they sound like hay mites, they live on the hair shaft so Xeno won't kill them. You need to shampoo them with Gorgeous guineas Lice n Easy or Flea or Die shampoo, a week after shampoo them again. Throw out any cardboard tunnels, hay etc you already have & thoroughly clean their cage, wash all bedding at 60 degrees & hot soapy wash any plastic toys/hidies :) If you buy hay that's imported like Oxbow or Alfaflfa King Timothy hay then it is sterile so you won't get any hay mites in it. If in doubt please get the vet to check them first.
 
Thankyou for replying. I will throw out the hay and look into a better option like you advised.
Where can I purchase gorgeous guineas lice shampoo and do you know if that safe to use as I am pregnant at the moment? I could just wear latex free Care gloves to be on safe side.

Are wood toys worth throwing out too as they have some boredom breakers.

I want to sort it as soon as possible as I feel so sorry for them, bless them they must be miserable being all itchy.
 
ShelbyD said:
I've had the privilege of spending 2 years with our lovely three girls. They have been outdoor pigs up until the weather became really cold and strong winds in November (Peterborough UK). I then set them up indoors to live with us . Not once in the 1 and a half years of outdoor living in a hutch and run (in a nature orientated area with lots of wildlife) have they ever suffered with Lice or mites or any illnesses. Since being indoors for couple of months they started scratching and Coco started losing her fur in January/feb. I took them to the vets immediately and they had 4 lots of injections of xeno 450 I think it was, spaced 10 days apart. I disinfected the cage every clean they had and every time they came back from the vets. Now today I notice they are scratching again and Floss our white pig has black specks on the very outward tip of her fur on nape, behind ears and back legs. Does anyone have any advice what we can do to keep it in check, what may be happening or why the treatment possibly didn't work? Does it wear off after a few weeks?
We have no other pets.

I am very confused on this matter.
Sorry for the long post, I am worried because I noticed that our girls have become more lethargic and hiding away more. Eating ok but drinking excessively.

Coco also had a previous illness in Jan/feb which ended up being her back teeth were growing diagonally and had to be cut by the vets. She has recovered now.

Thankyou in advance
Click to expand...

Hi! firstly, please make sure that you or your vet know exactly what kind of parasite you are dealing with. What you are describing is fur or hay mites, which usually come with the hay. They are the least invasive of parasites. However, your vet should also look for signs of mange mites or fungal. The different issues need different treatments, so it is important to make sure that you have got the right one, or you can easily make things worse. Parasites are opportunists that tend to pounce whenever the immune system is not working fully.
Guinea Lynx :: Parasites
Gorgeous Guineas: Photo Gallery
Gorgeous Guineas
 
I have this problem to, f10sc was recommend for me to clean out there cage and soak on their wooden hides as it would cost alot to just throw away. another option for hay is to microwave it or even freeze it for a time to get rid of the lice/mites if they are coming from their. Gorgeous guineapigs shampoo is excellent but like you, mine keep coming back. I'm doing a deep clean today and starting their treatment. This is my thread, its kind of similar to yours and this was their advice. Hope it helps. Link below:

Running Lice Problems


also i believe some piggies are prone to lice and mites, my rolo seems to be :/
 
Thankyou everyone for your advice. I have been doing some research and it does look like hay mites. But I have booked a vets appointment to make sure and last night I ordered the gorgeous guineas lice and easy.
I have thrown the hay and wooden toys away and starting from scratch but from now on I will be freezing the hay/toys etc to prevent it recurring in the first place, hopefully.
I'm wondering whether the heat indoors has added to the problem, it will soon be better weather and they can go outdoors again if I feel they are better and well in themselves. They seemed to live better outdoors (happy, ailment free, running about like mad piggies popcorning I think it's called).
 
Hello. My 2 also have hay lice. They've had them since I got them in Oct & since then I have tried 3 course of xeno. 3 weeks of gg shampoo even flea wipes. Each time cleaning and steaming their cage and I always freeze their hay before I give them it (& freeze their wooden toys for at least 24hrs when treating them).
They've still got them! ! I took them to a very who said 33% of piggies have lice and add long as they are otherwise healthy just to leave the lice... not sure if this would be every vets view. I think she felt id tried everything else.
Sorry I know this isn't much help to you but just wanted to say I'm in the fed up with lice camp too! I'll also be reading any other replies in case there's some advice I can use. . Ps mine live indoors too.
 
It's the hay, as soon as you get rid of them off your piggies they get re-infected from the hay :( Changing the type of hay/your supplier will break the cycle. This is why I recommend imported Timothy hay from the US because is sterile.
 
Poppy'sMum said:
It's the hay, as soon as you get rid of them off your piggies they get re-infected from the hay :( Changing the type of hay/your supplier will break the cycle. This is why I recommend imported Timothy hay from the US because is sterile.
Click to expand...


would you mind posting a link from where you get yours. x
 
I just get the Alfalfa King Timothy hay from Pets at Home or online. It is a compressed bag it looks small & is £8.99 sounds dear but a bag lasts 2 weeks for mine as I confine it to a litter tray & don't put loads in, I prefer to top it up during the day & change the lot twice a day, so I probably waste loads lol :D You can get bigger bags online though :)
 
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