Scratching...mites Or Lice?

[PiggyOinkOink]

I have noticed for weeks that one of my piggies scratches in the same place all the time. Sometimes he will do three rounds of scratching one after the other generally with his teeth then his back legs. He seems fine after this but I have suspected that he might have mites? He seems fine the majority of the time, only when he itches, which is not all that often. I noticed his cage mate doing the same but not as frequently. Not sure if I'm being paranoid but could this be mites or lice?

I have given them Xeno 200 for months but I did not give it for 2 months before a month ago as I forgot, so not sure if this might have been the problem. Is there anyway to actually see if they have mites as his skin seems fine with no scabs or hair loss so I don't see the point in spending £40 for a check-up which will be over in 5m if they can't see anything obvious. Is the normal dose of 1 spray per 100g per month enough to get rid of any potential mites or should I do the infestation dose 2 & 4 weeks later too to make sure?

 

[helen105281]

If he has mange mites you won't see them, as they are under the skin and the most effective treatment is Ivermectin injections at the vets. The spot on you have been giving is only strong enough as a preventative and will not treat a full blown case if that is what you are dealing with. Does he have any hair loss? Also you would need to make sure it isn't fungal which is another reason to get him checked by the vets as the treatment is completely different.

How old are your pigs? as I belive Xeno 200 is for younger/smaller pigs and Xeno 450 is needed for bigger ones. I don't use Spot on myself though.

 

[Caviequeen]

You may not be able to tell if your piggy has mites or lice but if its as bad as you say you might want to get it checked out its better to catch it earlier on justrecently two of my boys had both mites and lice and i couldent see either.

 

[PiggyOinkOink]

If he has mange mites you won't see them, as they are under the skin and the most effective treatment is Ivermectin injections at the vets. The spot on you have been giving is only strong enough as a preventative and will not treat a full blown case if that is what you are dealing with. Does he have any hair loss? Also you would need to make sure it isn't fungal which is another reason to get him checked by the vets as the treatment is completely different.

How old are your pigs? as I belive Xeno 200 is for younger/smaller pigs and Xeno 450 is needed for bigger ones. I don't use Spot on myself though.

I just checked him and he doesn't have any hair loss near his hind legs (the only place he seems to scratch and I think his gf scratched there too). This has been going on a few months but just today I saw him scratch 3 times in the same place in a row so that's why I was concerned. He is the oldest at 1yr old and his gf is 11mths.

If it's mites then will they be scratching all over rather that just their hind legs?

I am aware that Xeno 200 can be used for an infestation too as it says on the bottle but requires 3 doses in 4wks (day one, 2 wks later then 4wks later) rather than the preventative 1 dose a month. It's not a spot on but the spray version and I tend to wonder if it is being effective as I spray it on his nipples/crotch/bum/ears but they get dripping wet with one spray so I spray the rest on fur...not sure whether that's just wasting it or if I should wait till the wet skin dries to reapply. It's this one.