• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Scratching Piggies (and Me!)...mites?

Status
Not open for further replies.
PiggyOinkOink

PiggyOinkOink

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Feb 21, 2014
Messages
401
Reaction score
187
Points
340
Location
London, UK
Last week whilst giving hay I got bitten by something (not a mozzie, more like a mini vampire as there were 2 marks!) and the next day it had developed into a round red hot blister. I thought it was roundworm but I figured not due to it being on the same area as the bite. I get itching in my elbow cavity (on the same arm) but not on the other. I have been applying sudocrem and lanacane and it has stopped the redness but it is still there and blistered. I am going to the GP this afternoon to get his opinion but I have read that it is most likely a hay mite from the hay which is fresh from a farm and not all dry and cut to pieces like the one you get in the pet shop.

Apparently some people have an allergic reaction to a hay mite bite and it looks similar to what I have. The problem now is that I have noticed a couple of my piggies are starting to scratching a little too much so I sprayed them all with Xeno 200 at the correct dosage. Can someone tell me if this will be enough and what else should I do? (like clean the cages ASAP? etc).
Also, where are you supposed to spray it? I know it should be on skin and obviously they are very hairy lol I sprayed their nipples and private parts and behind ears but most of it was just on their hair so not sure if it will be effective?
 
Oh! I really don't know! I have been around farms and farm hay all my life and never had any kind of bites like you describe or heard of it. And we practically roll around in it when doing up 27 haynets each week for the ponies.....
But OUCH! sounds painful. If it looks worrying, do go and get checked by a nurse/doctor!
I think you are supposed to spray Xeno 200 on the back of the neck, having parted the fur to expose the skin.....but I have never used it myself, hope others come along and give you some advice :)

oh, and if you would not mind, would you let us know what the doctor says, if it is likely to be a hay mite/lice bite or not?
thanks :)
 
Where did you get the hay from? If it was from a farm it may have contained hay mites and something bigger that may have made it's escape onto you. When I bought some hay from a farm there were loads of feathers. Obviously a blackbird had got involved in the harvesting. Luckily that's all I discovered just the feathers! I normally get Dust Free Hay and thought I would try a farmers hay for a change - I will stick with Dust Free Hay.
 
I get the hay from a farm because it's very cheap (£1.79 for 1.5kg) and fresh compared to the dry and chopped to pieces one you get in the pet shops, plus the piggies love to eat it now and if I have to get some of the other stuff in an emergency then they just leave lots of it on the floor.

I am guessing it was something hiding in the bales..my Dr said it was concerning and offered me antibiotics but I refused and he said see how it goes and if it's not on its way out in 2-3 days then come back..fortunately, it's already started to dry out from the pus filled boils from before :)

I have gotten that hay quite a few times and never had a problem but obviously since it is fresh then there the risk of unwanted visitors. The piggies seem to have stopped itching after I put the ivermectin so it seems like it's worked. If I get this problem again or the mites are a problem then I will switch to the other hay..was saw Timothy hay and some other 'Artisan' types of grass and bloody hell are they expensive or what?! lol
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top