Scratching

[weepweeps]

Hello all. Happy new year. I have a question about itching. How much itching is too much! I thought one of my piggies was scratching a bit more than usual. So I got a spot on from the pet shop and treated both piggies. But I’m not sure if he’s itching again. It’s not all the time. But I suppose they can itch without having parasites? Should I treat them both again? I think I did it 2.5 weeks ago. Many thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Siikibam]

They will scratch when they have an itch. I’m not too sure when it’s too much scratching. More than is usual.

Shop bought meds aren’t the correct strength. The other issue is treating something they don’t have. This can lead to the parasites building resistance to the medicine.

You need to get both of them seen by the vet. If they need treatment then they will be prescribed the correct strength meds. don’t repeat the treatment because you don’t know what (if anything) you’re treating.

 

[weepweeps]

Thank you for the advice.

 

[alpacasqueak]

Hello all. Happy new year. I have a question about itching. How much itching is too much! I thought one of my piggies was scratching a bit more than usual. So I got a spot on from the pet shop and treated both piggies. But I’m not sure if he’s itching again. It’s not all the time. But I suppose they can itch without having parasites? Should I treat them both again? I think I did it 2.5 weeks ago. Many thanks for your thoughts.

It’s definitely a good idea to get a vet appointment to know what you’re treating (mites/lice etc). The shop-bought treatments often aren’t strong enough to treat them, you also need to do several treatments to make sure the parasites are all killed off, so the eggs when they hatch too etc.
I had the same issue recently and my vet looked at them under the microscope to know what they were for definite (my new piggy had lice, but could be mites too etc) before I treated all four of my pigs.
Hope all goes well, let us know how it goes! Happy new year to you and your pigs!

 

[weepweeps]

Thank you.

 

[alpacasqueak]

Thank you.

I totally freaked when I saw nasty lice all over my newest baby (here a week!) and I hadn’t even seen any scratching! Not pleasant things! Hope it goes well killing off the nasty beggers!

 

[weepweeps]

Thank you. Percy doesn’t seem to be scratching much this evening. I’ll keep an eye on him.