I adopted a piggy around Christmas time. He had patches of bald spots and dandruff like particles in his hair. I took him to the vet, and after scraping for mites, found nothing. He sent me off with a medicated shampoo. I bathed him with it 3 times a week, and within a month he was much better. The symptoms came back with a vengeance this spring - itching, crying, losing hair, scabs, dandruff. After much research I realize my vet's mistake and am treating him for mites. I gave one dose of Ivermectin that I bought at our local farm supplies store, using the correct dosage for his weight. I washed his cage thoroughly. A week later, I used Spot On, cleaning the cage again. His scratching is much, much better, and he rarely cries. He's eating like crazy and isn't so afraid of being touched. But - he looks awful. Terrible. He is almost all bald on his rear and back. It's like his hair has all fallen out. He still has a scab behind one ear. Tonight I watched him have an itching fit and crying. What next? The Spot On said it lasts 4 weeks. Do I wait to give him another dose? It'll be one week tomorrow. What about bathing with the medicated soap?
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Specialist Severe Mites!
- Thread starter aweiker
- Start date
- Status
helen105281
Senior Guinea Pig
Please could you update your location on your profile as it will help us tailor the advice we give. Ideally for mange mites treatment should be with a injectable Ivermectin as it is much more effective than spot on. If you are in the UK have a look on our vet locator as you may find a much more piggy savvy vet near to you. Shampoo will do nothing to help mange mites. There is also a chance you are dealing with fungal which is treated completely differently. If he is fitting this is very serious and so he needs to see a vet today. Some vets will give steroids to help break the itch scratch cycle but these cannot be given alongside anti-inflammatory pain relief like Metacam. I am tagging @Pebble as she recently looked after 2 pigs with very similar symptoms. Please could you also confirm what brand of Spot On you have used.
Hi and welcome!
Could you please add your country, state or (for the UK) your county, so we can adapt any advice and recommendations to what is possible and available in terms of knowledgeable vets and products where you are. Please click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.
We have got a piggy savvy UK vet locator on the top bar, but may be able to provide a link for recommended vets in other countries.
Please be aware that low dosed shop products cannot deal with a full-out mange mites infection; they only make the mites worse than better. You also have to take into account that a mange mite infestation and a fungal skin infection can look very similar and can go hand in hand. Not every lab test for mites or for fungal will be successful.
Could you please list the product names of the shampoo and the shop spot-on (including the ivermectin concentration), so we have a better idea as to what they have received in treatment so far, so we can help you better to really get on top of it properly.
Could you please add your country, state or (for the UK) your county, so we can adapt any advice and recommendations to what is possible and available in terms of knowledgeable vets and products where you are. Please click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.
We have got a piggy savvy UK vet locator on the top bar, but may be able to provide a link for recommended vets in other countries.
Please be aware that low dosed shop products cannot deal with a full-out mange mites infection; they only make the mites worse than better. You also have to take into account that a mange mite infestation and a fungal skin infection can look very similar and can go hand in hand. Not every lab test for mites or for fungal will be successful.
Could you please list the product names of the shampoo and the shop spot-on (including the ivermectin concentration), so we have a better idea as to what they have received in treatment so far, so we can help you better to really get on top of it properly.
Please do not give him another dose of spot-on - it is a topical treatment that is ineffective against sarcoptic mange and would mean he will have to wait a further week before he can have the treatment he really needs which is doramectin or ivermectin injections - a course of 3-4 at weekly intervals. Also please post up the mds you have used as it may affect the information given below.
The fitting/bladness is not a good sign and indicates he has a severe infestation. It is vital he gets the appropriate treatment without any further delay as without it he could die from this horrible condition. Please refrain from handling him as much as possible (and don;t even attempt to bathe him) as it can cause another fit.
If you read my posts on this thread it details how we approached treating the two mite girls, one of whom was very poorly indeed.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/2-more-dying-piggies.122408/page-4
It's a lengthy thread but worth reading the updates as it contains a lot of helpful information on how to treat very distressed piggies who keep self-mutilating and ho we changed the treatment as they started to improve.
To quickly summarise the treatment they received:
a) we had to gas Beanie to be able to examine/treat her first time round
b) both girls had a course of doramectin+steroid injections ( 4 injections one week apart with the last two given without the steroid......then a further doramectin injection 3 months later) for the mites/itching (but Beanie actually had an extra doremctin + steroid injection 4 days after the first because she was so poorly)
c) they were on antibiotics (septrin) and OPIATE pain relief (tramadol maximum dose, change later to buprecare)
d) wounds were treated with flamazine cream or (in Beanie's case) sprayed with diluted warm F10 disinfectant (which is also antifungal).....and as you can see from the pictures, we had to dress Beanie's wounds and put her in a jacket to restrict the self-mutiliation
e) Once they were able to be handled without too much distress, both had imaverol bath/spray (Anti-fungal) and Beanie was also bathed in oatmeal gloop (water used to boil oats in) as a soothing skin treatment.
It is extremely distressing treating a severely infested piggie....but provided they have the correct treatment (ie the injections) , they can and do recover (as you can see from the most recent update on Dotty and Beanie's thread)
HTH
x
The fitting/bladness is not a good sign and indicates he has a severe infestation. It is vital he gets the appropriate treatment without any further delay as without it he could die from this horrible condition. Please refrain from handling him as much as possible (and don;t even attempt to bathe him) as it can cause another fit.
If you read my posts on this thread it details how we approached treating the two mite girls, one of whom was very poorly indeed.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/2-more-dying-piggies.122408/page-4
It's a lengthy thread but worth reading the updates as it contains a lot of helpful information on how to treat very distressed piggies who keep self-mutilating and ho we changed the treatment as they started to improve.
To quickly summarise the treatment they received:
a) we had to gas Beanie to be able to examine/treat her first time round
b) both girls had a course of doramectin+steroid injections ( 4 injections one week apart with the last two given without the steroid......then a further doramectin injection 3 months later) for the mites/itching (but Beanie actually had an extra doremctin + steroid injection 4 days after the first because she was so poorly)
c) they were on antibiotics (septrin) and OPIATE pain relief (tramadol maximum dose, change later to buprecare)
d) wounds were treated with flamazine cream or (in Beanie's case) sprayed with diluted warm F10 disinfectant (which is also antifungal).....and as you can see from the pictures, we had to dress Beanie's wounds and put her in a jacket to restrict the self-mutiliation
e) Once they were able to be handled without too much distress, both had imaverol bath/spray (Anti-fungal) and Beanie was also bathed in oatmeal gloop (water used to boil oats in) as a soothing skin treatment.
It is extremely distressing treating a severely infested piggie....but provided they have the correct treatment (ie the injections) , they can and do recover (as you can see from the most recent update on Dotty and Beanie's thread)
HTH
x
Kerrie74
Adult Guinea Pig
Good luck!
gizzy
Adult Guinea Pig
Hi how is he today,
i agree with the abobove , a couse if ivermetrin injections woud be the best option ,
i beleve the course is over a 3 week perod to take into acount of the mites that are
living under scin in the egg and larval stages of there life cycle , that is why spot on 's
are often inerfective ,
if you you do need to bath a pig , best stear clear of lotions and potions that are heavily
advertised on some sights . They are a wast of money .
The only shampoo that is both safe and effective in controlling pig parasites, is a shampoo
called Vetsect .
i agree with the abobove , a couse if ivermetrin injections woud be the best option ,
i beleve the course is over a 3 week perod to take into acount of the mites that are
living under scin in the egg and larval stages of there life cycle , that is why spot on 's
are often inerfective ,
if you you do need to bath a pig , best stear clear of lotions and potions that are heavily
advertised on some sights . They are a wast of money .
The only shampoo that is both safe and effective in controlling pig parasites, is a shampoo
called Vetsect .
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