How do you know your pig has mites?

[nonamian_girl]

I may be just paranoid again (see my Ear Twitching post), but I was wondering, how do you tell if your pig has mites? I've had my pig since April, and there has never been any scabs or any hair loss, other than what i think is the usual shedding. As for itching, she does scratch herself once in a while, but as far as I can tell it doesn't seem to be more often than my other pig used to do.

However, there is one thing that is odd about her: she's a biter. It's really weird because she will follow us around and come up to us and sometimes she'll let us pet her and sometimes she'll run away, and then sometimes she starts snapping at me and attacking my hand. I always thought it's because she REALLY hates being picked up. She's fine once I'm holding her, but she absolutely hates being caught and picked up, so I thought maybe whenever I put my hand beside her she thought she was being picked up and so she started biting, but now i'm not sure.

So naturally I have a couple questions about this Invermectin or whatever stuff, which I'm sure have been addressed before, but a) do you guys think she has mites? b) do I have to go to a vet or can I administer this stuff myself?

[aqh88]

Sometimes you don't really know. They can have mild symptoms that could be something else. That's why it's always suggested to treat them anyway. Even a vet can't really tell because skin scrapings often come back negative when there are actually mites present. If several months have gone by without symptoms getting worse she probably doesn't have mites but it's possible and treating them is quite safe. You can treat them yourself quite easily for cheaper than a vet visit. You need either clear injectible ivermectin or plain ivermectin horse paste. The injectible is actually used topically by placing drops behind the ears and the horse paste is given orally(after diluting). You need a scale to weigh them so you can measure the proper dose. Check http://guinealynx.info/ivermectin.html for how to use ivermectin and the correct amount. They should get at least 2 doses 7-10 days apart but 3 or 4 doses is better. It's possible to not get all the mites in the first 2 doses.

[pink_cottonball]

My pigs have mites and we're getting ivermecitn for them. YAH!!! No more suffering pigs. I was just wondering, do they shed more when they have mites and have been scratching alot??

[Ly&Pigs]

I was just wondering, do they shed more when they have mites and have been scratching alot??

Yes, because mites can cause intense itching and hair loss.

[cavywench]

It never hurts to treat you pigs if you suspect they have mites, i.e lots of scratching. It won't harm them. Better safe than sorry.