abby has mites

[mattellis2]

first post, and i need some help. i have 2 females and 1 male. the females are of unknown age, but i suspect they are probably 3-4.

abby started showing signs of mites about three weeks ago. lots of scratching and thinning hair. i started dosing her per the ivermectin guidlines shown here, and it doesn't seem to be helping her much. to date i have given her 3 doses, and she continues to scratch herself bald. in fact, i she is getting worse.

for the last dose i applied some of the ivermectin creme directly to the back of her ears, but that was only on thursday. in the meantime, i have been putting an antibiotic cream on her sores to try to prevent infection.

i have done alot of reading, and have seen the pictures of itchy and scratchy, and that is what she looks like. i just want her healthy again, and i sure don't know what i am doing wrong. fwiw, she shares here cage with fuzzy, and fuzzy doesn't seem to be infected.

-matt

[KatsCavies]

Is there any scurfing at all? If a piggy starts scratching and developing bald patches it is usually one of two things, parasitic infestation or fungal infestation. You have to find out which one it is before you can go about treating it. If its fungal the ivermec will be useless. Parasitic infestations usually cause little to no scurfing with fungal infections causing lots of scurfing. If you aren't sure I would consult a vet who should be able to tell you what the problem is.

Kat

[VoodooJoint]

Is it actually Iver that you are using? Where did you get it, what's the brand and Iver percentage?

Did you follow the dosing guidelines here on this forum or from Guinea Lynx?

If in fact you have been doing everything right and have the right medicine I think a vet visit is in order.

[mattellis2]

paste is a 1.87% generic that i ordered from jeffers pet catalog. i mixed 250 lbs worth with 22 ml of water, shook and gave abby about 1/10 of a cc (didn't seem like much).

excuse my ignorance, but what is scurfing? i noticed last night when i was holding her that i can pull out about 4 or 5 hairs, and they are attached by a patch of dandruff/skin. i assume this is what you mean.

how do i go about treating for a fungal infection, and how do i prevent it in the future? seems a little odd. i have had them for about 1.5 years, and this has just cropped up.

thanks,

-matt

[KatsCavies]

I'm now leaning more towards fungal infection from what you have said. The most common case is ringworm. It is usually treated with Imaverol or other fungicidal wash but you can only get them from a vet so it would be best to go to the vet, get the condition diagnosed and then the correct treatment can begin.

Definately consult a vet as we can only give you advice based on what information you give us which means we could get it totally wrong.

If it does turn out to be ringworm, be careful as it is zoonotic, meaning you can catch it from the piggy.

Kat

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Are you treating all 3 pigs? You didn't mention if you did. You need to dose them all or the others will just reinfect her.

If it is a really bad case, it might need more than 3 doses. A vet can prescribe pain meds. That will help.

[salana]

You gave the diluted paste dose by mouth, right? The paste is only good by mouth. There are dosing guidelines on GL, so if you weigh your pigs you will know exactly how much of the diluted solution to give them (I couldn't tell if you had done that).

[WEAVER]

Matt--the 1.87% is the horse wormer paste. That can not be given topically but need to be given orally after diluting the paste. The solution once diluted with oil becomes liquid and must be given with a oral syringe. Each pig needs to be weighed individually so doses are given accurately.

It takes two doses for your pig to show any signs of relief. Each pig should be treated even if only one pig is showing signs, especially if they are housed together or you will continue to keep passing them back and forth.
Treatment needs to be given every 7-10 days and applied three times.

Please be sure you CAREFULLY read the directions on GL before treating your pigs yourself. You can actually kill your pet if you do not REALLY understand how to treat them yourself. The paste is made to treat cattle and horses, not neccessarily guinea pigs. The paste therefore is VERY strong.

If you are not comfortable treating them yourself please contact your vet for treatment. Mites are very painful for your guinea pigs and it sound like your pig is in a lot of pain.