Oh no it is my turn now!!

[jdomans]

Stupid blankety blank mites!! Yep we have em all right. Even poor Buddy. They caught my eye Sunday night and I sat and watched a few pigs scratching. It was difficult to tell if was normal or more than normal. I kept quiet and continued to watch. Monday night I had Jeff watch them and more were scratching. What really made it stand out, was not the scratching but how they were scratching. They looked like dogs chewing fleas. They did the normal I have an itch scratch but they are turning around chewing their backs and feet. Last night I was up later than usual and Buddy woke and the first thing he did was start rubbing his face on the cage bars and chewing his tail! Oh god it is killing me.

I called Dr. Bink's office yesterday and the earliest we can get in is Friday. They have an 11:00 opening and I have a 10:00 6 month dental appt. So I am going to drop Sable off (she was the first one I noticed scratching) on my way to the dentist. Tonight or tomorrow we will weigh each one and I will leave that with the vet. I assume he will give us Ivermectin to inject as that is what a former colleague did when I took Polly in last year.

My plan of action is on Friday when I get home with Sable, I will set up the kitchen for floor time and take care of their cage. I will leave them on the floor until Jeff gets home and we dole out the shots. Jeff will have to hold Buddy while I clean out his cage. He isn't comfortable with the Budman.

Now do I use anything other than the usual vinegar and water to clean their cages? My poor poor babies. It is awful. They look like a pack of flea bitten dogs scratching and chewing instead of happy pigs and chinchilla. It is killing me.
Do you all think that putting Buddy in their cage got them so upset this is what happened? They didn't squeal or anything when he was with them those two times.

[JennG]

I'm actually treating my girls again. I noticed they were scratching more but Mama was losing fur. She seems to do this when she gets mites, poor baby. I don't clean-clean the cage (that's what we call it when we take everything out) and I don't think it's necessary. Pigs have mites but most are dorminant until they get stressed out. It's a simple process. I do it myself with Ivermectin and the instructions from guinea lynx. Good luck. They should be treated for them at least 3times with a week inbetween each dosage.

[cavy-cool-crazy]

Originally Posted by JennG

dorminant

Is that like lazy/not-so-bothered boss pigs?

Judy I would think just washing the fleece and cleaning the cage with vinegar/water should be enough. I'm not sure about toys and teddies.

[suzilovespiggie]

You can get Ivermectin at feed stores and at WalMart. I bought mine at Wal Mart for under $12.00 ( in the horse section) and was helped from this site on dosages. I treated 6 pigs at one time. Several years ago I treated 2 pigs I had taken to the vet and it cost a couple of hundred dollars.
I treated orally from the info on this site. At the vet it was shots and my pigs just hated the shots. They also did a scraping on each pig. (This was all before I knew of this website and found out how painful scrapings were
From now on I will give my own Ivermectin if the need arises.

[PiggieMom]

I know how you feel Judy. I need to treat my boys too. I'll be treating them orally as soon as the 1 cc syringes that I had to order online arrive (you would not believe my adventure on trying to find them in town.) Poor babies, I hope they come today.

[Ly&Pigs]

You can use a very mild bleach solution to clean the coroplast and any hidey houses, toys, racks, etc. It should be 1 part bleach to 9-10 parts water.

[BabyGrl]

PiggieMom I wish I had known. I could have sent you one from the hospital.

[PiggieMom]

Originally Posted by babygrl1234

PiggieMom I wish I had known. I could have sent you one from the hospital.

Aw you're sweet. But it's too late now. I really should go check my mail to see if they came today. I have a feeling the boys are not going to like this one bit. They're already mad at me for all the nail clipping.

[BabyGrl]

Well just tell them it is for their own good and they just have to deal.

[jdomans]

I am too darn chicken to treat them myself. Plus I have a chinchilla and I certainly don't know his requirements. I have read that stuff on GL a million times and then I just freeze at the thought. I would much rather give the injections as we did that with Polly last year when she was my one and only.
This is something fuuny/odd I am noticing. Some of them and I see Buddy doing it, are making this quivering motion with their mouths. Buddy is 'sleeping' and his mouth is going to town.
I called just now (just got hom from shcool) and they have no openings today besided Dr. B not being in the office. I am going to take the number with me tomorrow when I go up to L&D for clinicals and call. My preceptor there, Bonnie, has animals and if there is an opening, she will tell me to go!

[robertw]

I hate mites!

My Beaver had mites and it took me longer then I liked to figure it out. The first time is always the roughest.

Just wondering.... I have noticed that the Oral Ivmectin seems to be more popular these days , How effective is it and How do you figure the dose?

Thanks
Robert

[jdomans]

Robert I am the wrong person for that question. Call me chicken little!
Ok I will get brave and ask Dr. Bink about DIY when I see him on Friday. Well heck, that is if I see him. Remember I am dropping Sable off so I don't know. Maybe he will give me oral doses who knows?

[fourbwabbys]

It might be cheaper to buy your own with so many pigs. The vet might get a little on the expensive side.

Originally Posted by cavy-cool-crazy

Judy I would think just washing the fleece and cleaning the cage with vinegar/water should be enough. I'm not sure about toys and teddies.

I washed mine down with the vinegar/water solution and put all soft things in a trash bag for 3 weeks, then put them back in the cage after that.

[katiecavyNC]

OK, stupid newbie question, but where do the mites come from if you don't have them and your pigs aren't around new pigs, etc?

[PiggieMom]

From what I understand mites lay dormant on pigs and then can be brought about by stress. But they are also contagious and it is highly likely that if one pig develops a case all the others will as well.

Oh and there is no such thing as a stupid question.

[JennG]

Originally Posted by cavy-cool-crazy

Is that like lazy/not-so-bothered boss pigs?

Ok so I was alittle tired this morning when I posted that. Oops! Judy, if I can administer the meds I'm completely sure you can do it. I got my 1cc syringe from the vet's office. Good luck.