Mites from hay?

[jerbear]

I bought some hay from Farmer Dave on Ebay for a great price. Is there a possibility that the pigs got mites from the hay? Has anyone else used this hay? Should I throw it out to be on the safe side?

[Ly&Pigs]

There are hay mites but most of the mites that pigs get lay dormant in a guinea pig and come out in times of stress or illness.

I would keep the hay but treat your guinea pig for the mites with ivermectin. You will need to dose 3 times about 7 days apart. For instructions on how to dose yourself please see- Guinea Lynx :: Mange Mites and Guinea Lynx :: Ivermectin.

[jerbear]

Thank you for the information. I had run across that today and do plan to call my vet tomorrow. Are all vets cavy savvy? Sure hope mine is.

[fourbwabbys]

You need to ask the vet if he treats exotics, then double check he knows what hes doing with guinea pigs. Not all dog/cat vets treat exotics.

[jerbear]

Vets Best Small Animal Flea and Mite Itch Relief 7.5 oz - Small An Medications/Vitamins at Arcata Pet Supplies

Is this stuff garbage?

[fourbwabbys]

Complete garbage. First of all it's a spray, which you can not dose correctly and runs the risk of the pigs inhaling some of it. You need to treat them with Ivermectin.

[jerbear]

Any idea how much this costs?

[fourbwabbys]

You can buy it online, have the vet do it, or buy it at a farm store. Mine costed $13, which was a discounted price from my aunt's vet office where she works. That treated 5 pigs, with some left over.

[jerbear]

Don't you need a prescription for it?

[fourbwabbys]

Nope. You can get it yourself.

[bazil5]

My guinea pig gots mites from its hay. I went to the vets and he put this gell on the mite place, and it was gone in 2 weeks. After he gave me some drug this, to put on his fur every two weeks. Its completely gone now. And dont buy the Flea Care things in pet shops, they never work.

[Ly&Pigs]

My guinea pig gots mites from its hay.

How do you know the mites came from the hay? And to be honest, I don't trust vets who would put some gel on a guinea pig to treat mites.

[muffin]

This thread is what I wanted to ask about. I had noticed more shedding than normal on the lower back of one of my piggies, above her grease gland, with quite heavy dandruff. I took them both to the vet and he combed some of the dandruff out and looked at it under the microscope. he said it was eggs of Cheyletiella parasitivorax
--- also known as "Walking Dandruff" see Guinea Lynx :: Fur Mites. Anyway, he gave ivomec by injection, (he wouldn't do it any other way, but he's very knowledgable so I trust his opinion) to be repeated 2 weeks later, with the cage being disinfected in 7 days' time. He reckoned that they came in on the new batch of hay that we just started, which I am so pissed about since it's a 50lb box of Oxbow timothy. I can't risk assuming it was the last of the old box that was to blame, sine if I keep using the new stuff, even discarding the top few inches, there's the risk of further problems. At the same time the new bag I bought might also have mites, just through bad luck. It's impossible to be sure what caused the problem, but the new hay, which they've had for a few days seems probable. He also gave me shampoo to lift the dandruff off the skin, 50.00 x Seleen, which is applied to dampened fur on their back, left for 5-10mins and then rinsed off.

GL recommends ivermectin for these kind of mites and mange mites, so I wouldn't necessarily assume that the gel your vet used cured the problem. Do you know what the gel was?

[VoodooJoint]

Ivermectin can be bought OTC at most feed and grain stores/farm supply stores. It usually costs about $40 for a bottle (enough to treat about 1000 GPs). You need to get the 1% injectable cattle and swine kind.

You will also need to get 1cc/ml syringes. If you know someone who is diabetic get a needle or two from them. The needles they usualy sell OTC in feed stores are 3ml and a bit too big to dose accurately.

Once you have the supplies treating them is easy if you use the GL guidelines.

[muffin]

I wouldn't feel happy injecting them, I wouldn't know how or where to do it properly. I'll let my vet do it to be safe and prevent unnecessary pain or suffering to my piggies.

[VoodooJoint]

You don't inject them. The injectable is applied topically. You just need the syringe to dose the ivec. I take the needle off once I draw out the correct dose, and apply it to the natural bald spots behind the ears.

[muffin]

Oh, ok. That makes more sense.