Piggies have mites!!

[bones8186]

So I brought my 2 males piggies to the vet today...and they have mites!! They have been itching and knawing at each other for the past week (also as long as they have been fighting) so I decided to bring them to the vet to get them checked out (they never have before). Plus I wanted to get their nails clipped. Recie had a small scab on his butt so the vet took a skin sample and it came back as mange mites!! So they both had a shot of ivermectin (which they did not like AT ALL) and they have to go back in a week for another dose. The doctor said it was probably b/c I bought them both from petstores about a month and a half ago.

My question is...do my 2 dogs have mites then too? Can they catch them from the guinea pigs?? They never come in contact with them obviously. What about me?? I heard mites can't survive on humans, right??

My poor piggies!! My vet bill was $200 for the both of them!! HOLY CRAP!! I couldn't believe it. At least they don't have to get vaccines every year like my dogs. I'm gonna go broke!!

[bones8186]

i also wanted to know if anyone knew what i could clean the cage with. the vet said to clean it well with some kind of disinfectant. any recommendations that won't hurt the piggies??

[Ly&Pigs]

Mites are species specific so your dog won't be able to get them nor you.

A mixture of 50% vinegar/50% water will do good for cage cleaning. Vinegar is a natural disinfectant.

[k9yorkie]

My vet put the ivermectin in a suspension so that I could give it to them orally. She did not want to give an injection because she said it can stress them out quickly. I asked her about the mites getting on my dogs and cats also and she said they will not affect my other animals. I was really glad to hear that!