I need help

[piggi_zone]

My piggie cocoa is itching and has a v shaped pattern behind his ears. I have already taken him to the vet and he said that my piggie is ok and to just bathe him with the oatmeal bath to rid of the irritation.
My question is everyone on the forum said that I should treat for mites/lice. But he is the only one that has the v pattern behind his ears, I had looked up all the symptoms for lice and mites
he doesnt have scabs, and he isnt grouchy when I pet him
(I have 5 total). Does ivemectin do the same thing as advantage or is that for just mites? Do I also need to separate him, and Do I need a second opinion? Also do I need to treat all of them and how much medicine do I need, and how much will this cost me?
My husband truly believes what the vet is saying. But I think if he just had dry skin it prob would have cleared up by now.

[bpatters]

See www.guinealynx.info/mites.html for information on treating him and on calculating the amount of medication to use. The pour-on ivermectin is easier to use than the other kinds.

You need to treat them all.

[KittyKrochet]

Be careful with the Advantage, if that's what you go with. My vet pointed out that they no longer manufacture the original Advantage, and that the chemicals in Advantage II are poison for guinea pigs.

Also, just because your pig doesn't have scabs, doesn't mean it doesn't have lice. My pigs were covered with lice when I brought them home from the shelter, and they didn't have any symptoms other than scratching like crazy. We didn't know it was lice for sure until the Vet pulled one off of them and put it under a microscope.

[piggi_zone]

Update: I am gonna try the ivermectrin but the only one I can find here is the oral paste at the tractor and supply store.

[piggi_zone]

I think we have fleas its not real bad, But I need to do something. I called the vet he said ivermectin is for something else. I think he said heartworms. Anyways I dont remember the treatment he suggested.

[Catahoula]

My understanding is that oral Ivermectrin will only treat mites, but topical Ivermectrin will treat mites and lice. I got my topical Ivermectrin at Tractor Supply, but it wasn't in the same area as the oral paste. They had it in a locked cabinet where they keep syringes and needles.

I'm not quite sure how to treat fleas. Check on GuineaLynx, I'm sure they will have the information you need if you do a quick search.

[foggycreekcavy]

Yes, topical ivermectin treats mites and lice. However, the horse paste must be given orally, which only treats mites (which sounds like you have--the V pattern is classic for mites).

Revolution will treat all--fleas, mites, lice. You must either get it from a vet or online at Pet Shed.

Advantage will treat fleas and lice. I believe Pet Shed still has the regular Advantage.

Fleas rarely live on guinea pigs, so if you have fleas and treat your other critters and the environment, that's usually enough for the pigs.

[piggi_zone]

well I suspect that they might be fleas because their was one that jumped on me. And I suspect that they rode on my clothes from my sister-in-laws house. What I find odd that the Doc said he diddnt want me to use the Ivermectin to treat them. I dont remember what he wanted me to use. What would be the best way to treat the fleece?

[foggycreekcavy]

No, ivermectin doesn't do much to fleas. You'll need the original Advantage or Revolution.

It's probable that your pigs have mites, and it's possible that the fleas from the other critters are getting on the pigs. Revolution is the best way to go, since it will take care of both the fleas and the mites.

As for their fleece, just wash it in hot water.

[piggi_zone]

I have no idea what he has. It might be several bug types. The other day when I wrote on here had that had jumped on me and I had piggie next to me, so i assumed it was a flea that came from the piggie but recently I had looked through his fur and saw something white. I am not sure if it was lice or dander. Is there a dog or cat size topical ivermectin I can find somewheres.

[Elthysia]

As said above, the v shape is absolute classic sign of mites. Your piggies may have flees too on top of mites. It's not uncommon to have multiple problems. Please do treat with invermectin, it's not very expensive but mites can kill, see guinealinx page posted above.

The vet seems very unknowing. I always hope I can trust my doctor/dentist myself, and also my vet for my piggies but sometimes they aren't right. Maybe he was confusing invermectin with another drug at the time but google it and you'll see it's used for parasites on animals all across the world.

I'm not a vet so I'll say I'm 99% sure you are dealing with mites (and fleas ASWELL as mites) here. Treat all pigs with invermectin (order online is possible) or the medicine Foggy said (to kill fleas too) as soon as rather than 2nd opinion.

Note that you'll need to treat twice, once to kill current mites, and than in a few weeks to kill mites which may have hatched from eggs. A single treatment won't be effective.

Sorry if I sound slightly strong, typing awkwardly on iPhone and I'm really worriec about your vet being wrong.

[jacqueline]

ivermectin is available on amazon.com. it's cheap, though you'll also have to purchase syringes and needles to draw it out of the bottle. the amount you use is soooo tiny, and the bottle is sooo big - the bottle should last forever!