Freaked out about lice! HELP!

[jm_1234]

So, I discovered today that all 8 guinea pigs have lice. Pretty sure one of my daycare kids brought it in from her guinea pigs since her mom was just saying last week that their guinea pigs have lice. Its a very light infestation since you really have to look to find them but I want them gone like now. I know I can treat them with Ivermectrin however I can't seem to find exactly how to go about this. Do I just spread it all over them or do I just put a small drop on them. Please if someone could help me!

Also, do I have to worry about my other animals? I have 2 dogs and 2 cats. OMG i feel totally itchy right now and it feels like they are crawling all over me, yuck!

[bpatters]

See http://www.guinealynx.info/lice.html for information on how to treat them.

[ellisa]

When I adopted Sheldon he had a small case of lice. It wasn't bad so it was quick to get rid of. I used Revolution and the lice were gone not long after the first dose (couldn't see any by the next day). Revolution requires a prescription, though, so you would have to get it from a vet.

Most lice are species specific so you shouldn't have to worry about your other pets.

[ThePigAlchemist]

I'm pretty sure guinea pig lice are species-specific, so you don't have to worry about your dogs, cats, or yourself. Good luck getting rid of them quickly though!

Edit: Ninja'd!

[jm_1234]

I did read that page however, I guess I am not smart enough to understand exactly how to go about this lol. It says topically but what exactly does that mean? I have been doing major research and the closest I could find was to put it behind both ears. Is that correct or do I put it all over them?

[jm_1234]

Thanks @ellisa & @ThePigAlchemist , I have been running around like a little monkey going through everyones fur/hair to check. I think the pets think I have lost my mind lol. I swear I can feel them crawling through my hair, I know there not but still, yuck!

[ellisa]

I understand! I had the crawlies when Sheldon had lice!

[jm_1234]

I think I am getting more confused the more I research. Can you give the horse paste topically or does it have to be injectable ivermetin? The injectable kind you put just behind the ears but I still cannot figure out the horse paste kind. Please if anyone has any idea I would really appreciate really direct directions on what I have to do. I am extremely confused!

[jm_1234]

I give up, I am taking them to the vet. This is going to be expensive with 8 guinea pigs!

[PrincessAngel]

I give up, I am taking them to the vet. This is going to be expensive with 8 guinea pigs!

Treating with Ivermec is fairly simple! By topical it does mean behind each ear, you have to measure out the amount of liquid based on your pigs weight. This has to be done with Injectable Ivermec, the oral horse paste wont work. http://www.guinealynx.info/topical_ivermectin.html It isn't too hard. My pigs are about 2lb 12oz each so they got about .062mL of the Ivermec (They have lice too!). I gave them a bath before treating which killed off most lice, but it has not even been a week and there is less scratching. It will take a total of 3 treatments 7-10 days apart to completely rid of them.

[jm_1234]

Thank you so much @PrincessAngel ! Thats what I needed :). I guess it is just the girls. I just assumed they all had it but I checked out Goofy, Donald, Mickey, & Pillow and they don't have it from what I can tell. I think I have caught it really early since it was only the odd lice on the girls. Daisy seems to have it the worse. It makes sense though since that little girl only likes to hold the girls. I will see if I can find the injectable Ivermec. I am so scared to do this since I have read that you can kill them if you get the dosage wrong. So the bath is safe to do? Did you use the lice shampoo? What kind did you use? I was under the impression that most shampoos are unsafe to use for guinea pigs.

[PrincessAngel]

I would treat all the piggies even if you can't find lice. I searched all over 2 of my girls and couldn't find any lice, but they were all over the other cagemate!

I just used normal piggy shampoo and gave all of them a good scrub. I was kinda paranoid and wanted to rid of some lice quickly! It did help loosen some lice, couldn't find any on the most infected girl.

Yes the ivermec can be harmful if dosed wrong, basically you only want a few drops in the syringe. If you have more than a few drops you did it wrong :). I ended up ordering our Ivermec off Amazon and it was here within 3 days.

[jm_1234]

Thanks again @PrincessAngel :) I am going to give them a bath today before I go out to try to find some of the injectable kind. The rest of them are in seperate cages from the girls so i'm not to sure if I should still treat them or not. I am still going to give the vet a call today and see if he has any of the injectable kind so I will ask him what he thinks as well.

[joyfulnoise]

I bought Ivermectin at Rural King. You can look in any farm & animal supply store for this. Go to the link that bpatters & princessangel suggested and there is a weight chart to go by. Use a kitchen scale to weigh each piggie. ( and I would treat all of them) The only problem I had was finding a syringe(sorry for spelling) small enough to measure the right amount. I ended up talking to a pharmacist at the drugstore and told her how much med. i needed to measure and why. She was more than willing to give me a couple that they give out to customers for their meds at no charge. After each treatment, I made sure to do a deep cage cleaning, using 1/2 & 1/2 water & vinager. Don't forget to clean toys and furniture & bedding/fleece. Hope this is helpful to you and good luck. Take a deep breath. All will be well :)

[foggycreekcavy]

Revolution works great for lice, for future reference. And you can get it online without a prescription from Pet Shed.

If you don't want to wait to order online Revolution or ivermectin you can take just one pig in to the vet and ask for enough meds to treat all of yours at home. Most vets will do this.

You may want to find yourself a bottle of injectable ivermectin, though. It practically lasts forever and you will have it on hand in case anything like this happens again. Ivermectin treats mites, too.

[jm_1234]

I called the vet today because I wanted to ask him about the ivermectin and see if he would give me some revolution without bringing them all in. He of course is on vacation until next week because thats always the way it seems to go when you need something lol. The girl on the phone said they did not have revolution all they have is the shampoos which of course is no good.

@foggycreekcavy -I looked on the website but the only revolution I could find is a flea/heartworm medication for dogs/cats. Is that the right stuff? I am so sorry, I know this is probably a really ridiculous question but I want to make sure I treat them properly.

[applechih]

i dont think dogs and cats can get lice birds can though but i dont think that you have birds. i have the same problem kind of, the place that i got princess from said she had lice but i didnt see any and shes not scratching

[bpatters]

That's the right Revolution. I think you want the one for cats.

[jm_1234]

Thanks again bpatters :) Fingers crossed that they ship to Canada lol!

[jm_1234]

Well, they do not ship to Canada. On the hunt again lol.