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Mites How do guinea pigs get mites?

ShaunaMuse

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So if this is answer is any where on the board I could not find it so I am sorry in advance if this is a repeat, but how do guinea pigs get mites/lice? I have searched online and couldn't find anything so just kinda curious is all. Thank you in advance for answers.
 

vicky2

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Mites can be passed on to another pig for numerous reasons. The most common are: from another animal that has mites, from bedding (like shavings), and from the hay.
While you may kill the actual mites, the eggs can remain unharmed and that's why it is suggested to treat for up to 2-3 weeks. Some people don't keep up with the treatment to when the eggs hatch, the mites re-occurs and the cycle goes on.
 

Ly&Pigs

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Mites in bedding and hay is not feasible as they have to have a living host to survive. I've never put any faith in stuff like "my pigs got mites from the hay". If you buy a bag of hay that's been sitting on a shelf for days or weeks and before that sitting in a warehouse, there is no way that your pig can get mites because they wouldn't be able to survive in the hay that long. The same goes for bedding. Mites are also species specific meaning pigs cannot get them from cats, dogs or other animals.

Pigs get mites because they lay dormant upon them and come out in times of stress or illness and they can get a flare up of mites when exposed to other pigs who have mites.
 

Africa

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Where do the mites originally come from though - from a human that was carrying it? Do you know what attracted the first mite to the guinea pig that passed it on to the next?

Thanks! :)
 

ShaunaMuse

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So is it something that -all- guinea pigs have in them and as you said just flares up? Is it possible that guinea pigs never get them? Thank you again for the answers, I just can't find anything that really tells me how they happen. I can understand how they get fleas and stuff like that, just the mites thing is like "Poof! Your piggy face has mites!"
 

Ly&Pigs

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Africa, for that answer you'd have to go a long way back in time.

So is it something that -all- guinea pigs have in them and as you said just flares up? Is it possible that guinea pigs never get them? Thank you again for the answers, I just can't find anything that really tells me how they happen. I can understand how they get fleas and stuff like that, just the mites thing is like "Poof! Your piggy face has mites!"
To my understanding, it's something all pigs have and can flare up under certain conditions. Not every pig will have active mites.
 

Africa

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ha ha :) thanks Ly. I suppose I was thinking along the same lines as Shauna... was wondering where it all starts. But I think I understand now - its the same phenomenon as lice in humans (the one's that jump around in your hair) thats passed on from one person to the next. I guess you cant say where they come from, they just exist :)
 

ShaunaMuse

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Gotcha! Thanks! I was curious and now I know. Awesome. You guys always have answers!
 

vicky2

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It says on guinealynx that mites can be on or transferred to bedding.
 

Ly&Pigs

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It says on guinealynx that mites can be on or transferred to bedding.
They can be transferred to another pig through bedding in a very short term sense, but they cannot survive in it. Basically what I am trying to get at is that they can get on bedding, they can get on hay and they can get on humans but they can't survive for very long at all. So the argument that mites live in hay or bedding has no merit because they just cannot survive without a living host.

Say for example, you have a pig who lives in one cage and has mites. You pick that pig up and cuddle it or hold it, mites or the eggs can get on your or your clothing. If you pick up another pig in another cage within a short time after you've held the first pig without washing up or changing clothes, the mites or eggs that are on your clothing could be transferred to the other pig. This is why we tell everyone to treat ALL pigs in your home when one has them. The same goes for pigs that live in the same cage but they would get them faster due to having direct contact with each other.

GL also says, "the mite may be dormant for months or years, becoming a problem in a pregnant cavy or one subject to illness or stress".

So gl may say that mites can get on bedding or transferred to bedding but does it say they can live on bedding? I'm betting the answer is no.
 

vicky2

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Wodentoad

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I was told by a vet tech (before I found a proper pig vet), who was, at that time, looking in the Big Book of Pestilence (which probably had a boring science book name) that guinea pigs --always-- have mites, but unless they are ill or injured or dirty, the mites are dormant, or there are only one or two living ones, hence the occasional scratch.

This is how it was explained to me, translated from the Big Book of Pestilence: Think of it like brine shrimp--the naturally occuring ones, not sea monkeys--that live in puddles, and they eat and live and lay eggs. If the puddle dries up, then the eggs lay dormant until something, like a rainstorm, wets the egg and it hatches as if nothing ever happened. They're just waiting for a foothold.
 
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