Parasites I'm freaking right out!

[Ash-Ro060708]

So today I flipped over my baby guinea pig(now 4 weeks old) to make sure she is a girl, and to my horror I saw white spots in the hair around her nipples and belly button and then I saw (what appears to be) an adult louse in her fur. Then I flipped over the mom and her belly was full of white spots (her body is all white so it was hard to see) with a few brown adults also. I washed my hands and checked the males(in other cages) and didn't see anything on them. The girls don't have any sores that I have seen and don't seem to scratch much.

Where do lice come from?

I have dealt with Lice years ago on my barn cats but I thought they got it from something they killed and ate. I haven't had a pet with lice in about 5 years since I moved and before I used a shampoo from the vet to treat it and did a good job.

I have owned my female guinea pig and the male I rescued with her since December and never saw anything on her before, and before she gave birth I used to hold and pet her a lot. Right after she gave birth she started losing hair but it was like shedding, she didn't have any bald patches or anything.

I gave the females a bath and while they are drying I am cleaning their cage really well. What can I use for bedding right now? I normally use fleece with towels and mattress pads underneath but I don't have any extra mattress pads or cage towels. Would it be better to use newspaper and fleece, just newspaper, just fleece, or pine bedding, until I get them treated?

I have checked my other pets(4 dogs and 3 indoor cats) and they don't appear to have anything on them but I'm still freaking out that I have touched the guinea pigs then touched one of the pets right after recently. And of course now I feel super itchy. lol

What should I do?

 

[MyLittlePiggy07]

Not to worry. Lice are very treatable, but make sure you seperate this guinea pig from the rest. They can come from bedding or other guinea pigs so make sure you check your other piggy's thoroughly. My piggy had lice when I first got him. I treated him with a spray, but sprays are quite controversial so I would advise using Ivermectin or Revolution. A vet in my area actually gave me revolution without even having to make an appointment. Oh and the lice found on guinea pig's are species related so your dogs, cats, and you shouldn't get them from the piggy! I would stick to fleece for bedding. It is the shavings that can carry lice sometimes especially if the bedding stays moist from urine. Good luck!

 

[Ash-Ro060708]

Not to worry. Lice are very treatable, but make sure you seperate this guinea pig from the rest. They can come from bedding or other guinea pigs so make sure you check your other piggy's thoroughly.

I just don't understand how they got it. Like I said when my barn cats had it I thought they got it from a mouse or something they had killed, and they never passed it onto the dogs.

The females are together in a cage away from the males, I don't use pine bedding for the females, just fleece and mattress pads, they don't have contact with the other guinea pigs or the other animals. I normally put the females in the pen for floor time first because the males always make a mess of it. All 3 males have pine bedding in their kitchens and I just checked them all again and found nothing. They all eat hay from the same bale which I have had in a box in the house since Sept, the pellets are stored in the freezer before they are used, and I buy their veggies from a grocery store and I don't think it would have lice there. I totally clean the cages once a week(I sweep poos every other day), all used bedding is taken outside and hung on the line for a few hours, then washed in warm or hot water with Tide and vinegar and dried in the dryer for at least an hour, folded then put away, so I don't think it's from the fleece bedding.

Can lice be brought on by the stress of pregnancy and birth? That's when the female started losing hair and I can't think of why only the females would have it since I do the same things for all the piggies.

 

[MyLittlePiggy07]

I just don't understand how they got it. Like I said when my barn cats had it I thought they got it from a mouse or something they had killed, and they never passed it onto the dogs.

The females are together in a cage away from the males, I don't use pine bedding for the females, just fleece and mattress pads, they don't have contact with the other guinea pigs or the other animals. I normally put the females in the pen for floor time first because the males always make a mess of it. All 3 males have pine bedding in their kitchens and I just checked them all again and found nothing. They all eat hay from the same bale which I have had in a box in the house since Sept, the pellets are stored in the freezer before they are used, and I buy their veggies from a grocery store and I don't think it would have lice there. I totally clean the cages once a week(I sweep poos every other day), all used bedding is taken outside and hung on the line for a few hours, then washed in warm or hot water with Tide and vinegar and dried in the dryer for at least an hour, folded then put away, so I don't think it's from the fleece bedding.

Can lice be brought on by the stress of pregnancy and birth? That's when the female started losing hair and I can't think of why only the females would have it since I do the same things for all the piggies.

I'm stumped then if shavings weren't their bedding and they weren't around any other pig's. Most of the time it is passed from one pig to another. I'm not sure if they can get lice from stress of a pregnancy. I know a pig can get mites when stressed out, but I'm not sure about lice. My next thought would be the hay, but I'm very doubtful that's the source. Hmm, hopefully someone else will chime in and give their thoughts. Sorry I can't really help you out! =[

 

[Onetwo]

You probably got lice from one of the other piggies. Lice can go unnoticed for a very long time before they get to be a large noticable problem like that. If the female had a baby then she obviously had contact with another piggy in the last 3 months and probably got it from there. You usually dont get lice from bedding or hay. That would be very rare unless a sick animal had direct contact with the hay and then the hay had direct contact to a piggy within a few hours as they cannot survive without a host for long. It might be best to just treat them all. My vet said revolution works best for lice but you will need to take the piggies to a vet to get the meds anyways so you might ask which one they recommend. Make sure you dose once a week (every 7 days) for at least 3-4 weeks to be sure that all the eggs and parasites are dead and not just waiting somewhere in the house. The eggs and stuff are probably all over by now but without a host they cannot live long so you should definately does all the GPs...

 

[Ash-Ro060708]

You probably got lice from one of the other piggies. Lice can go unnoticed for a very long time before they get to be a large noticable problem like that. If the female had a baby then she obviously had contact with another piggy in the last 3 months and probably got it from there.

She got pregnant by the male I rescued with her and I checked him over 3 times today and I can't see anything on him, he's mostly dark hair so I would at least be able to see eggs. The reason I initially found the Lice is because I saw white eggs on the baby's belly hair because she is mostly black. I haven't seen a lot of adults on them. The vet said she has no idea why the female would have Lice and not the males, and just start showing now. The guinea pigs have a small infestation compared to what I saw with my cats, you could see the lice eggs from a mile away on them. Before she gave birth I spent a lot of time holding her and I'm pretty sure I would have seen something since I got her in Dec.

I went to the vet and they gave me "Ivomec" that I have to inject under the skin or put in their mouth, but she said injecting would be better so I'm sure they get the proper dose. I have enough to do all the piggies. I asked about Advantage but they said they didn't have anything small enough.

Is Ivomec OK to inject in guinea pigs(@ 0.1cc/lb)?

 

[RaisinSpock]

What is Ivomec?
I wouldn't inject anything into my piggy to get rid of lice. When my piggy had lice, I used Ivermectin. You put a drop or so behind their ears. It seems like a better idea than injecting to me.

 

[Silverbeat]

You need to use oral or topical Ivomec as far as I know. I'm not sure if you can inject it.

 

[Onetwo]

Yes I agree. Lice dont suck blood so injections do nothing. You need topical invermectin. That gets dropped on the bald spot behind the ears once every 7 days for 3-4+ doses until they have been gone for a few weeks. (The eggs I believe can live for a several days which is why you dose them for a few weeks...) I went back and forth with my vet about lice when my piggy had them. Once we used the topical for 5 weeks that took care of it. Then the ringworm took over! Ugg what a mess... I would dose them all anyways.

 

[MyLittlePiggy07]

Ivomec is the brand name and Ivermectin is the generic, so they are basically the same thing. It states it on the guinea lynx website. I agree with the others that I would treat topically.

 

[Ash-Ro060708]

It can be given orally but the vet said it's more "accurate" to inject. I wanted to ask here before I did anything to make sure it was safe.

Ivomec is a different "brand" of Ivermectin.
https://www.guinealynx.info/medications.html#Ivomec

This is what I think I got from the vet(I just got a 1cc syringe full).
https://www.guinealynx.info/ivermectin_products.html#injection

How do lice live if they don't suck blood?

 

[Ash-Ro060708]

Can I use what I have to put ON them?
And if so would it be the same dose.

 

[foggycreekcavy]

The topical dose is slightly more than the oral dose. Not sure if it's more than the injection. But yes, the injectable Ivomec can be used topically. The dose is very small, though--your vet gave you enough to treat them many times, since they need to be treated 3 times each a week apart. I believe a 1 kilo pig gets around 0.05 cc.

 

[Ash-Ro060708]

The topical dose is slightly more than the oral dose. Not sure if it's more than the injection. But yes, the injectable Ivomec can be used topically. The dose is very small, though--your vet gave you enough to treat them many times, since they need to be treated 3 times each a week apart. I believe a 1 kilo pig gets around 0.05 cc.

Thank you so much.
I have been checking this thread all day to see if someone answered.

I think I was supposed to inject .1cc per pound, so I'll just put it on them instead.

Also how do I store what I don't use? Does it need to go in the fridge or anything?

 

[foggycreekcavy]

No fridge, but keep out of open light. I keep mine in a drawer.