Mites Tipsy Pig/ Itchy Pig

3GPigsplus1more · Sep 22, 2014

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to bounce off some ideas with some experienced piggie owners regarding a couple of sick pigs that we currently have. Some of the members may recognize the names. These are rescue pigs with an Ontario based rescue! Our vets also work with Guelph Veterinary University. We are all puzzled!

Doug-

Doug came to us from a group that were found in someones backyard. All were captured but two, Doug was in the best shape out of all of them. 2 weeks after he arrived, his head started to tilt, so we took him to the vet and he was given TMS. Things got better and then a week later it all went downhill. He started falling over. Back to the vet we go. Now given Baytril and Panacur........many weeks later he continues to get worse. We are just puzzled here! Anyone can make any suggestions or has experienced this? His quality of life is good. He eats well, drinks well and is very active other then the fact that the poor guy falls over a lot.

Gus-

Found 3 months later, he was one of the 2 missing pigs that were not captured. He has mites induced seizures. He has now been treated with both revolution and ivermectin and it does not seem to rid of them. He is also on antibiotics and Metacam for pain. Where do we go from here????? We are estimating age wise approx.4-6 months but he looks about 3 months. Any advice with this one would be greatly appreciated!!

bpatters · Sep 22, 2014

Gus first. How many treatments of revolution and ivermectin was he given? What strength? What method of administration? Usually one dose of Revolution will take of most things, but sometimes more are necessary. And injected ivermectin is more effective than oral or pour-on. Has the vet tried a steroid for him to calm down the itching?

Doug. Why the Panacur? Do you suspect parasites of some sort? What strength/dosage of Baytril? Does he have any other neurological symptoms?

3GPigsplus1more · Sep 23, 2014

Gus- we do 3 treatments 2wks apart of teal revolution 0.25ml for pigs weighing over 800g. Revolution we started with then went on to Ivermectin.
Ivermectin 1000 micrograms/1ml, 0.2 ml given orally 1x/wk for 6 weeks. During this time I gave TMS 40/8 mg/ml. O.4mls 2x daily.
So no injectable given and only using Metacam, no steroid.

Doug, Being outside if not ear infection possibly parasites.
Baytril 1/2 tab daily of 15mg tabs.
No other neurological symptoms.
He has been on TMS and Tobrex for 4weeks to treat ear infection prior to Panacur and baytril

bpatters · Sep 23, 2014

Gus: I think I'd ask for a steroid for him. Maybe if you can get the itching calmed down, his immune system will do the rest. I'd also be tempted to ask for the ivermectin injection as one last gasp effort. This is assuming you've got a good vet who can make sure he's not getting too much ivermectin.

Doug: I don't know what else to suggest here. Some ear infections, even when promptly treated, will leave a residual head tilt. One possibility might be to ask for prescription ear drops -- if the problem is in the external ear then antibiotics wouldn't necessarily get to it.

3GPigsplus1more · Sep 23, 2014

bpatters said:
Gus: I think I'd ask for a steroid for him. Maybe if you can get the itching calmed down, his immune system will do the rest. I'd also be tempted to ask for the ivermectin injection as one last gasp effort. This is assuming you've got a good vet who can make sure he's not getting too much ivermectin.

Doug: I don't know what else to suggest here. Some ear infections, even when promptly treated, will leave a residual head tilt. One possibility might be to ask for prescription ear drops -- if the problem is in the external ear then antibiotics wouldn't necessarily get to it.

Gus- Ok, I will suggest the steroid, and continue Ivermectin with injections. I can trust our vet with dosages.

Doug- I have a guinea pig and a chinchilla with the residual head tilt. This is nothing like it! This poor guy is not able to stand on his feet. His whole body is wobbly. Though he seems to cope with it very well even falling over 99% of the time. He looks weak but he isn't, it is his balance. He is gaining weight well, eats and drinking well. It is just very odd that with all the treatments there is not the slightest result. If anything, it got worse when given the first course of treatment. It has hit a standstill for now.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge! We do not usually deal with many guinea pigs that have survived being outdoors for too long. Being in Canada many would not survive our erratic weather. This herd were survivors, but now they suffer with illnesses.

Off to the vet I go with Gus to discuss the recommendations you have given me!

Thanks again!

Soecara · Sep 23, 2014

Given the situation they came to you from I also suggest treating them for scurvy. At the very least supplementing vit C won't hurt and it might help boost their immune systems to fight off the infection/parasites.

bpatters · Sep 23, 2014

Good idea, Soecara.

3GPigsplus1more · Sep 23, 2014

Thanks! We have been treating them for scurvy since they arrived.
Keep the suggestions coming, it is easy to miss something.

3GPigsplus1more · Sep 28, 2014

Gus Update

The mites have done a number on him and it may be hard to reverse. There are no active mites but the damage is done. He is scratching so hard it is taking layers of skin off. He is now wearing a lovely red bandage sweater to keep him from scratching to the bone.

So Gus is now on Ivermectin shots, Dexamethasone shots, Diazepam daily, and TMS 2x daily and of course additional dosages of vit c SO difficult to give meds to a pig that seizures when you touch him!!!

foggycreekcavy · Sep 28, 2014

Poor Gus. You might try rubbing some coconut oil onto his skin to help stop the dryness of the healing skin and scabs.

Rywen · Sep 28, 2014

Oh no, poor Gus piggie. I hope he feels better! @RodentCuddles has experience with bad cases of mites.

3GPigsplus1more · Sep 29, 2014

foggycreekcavy said:
Poor Gus. You might try rubbing some coconut oil onto his skin to help stop the dryness of the healing skin and scabs.

I used a coconut and neem oil mix, and it is devastating to see him have a seizure as soon a a drop touched his skin.

bpatters · Sep 29, 2014

Try it without the neem and see if that's better.

Is he on any pain meds?

foggycreekcavy · Sep 29, 2014

I agree, leave out the neem oil. As for pain-there are some meds that can be used along with the steroids.

You are sure the mites are gone? What was used to treat them?

MildredandMoo · Sep 30, 2014

Just curious-I have read a few postings on here about pigs being rescued from being outside. Are people actually leaving guinea pigs out in their yard like dogs?

Also, I had a pig that was tipping once and it was a very bad, stubborn ear infection. It was bothering her so bad that she would kick it and she managed to kick her eye and need stitches at one point.

bpatters · Sep 30, 2014

Believe or not, people dump pigs outside all the time. We've had people rescue them from the side of the road, from parks, from parking lots, from under bushes in snowbanks in the middle of winter.

3GPigsplus1more · Oct 1, 2014

bpatters said:
Try it without the neem and see if that's better.

Is he on any pain meds?

Because he was given a shot of Dexy, we stopped Metacam.

3GPigsplus1more · Oct 1, 2014

foggycreekcavy said:
I agree, leave out the neem oil. As for pain-there are some meds that can be used along with the steroids.

You are sure the mites are gone? What was used to treat them?

I must say there has been quite the improvement with the combo of dexy and diazapam. I decided to now use aloe Vera on him and I must say Wow!!! This combination of treatment has given me hope. He is scratching but not as much. He is starting to behave more like normal gp. He began wheeking for food, coming out to greet me.

We started with a full course of revolution, then oral ivermectin and now ivermectin shots to treat mites.

3GPigsplus1more · Oct 1, 2014

MildredandMoo said:
Just curious-I have read a few postings on here about pigs being rescued from being outside. Are people actually leaving guinea pigs out in their yard like dogs?

Also, I had a pig that was tipping once and it was a very bad, stubborn ear infection. It was bothering her so bad that she would kick it and she managed to kick her eye and need stitches at one point.

This herd in particular, were dumped in someone's backyard. The family had a very hard time catching them.

We have found guinea pigs left in hamster balls in parks, my guy Chocolate was found wandering around outside a grocery store. A dog rescue foster was driving on a country road one day in broad daylight and the person driving in front of them had thrown out a box out of their car. Knowing better she went to check what was inside and sure enough two terrified pigs. They are lucky they survived. I can keep going with the stories but it gets rather depressing.

So what happened with the piggie with the ear infection? Did you finally rid of it or was the tilt permanent?

foggycreekcavy · Oct 1, 2014

That's great that you found a combination that works (diazepam is Valium, for those who were wondering). Sometimes diazepam isn't that great for pain, so there are some pain meds that work well with steroids. Not Metacam, since it's an NSAID (never use these with steroids since there's risk of liver or kidney problems), but I believe you can use Torb or Buprenex.

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