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Mites from hay?

jerbear

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I bought some hay from Ebay for a great price. Is there a possibility that the pigs got mites from the hay? Has anyone else used this hay? Should I throw it out to be on the safe side?
 
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Ly&Pigs

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There are hay mites but most of the mites that pigs get lay dormant in a guinea pig and come out in times of stress or illness.

I would keep the hay but treat your guinea pig for the mites with ivermectin. You will need to dose 3 times about 7 days apart. For instructions on how to dose yourself please see- Guinea Lynx :: Mange Mites and Guinea Lynx :: Ivermectin.
 

jerbear

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Thank you for the information. I had run across that today and do plan to call my vet tomorrow. Are all vets cavy savvy? Sure hope mine is.
 

fourbwabbys

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You need to ask the vet if he treats exotics, then double check he knows what hes doing with guinea pigs. Not all dog/cat vets treat exotics.
 

jerbear

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(broken link removed)

Is this stuff garbage?
 

fourbwabbys

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Complete garbage. First of all it's a spray, which you can not dose correctly and runs the risk of the pigs inhaling some of it. You need to treat them with Ivermectin.
 

jerbear

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Any idea how much this costs?
 

fourbwabbys

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You can buy it online, have the vet do it, or buy it at a farm store. Mine costed $13, which was a discounted price from my aunt's vet office where she works. That treated 5 pigs, with some left over.
 

jerbear

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Don't you need a prescription for it?
 

fourbwabbys

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Nope. You can get it yourself.
 
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Ly&Pigs

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My guinea pig gots mites from its hay.
How do you know the mites came from the hay? And to be honest, I don't trust vets who would put some gel on a guinea pig to treat mites.
 

muffin

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This thread is what I wanted to ask about. I had noticed more shedding than normal on the lower back of one of my piggies, above her grease gland, with quite heavy dandruff. I took them both to the vet and he combed some of the dandruff out and looked at it under the microscope. he said it was eggs of Cheyletiella parasitivorax
--- also known as "Walking Dandruff" see Guinea Lynx :: Fur Mites. Anyway, he gave ivomec by injection, (he wouldn't do it any other way, but he's very knowledgable so I trust his opinion) to be repeated 2 weeks later, with the cage being disinfected in 7 days' time. He reckoned that they came in on the new batch of hay that we just started, which I am so pissed about since it's a 50lb box of Oxbow timothy. I can't risk assuming it was the last of the old box that was to blame, sine if I keep using the new stuff, even discarding the top few inches, there's the risk of further problems. At the same time the new bag I bought might also have mites, just through bad luck. It's impossible to be sure what caused the problem, but the new hay, which they've had for a few days seems probable. He also gave me shampoo to lift the dandruff off the skin, 50.00 x Seleen, which is applied to dampened fur on their back, left for 5-10mins and then rinsed off.

GL recommends ivermectin for these kind of mites and mange mites, so I wouldn't necessarily assume that the gel your vet used cured the problem. Do you know what the gel was?
 

VoodooJoint

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Ivermectin can be bought OTC at most feed and grain stores/farm supply stores. It usually costs about $40 for a bottle (enough to treat about 1000 GPs). You need to get the 1% injectable cattle and swine kind.

You will also need to get 1cc/ml syringes. If you know someone who is diabetic get a needle or two from them. The needles they usualy sell OTC in feed stores are 3ml and a bit too big to dose accurately.

Once you have the supplies treating them is easy if you use the GL guidelines.
 

muffin

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I wouldn't feel happy injecting them, I wouldn't know how or where to do it properly. I'll let my vet do it to be safe and prevent unnecessary pain or suffering to my piggies.
 

VoodooJoint

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You don't inject them. The injectable is applied topically. You just need the syringe to dose the ivec. I take the needle off once I draw out the correct dose, and apply it to the natural bald spots behind the ears.
 

muffin

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Oh, ok. That makes more sense.
 
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