Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register
  • ONE THREAD per pig please!
    We really want your pig's history all in one place to help you. Please don't start a new thread for a new issue. Just reply to your old one. We can edit the title for you if needed.

Parasites Is this lice?

Cocoa'sClover

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Posts
71
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Messages
71
Hi everyone.

I was holding Cocoa about an hour ago and thought she was about to fall asleep when all of a sudden I saw a little yellow flat looking bug crawling over her eye. I removed it, and found what I think was another one, white this time, on her ear.

I was examining her coat and it seems like it's very, very, dry compared to even just yesterday and had a lot of white specs on it.

I called the pet store where I got her (I absolutely promise to adopt from now on) immediately because they will cover vet bills for the first 15 days, got the number for the covered vet, and scheduled the earliest appointment they had left which was 6:45 tomorrow evening.

I am so worried about her because not only has she been scratching more today, but she's not eating very much.

I'm so attached and I don't want her to suffer or die on me. :(

Stupid Petco!!!
 

akstrohm

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 23, 2008
Posts
2,470
Joined
May 23, 2008
Messages
2,470
Yes, she most likely does have lice (and possibly mites as well). The treatment for both is the same. Don't do a skin scraping--just treat her. Ivermectin, Revolution, and Advantage are all good treatments. It will be good to have a vet look over her anyway. And don't worry, she will not die of mites/lice by tomorrow.
 

Cocoa'sClover

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Posts
71
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Messages
71
Thank you! I've written the names of all three of those down on my papers to take with me tomorrow.

Sorry if I sounded a bit panicky. I'm a worry wart, especially where my pets are concerned. You're right though, having a checkup is going to be a good thing. I must think on the positive side of things!
 

Cocoa'sClover

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Posts
71
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Messages
71
Update:

I took Cocoa to the vet yesterday and they could not find any other lice on her. They looked her over from top to bottom and also flipped her over to look at her tummy also. The Dr. and his assistant made the comment that she was a really good girl about it all. She never squirmed, fussed, wheeked, growled, teeth mashed, or anything, just looked up at me the whole time like "what are you letting them do to me mum?"

They did give me a shampoo and said to use that just to be safe.

They also made the comment that her skin looked very, very healthy, and that from now on I should check the bedding I use to make sure nothing could possibly be in it. So I think I might just switch over to carefresh or else look into using fleece.


As a side note:

The vet bill cost $45 for the checkup and shampoo which I was required to pay on the spot. They made me a copy of my visit records and payment which my mom and I promptly took to Petco. Apparently the dumb lady I talked to the night before about taking Cocoa to the vet was supposed to call said vet and tell them to bill Petco for everything, not just give me the number to make an appointment. However, Petco gave us no problems and reimbursed me for the entire bill because she was still under their "warranty" (that word just makes me cringe).

While I'm still upset that I didn't know about adopting and bought her from them, in the end Petco lost $10 (Cocoa was $35)! Huzzah!
 

chellelee8

Active Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 27, 2009
Posts
30
Joined
Jun 27, 2009
Messages
30
Glad to hear that she is doing fine. I just treated my newest two babies for lice. Yuck. They are doing much better now.

I am happy the pet store didn't give you any trouble paying the vet bill.
 

akstrohm

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 23, 2008
Posts
2,470
Joined
May 23, 2008
Messages
2,470
What kind of shampoo did they give you? Generally shampoos are not recommended for treating lice in guinea pigs.

I'm glad the store paid the vet bill!
 

Cocoa'sClover

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Posts
71
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Messages
71
It's one for dogs and cats but he said that it would be safe to use on her as well, so long as I don't get it anywhere near her face/head.
 

Ly&Pigs

Cavy Champion, Previous Forum Moderator
Cavy Slave
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Posts
20,516
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Messages
20,516
I would not use that shampoo. Do you have the name of it?
 

Cocoa'sClover

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Posts
71
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Messages
71
This is what I copied down from off of the bottle:

Virbac Animal Health
Parasitology

Ecto-Soothe 3X


Emollient Oatmeal
Pesticidal Shampoo

For use on Dogs, Cat, Puppies, & Kittens
 

Ly&Pigs

Cavy Champion, Previous Forum Moderator
Cavy Slave
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Posts
20,516
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Messages
20,516
Pesticidal. Definately don't use this as it most likely contains pyrethrins which are dangerous to pigges.

Edit: Just looked it up and it does contain pyrethrins.
Active Ingredient(s)
Pyrethrins 0.15%
Piperonyl butoxide technical* 1.50%
N-octyl bicycloheptene dicarboximide 0.50%
 

Cocoa'sClover

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Posts
71
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Messages
71
Thanks for warning me! I had planned on giving her a bath with it tomorrow, so I'm glad I know!

At least one of my relatives has a dog. I can always give them the shampoo, or my aunt who has kitties.
 

akstrohm

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
May 23, 2008
Posts
2,470
Joined
May 23, 2008
Messages
2,470
I recommend finding a new vet ASAP that has more guinea pig experience. If you've noticed a lot of scratching and think you might see lice, treat her with ivermectin, revolution, or advantage. You can read up on how to find them and dose her yourself on Guinea Lynx. It won't hurt to treat if she doesn't have them.
 

princesspoppy

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Posts
762
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
762
Oh i know how you feel,i have had poppy and princess for 48 hours and today i was checking them over and i found a mite or lice ?tiny,tiny,microscpic yellow thingy.I quickly ran to the pet store(vet closes 4pm saturdays) and got a little tube of spot on.treatment lasts 4 weeks.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

Similar threads

failur3byh3art
Replies
0
Views
228
failur3byh3art
failur3byh3art
K
Replies
5
Views
526
Anawilliam850
A
D
Replies
10
Views
493
DisaVelet
D
E
Replies
9
Views
634
Anawilliam850
A
K
Replies
2
Views
318
Kids0519
K
Top