Vet Need Advice on Meds

I'm assuming this was NOT an exotic vet?

The AllerG-3 is a fish oil supplement which might help if his skin and coat are dry.

Do NOT use the lime sulfur dip. Guinea pigs groom themselves, and dips are not recommended. The instructions say for the handler to avoid contact with skin and eyes. What happens to the poor animal, I wonder.

The Puralube Ophth Ointment is an ophthalmic ointment for dry eyes. Can't see how that's going to help your pig's itching.

What treatment did you give a week ago? Brand, strength, and dosage, please. Parasite treatments usually have to be repeated every 7-10 days for at least three repetitions, sometimes more. And it's possible for the itching to get worse before it gets better. But usually that happens in the first day or so, and after a week, things are calming down.

Unless you see bugs moving on him, or you see lice nits stuck to his hair, I'd put my money on mites. They're invisible, burrow into the skin, and drive pigs nuts. Do NOT bathe him until you know whether or not that's the problem, because the water aggravates the mites and makes things worse.

Let me know what you used before, and then I'll give you some more information on possible treatments.

@bpatters I used Beaphar Anti-Parasite Spot On for rabbits, guineas, ferrets and rats. I treated him twice already (once a month ago and again last week).

I was surprised too that he gave me a dip and plan to return it to him, so the Omega-3 is alright to give Rox? The vet office says he is an Exotic vet, since they treat Dogs, Cats, Bunnies, Rodents and Birds there.

The "dandruff" as tiny and almost rice shaped so maybe it is dead lice?

Beaphar isn't strong enough to kill lice and mites, as far as I know. You could get either pour-on or injectable ivermectin in a stronger concentration, which should work better. If you decide to do that, post back and I'll point you to some other medications.

Rice-shaped "dandruff" is probably lice nits, but if that's the case, you should be able to see the live lice if you examine him very closely. Revolution will take care of it, but in this country you need a vet's prescription for that.

I don't think that the Omega-3 will probably hurt him, but don't know for sure. It almost certainly won't help, so I'd return that too if you haven't opened it.

And do look for another vet. There are several guinea pig rescues in Southern California that you could google, then call and ask which vet they use. There are many, many, many small animal (which means dog and cat, not exotic pets) vets who say they can treat exotics, but can't. They get little to no education in vet school for exotic care, many of the vet textbooks on exotic care are out of date, and unless they undergo an exotic residency or spend time educating themselves about exotic care, they really shouldn't be touching an exotic pet. If it were me, the only reason I'd return to the vet you went to is to get my money back for those products.

@bpatters Thank you so much for all this information, I just returned everything to the Vet and informed them I will be looking elsewhere for treatment. I feel silly for ignoring a 1star review they had on yelp with a rabbit owner posted. I'm giving Rox some time to relax now since he was very upset about the whole trip. So glad I didn't let the vet-tech give him the dip there themselves (which is what the Vet wanted me to let them do). Later today or tomorrow I will give Rox a better look over for any visible Lice.

I have already ordered a Neem shampoo and melt from Gorgeous Guineas but I will hold off on using it. What other Meds would you recommend for Lice/Mites?

@spy9doc I returned everything and I'm so glad I asked on here before even using the products; but I will look into flax-seed oil if Rox ever gets dry skin. c:
Plus I agree, never taking him back there again.

Here's the GL link on lice: https://www.guinealynx.info/lice.html.

If you can find the original Advantage (not Advantage II), it will work just fine. But it's off the market, and it's hard to come by. Another option is Revolution, which will require a vet visit since you're in the US. Here's the GL link: https://www.guinealynx.info/antiparasitics.html#selamectin.

You can use ivermectin. Either of the two here would be easy to use. The first is manufactured by Durvet, and the second by KV Vet. The Durvet is probably cheaper.

@bpatters

I'm going ahead and getting him some Ivermectin (horse paste) since I can get a tube for less then $3 with $7 shipping and the tube is good for 1250lbs of animal. plus it's apple flavored. Going to need to do some math for the dosage. Since Rox is only 2lbs and 12ozs I will need to measure this out with the Guinea Lynx recommendations.

OK. But it is the hardest to use. When you get it, post a picture of the label and your calculations, and someone will check your math.

bpatters said:

OK. But it is the hardest to use. When you get it, post a picture of the label and your calculations, and someone will check your math.

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Will do for sure, I'm going to order it tonight and it should be here within 2 weeks. ^-^

@bpatters

And it came in, so fast! Posting a photo soon, but here is the chart I was given by the Guinea Lynx page.


MrRox is 2lbs and 12ozs, which makes him 2.75lbs which is 1247.36 grams.
Going to dilute the paste using the directions the Lynx page gives me. c:


The page I'm using - - -> https://www.guinealynx.info/ivermectin_oral.html

For a 1200 gram guinea pig: 0.24 cc Diluted Ivermectin

For a 1300 gram guinea pig: 0.26 cc Diluted Ivermectin

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Should I use 0.25cc for him?

Sure. You can't measure the difference between .24 cc and .26 cc anyway.

Dilute with water -- don't worry about the propylene glycol.

bpatters said:

Sure. You can't measure the difference between .24 cc and .26 cc anyway.

Dilute with water -- don't worry about the propylene glycol.

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Wow, that was easier to give then I thought, I just gave him some lettuce before and after and he didn't make a fuse. Good thing it was apple flavored. Haha!

Can I keep the 'diluted' mixture in the fridge til next week for his 2ed dose or would I need to remake a whole new batch?

I think you need to make a new batch. It doesn't keep well after mixing.

bpatters said:

I think you need to make a new batch. It doesn't keep well after mixing.

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Alrighty, thank you so much for the help. I'm currently waiting on my Gorgeous Guineas products I ordered and I hope they are here within the week. After his 2ed dose I plan to give him bath using their Neem Melt and Shampoo as well as clean his grease glad; then start using the new fleece I need to sew for his cage bedding. c:

Such a spoiled piggie.