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Parasites Running Lice treatment question

bunky8384

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Hi everyone! We just adopted our first cavy from a friend a week ago yesterday. We've mostly been leaving him to his own devices to settle in, but have been handling him more the last couple days. Well tonight I noticed something creamy white in what I assumed was a cowlic on his head. I looked closer and saw several in the small spot and noticed they were moving. Well a ton of Google time brought me to the conclusion we have running lice.

He seems to be eating well, he was being fed mostly hay and pellets with occasional veggies but we are slowly changing him to a more varied diet. I've been feeding him about a 1/4 of red romaine lettuce and some freshly picked grass so far in addition to his hay and pellets. He's drinking fine, though I'm not sure if it's a lot or not. He hides in his hut a lot and seems to sleep a lot of the day away. He doesn't really like to be held and I almost never hear him making happy piggie noises.

I know from all my searches that the general census is to treat with Advantage for lice, but I'm getting some conflicting info that Ivernmectin topically does and does not work for lice. Thanks to my Google binge I'm now also super concerned about mites for no real reason and I know Ivernmectin treats mites. So if given topically, should I just treat with Ivernmectin to "kill two birds with one stone" or treat what I know for sure we have going with Advantage? Oreo shows no real signs of mites (no hair loss that I can detect, no excessive itching, no scabs or bumps that I've found on his skin)

I'm working on finding an exotic vet in my area but would like to get his lice treatment started this weekend.
 

Soecara

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How old are the sources advising the use of Advantage? The original Advantage that contained only Imidacloprid was safe to use on guinea pigs, but newer formulations have extra ingredients which may not be safe (ie. Pyriproxyfen). If you can get your hands on the original formulation it is still safe to use but seeing as production of the original formulation was phased out in 2012, as it was replaced with Advantage II, you may have a hard time finding it.

The best safe treatments on the market now for both lice and mites are Ivermectin and Revolution/Stronghold. Revolution/Stronghold requires only one treatment for most infestations as it lasts 4 weeks after application, the downside is it needs to be prescribed by a vet in most countries (an exception being Australia where it is available OTC). https://www.guinealynx.info/antiparasitics.html#selamectin

Ivermectin is available OTC in all countries that I know of, treatment needs to be repeated once a week for at least three weeks. You do have to be cautious about what concentration you get as some may even require dilution, the 5mg/mL is the concentration that is the easiest to dose and no dilution is necessary. I have successfully cleared a case of running lice in a trio of girls using Ivermectin topically. Dosage for the 5mg/mL concentration is 0.1mL per 1kg of body weight, you don't have to be super precise with this concentration as it gives you a good margin for error. It is best to apply the dosage behind the ear on their natural bald patch.
 

bunky8384

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How old are the sources advising the use of Advantage? The original Advantage that contained only Imidacloprid was safe to use on guinea pigs, but newer formulations have extra ingredients which may not be safe (ie. Pyriproxyfen). If you can get your hands on the original formulation it is still safe to use but seeing as production of the original formulation was phased out in 2012, as it was replaced with Advantage II, you may have a hard time finding it.

The best safe treatments on the market now for both lice and mites are Ivermectin and Revolution/Stronghold. Revolution/Stronghold requires only one treatment for most infestations as it lasts 4 weeks after application, the downside is it needs to be prescribed by a vet in most countries (an exception being Australia where it is available OTC). https://www.guinealynx.info/antiparasitics.html#selamectin

Ivermectin is available OTC in all countries that I know of, treatment needs to be repeated once a week for at least three weeks. You do have to be cautious about what concentration you get as some may even require dilution, the 5mg/mL is the concentration that is the easiest to dose and no dilution is necessary. I have successfully cleared a case of running lice in a trio of girls using Ivermectin topically. Dosage for the 5mg/mL concentration is 0.1mL per 1kg of body weight, you don't have to be super precise with this concentration as it gives you a good margin for error. It is best to apply the dosage behind the ear on their natural bald patch.

Im unsure on how old the sources for the Advantage treatment were, but decided to go the topical Ivernmectin route anyway. I just purchased some cattle Ivermectin pour on that is 5mg/ml. I will be treating Oreo shortly and following that with a complete clean and disinfect of his cage. We use fleece bedding, am I ok to wash on sanitary cycle with some vinegar and resuse the fleece or should I throw it out?
 

Soecara

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I personally washed my fleece with the hottest setting on my machine, a splash of bleach and my normal detergent. Perhaps simple vinegar, detergent and hot water would work just as well in removing/killing any eggs on the fleece but I personally have no experience with that route as I fortunately have only ever had the one lice issue.
 

bpatters

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Washing with hot water, detergent, and bleach, then drying things in the dryer, will take care of most any kind of bug.
 
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