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Parasites ringworm or mites?

CavyTV

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The pigs seem to be getting health problem after health problem lately. First it was Flynn's limping, which, thankfully, has gone away. Then, it was the bloody pee, which I recently found out that it was actually Bramley not Flynn but that too seems to have gone away; Flynn's genital infection which I was going to buy special cream for has seemed to be cured as all the white spots that were on his penis have disappeared and it looks like a perfectly normal penis now. After finding out that Flynn's infection went away (for now maybe), I was relieved. However, that feeling didn't last long when I decided to do a short health check for the boys today and I found this:


Flynn:

IMG_4123.jpgIMG_4133.jpgIMG_4137.jpgIMG_4145.jpg

Bramley:

IMG_4148.jpg


I doubt these are mites...they look like white little worms. Some are yellow. Flynn has more behind his left and right ears; I saw maybe 2 or 3 in the fur on the rest of his body. Bramley only seems to have a few behind his right ear and none that I can spot on the rest of his body. Could this be ringworm? How can I cure this? I'm sure my luck with them sort of "curing themselves" will run out. This one will not go away by itself, I'm sure. If it's not mites, would a possible warm bath with GP soap help wash these things out, or will it hurt the pigs? Is it safe to handle them/can these things pass onto me? I made sure to wash my hands thoroughly after.

There is no visible dandruff/flakes on either pig. They have been scratching themselves quite often lately, and I didn't really think much of it because I didn't see any flakes on their fur or any cuts from scratching too much. There are no bald patches or red spots.

I have read that guinea pigs can get parasites from fresh food/forage. I did give them stickyweed and yarrow recently from outside. I made sure to wash everything before giving it to them like always.

Thanks for any replies.
 

CavyTV

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Some of the worms are moving. The boys don't seem to be in pain when I touch them.
 

elmarks20

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I don't know much about this so definitely do not only go by what I am saying, but I do know that ringworm is not an actual worm. It is a fungal infection. My guinea pigs just got diagnosed with ringworm and it looks VERY different from this. My guess would be that it isn't ringworm. Unless it is the beginning stages... but ringworm is usually accompanied by hair loss, patchy/crusty/flaky areas, and red scabs. To me this looks like dandruff/flaky skin.
Goodluck!
 

elmarks20

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edit - if it isn't dandruff and they are moving specs then it is definitely a parasite (I would guess). But not ringworm since ringworm is a fungal infection.
 

CavyTV

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Lice? Yikes! Don't they spread everywhere? Will I have to clean the entire room, the pigs, and myself? I looked up lice on guinea pigs and it does look similar to what Flynn and Bramley have. Any idea where they could have gotten it from? If I run water behind their ears, do you think it would take off the lice? From what I could tell, they haven't had these things on them for long. There are not that many. Is Ivermectin the only way to treat it?
 

CavyTV

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I have been doing a bit of research (the parasites on them is all I can think about) and I have read that owners have treated lice with Advantage, Revolution, and Ivermectin. I'm not sure which one gets rid of the lice the fastest. I've heard Advantage is no longer safe for some reason so I'm at a loss on which way to go. The doses are confusing to me.
 

bpatters

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Any of them will work, but it has to be the regular Advantage, not Advantage II. You can get kitten Revolution from a vet if you're not comfortable with the dosing.
 

CavyTV

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Would an Advantage Spray work?

(broken link removed)

I also found regular Advantage:
(broken link removed)

Are these products any good?
 

Soecara

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The spray is a no, some of the ingredients are harmful inhaled or ingested by guinea pigs. There is no way to stop a guinea pig from inhaling or ingesting the spray.

I'm surprised you could find a place still claiming to sell the original Advantage, as Bayer discontinued production of it back in 2012. The new product Advantage II has a changed recipe and includes ingredients that may not be safe for guinea pigs (ie. Pyriproxyfen).

If seeing a vet for Revolution is not an option I would recommend you just go with Ivermectin. This kind is the easiest to dose
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Durvet-Ivermectin-Pour-On-250-ML-For-Cattle-/370908402672 as it contains 5mg of ivermectin per mL of solution. Here is the correct dosage chart for this strenght of ivermectin https://www.guinealynx.info/topical_ivermectin_pour-on.html Do be aware as this is one of the weakest concentrations you do have a good margin for error so you don't have to be super accurate when dosing. Some people don't measure this concentration at all and just simply apply between 1 and 4 drops depending on the size of their guinea pig.
 

CavyTV

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So are you saying the second link I gave is probably fake, or it can't be trusted? I have found many Bayer Regular Advantages and the one I linked is the cheapest. The only reason I started looking for Advantage was because I read on GuineaLynx that it did a better job than Ivermectin with lice/other parasites. But if Ivermectin is easier then I guess I'll just go with it.
 

bpatters

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It may be fake, because Bayer did stop making the regular Advantage several years ago. For a while, we could get it from overseas pharmacies, but it's been long enough by now the supply should be exhausted.
 

CavyTV

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@Soecara, do you know if either of those products you linked come with a 1 cc syringe? It looks like I might have to buy my own but I want to make sure. I already have one but it's a mL syringe. I'm not too sure if it will work.

IMG_4179.jpg
 

bpatters

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Go to any pharmacy and tell them you need a 1 cc needleless syringe to dose a sick guinea pig. They'll probably give it to you.
 

CavyTV

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Okay, well I'll be ordering the Ivermectin tonight hopefully. We will be going on a trip for 5ish days and we will be leaving today. Obviously the Ivermectin won't arrive on time. When we get back from the trip (Wednesday) will probably be when I'll be able to start the first dose. I have been checking the boys' fur everyday and the parasites don't seem to be multiplying that quickly, although they do seem to be "traveling". Hopefully, it won't get worse within 5 more days...? Also, they don't seem to be lice as these guys have no legs.
 

CavyTV

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Nevermind, we are no longer going.

I went to a pharmacy and this is the only kind of syringe they had:
IMG_4205.jpg
 

CavyTV

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I got a 1mL syringe and the Ivermectin from ebay. I weighed both boys today.

Flyn is 898g and Bramley is 717g. I am a bit worried because the last time I weighed them they were much heavier.

(I am not sure exactly how old they are. I know Flyn is AT LEAST a year old because I've had him for a little over a year. I've only had Bramley for a few months but his previous owner claimed that he was around 2, which is hard to believe. Bramley feels light and fragile, so I can kind of understand how he's in the 700s...but I don't know if it's healthy. Flyn, on the other hand, feels very heavy at least to me. Also, he LOVES food. He will literally attack me for food :) Could it be possible that the scale I used is wrong? I made sure and checked that it was weighing in grams several times.)

I had a different scale (not digital, it was an old-fashioned kitchen scale) before, however, so perhaps I misread the numbers. I actually had to return that scale back because we were running very low on hay and I did not have any extra cash to buy more. So, I returned that scale and hoped that I would eventually be able to buy it again. I bought another one, this time digital. It is a Taylor kitchen scale.


I weighed them about 2 months ago. Flyn weighed about 1100g and Bramley weighed 900g.
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/115643-Should-I-use-this-kitchen-scale?highlight=
I am not sure if I was still feeding pellets at that time...I no longer believe in feeding pellets so maybe this is what caused them to lose weight. I was very alarmed when I weighed them today since I know losing that much weight can't be good. Neither of them show any signs other signs of illness other than the scratching. They both are eating fine. If I were to give them a few oats, would that help them gain weight healthily?

So, according to the dosage chart Flyn should get 0.09mL (or maybe I should just do 0.08 to be extra safe...? He is 898 though so maybe 0.09 would make more sense) and Bramley should get 0.07mL, correct? Also, I inspected their fur today and the parasites or whatever they are do not seem to be multiplying that quickly. They don't seem to be moving either. It's odd...I would expect Bramley to have more on him by now because of Flyn, but I only saw 2 tiny ones, more like white dots than white worms. Flyn's seem to be moving around every time I check him. There used to be a lot behind his ears, and now he has less in that spot and more in front of his ears/at his temples. I'm starting to think it's dandruff...

If the pigs turn out to not have any parasites, would the Ivermectin hurt them? Can I give it to them even if they don't have any parasites? The Ivermectin I bought says it only kills specific species of parasites, so what will it do if the pigs have something else other than what's listed? I am not sure if I need to give it to them or not...maybe Flyn but Bramley I don't know.
 
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Soecara

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Flyn should get 0.09mL and Bramley should get 0.07mL.

Yes treat with the ivermectin, I have no doubt that you are dealing with lice, but even if they didn't have the lice the ivermectin definitely won't hurt them in any way as long as you don't massively overdose them. You should also definitely treat both, because even if only one or two remain on Bramley after you finish treating Flyn they could jump ship back to Flyn and you will be right back to square one again.

When they say on the bottle of ivermectin that it only treats certain kinds of parasites they are referring to certain types of internal parasites that aren't affected by it (such as certain types of intestinal worms that farm animals can get). There are no external parasites with ivermectin immunity, and given the outside of the bottle only has a certain amount of space to print on they would only list parasites common to the animals the product is aimed at (ie. cows, pigs, etc.) not guinea pigs. Ivermectin does treat and kill fur mites and lice in guinea pigs, even veterinary texts list it as a preferred treatment option.

No it isn't odd that Bramley doesn't have more by now, some animals immune systems do a better job at keeping parasites under control then others. Guinea pigs don't get dandruff unless something is wrong with the skin. One kind of lice guinea pigs can get is also called Walking Dandruff, because it looks like small bits of dandruff that crawl around in the fur.

I would consider Bramleys weight somewhat concerning if he isn't a very short guinea pig, if you feel him do his ribs, spine and hips feel very prominent? If so he is underweight, if not and he has a decent amount of fat padding between the skin and the bones then he is just a small guinea pig.
 
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CavyTV

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No, his ribs and spines do not feel very prominent. His hips, however, seem to be protruding quite a bit and they are not difficult to find/feel at all. He is quite small compared to Flyn.
 
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