Parasites Suspected Guinea Lice

Sorry your first experience with guinea pigs has been with parasites on a pig from a pet store. Unfortunately, that's not at all uncommon. If you ever decide to get another pig, post the name of the closest city to you and we'll help you find a rescue pig.

Lice are pretty species specific. You might find a louse on you from your pig, but it won't set up housekeeping.

See https://www.guinealynx.info/search_lice.html for lots of information on treating lice.

thankfully this isnt the first time i have owned a guinea pig, unfortunately it is the first time i have owned one with lice.

lice gives me the heebie jeebies lol.

i have beendoing some research and come up with Advantage as a good treatment for guinea pig lice. i would much rather use a non chemical treatment if there is one. are there things from home i can use to treat him?

ia called and informed the pets store of their fauxpas with my guinea pig and they are checking the ones they have now.

i got my piggy in March and noticed he itched himself a little, but the past two days are the first days he has been comfortable with us holding him and inspecting him carefully, and low and behold i discovered lice.

I believe only the older Advantage, which is no longer available in some areas, is recommended for guinea pigs. Advantage II has something in it that they can't have, but can't remember what it is at the moment and don't have time to look for it. But do a search on it before you give it to them -- there have definitely been some problems with II.

Plain ivermectin will also work, and the pour-on kind is the easiest to use, I think. You can get it from (broken link removed), along with the syringes you need for measuring.

i think i can still get the original advantage here in canada.

i read that neem oil works too?

the only reason i consider neem oil is that soon i will be living with a 6 year old and i would rather not use chemicals that can harm the child. also neem oil seems like it would make it easier to deal with the nits.

Ivermectin won't harm the kid -- it's used for humans as well. And it's absorbed through the skin of the guinea pig pretty quickly, so there shouldn't be any problem with the kid handling the pig. I have no idea whether neem oil would be effective or not.

I have successfully used neem oil, but it's certainly a lot more work than the ivermectin treatment. It is also very possible that your piggie has mites, which the neem will not treat. Ivermectin would knock out both.

I agree with @bpatters that ivermectin is generally safe, but I personally have had a severe reaction to an accidental few drops - very small amt, diluted - on my hands (I have some strange allergies, so I am the exception - still the experience certainly gave me pause). My last foster piggie was treated with it orally rather than topically, and I would probably go that route in the future if i needed to use it again, to avoid any potential accidental contact.

You have used some antibiotics which is so helpful in to get cure .

@Pankaj Tiwari Antibiotics do not treat mites or lice. If there is open wounds, one should get some but otherwise no.

If you use the injectable ivermectin you can dose it orally, as mentioned above.

i would not use neem oil, or any other oils (extra virgin coconut oil is the exception) on a guinea pig.

I have some Advantage 20 its for small breed dogs, I believe the 20 is just to indicate the size of the pet. It is just plain advantage and I am going to try that one on him in a small dose.

Here is dosing info on the Advantage, if you have not seen this already:
https://www.guinealynx.info/antiparasitics.html#advantage

I would really consider taking your piggy to a vet so he/she can check him over well. You know he has lice but what if he also has something else that a cavy savvy vet could spot. When I get any new pet, I go to the vet within 4 days of getting them. He should get a check up, especially since he is from a pet store. Good luck with your piggy. I've heard lice are hard to get rid of, hopefully that is not the case!

@alfonzpig, the old Advantage, with no numbers after it, is the only one that can safely be given to guinea pigs. Please do not use Advantage 20 on your pig. Ivermectin will work just fine and probably be less expensive. The pour-on kind is not only easier for newbies to use, but it's the only effective way to give ivermectin for lice. It can be gotten from (broken link removed), along with the syringes to measure it.