Mites Best way to treat mites/lice?

[kikirox88]

Hi! I was wondering if anyone could tell me the best way to treat mites/lice for guinea pigs?? I am located in Australia so would need the product to be available to me. I have heard of Fido's rinse but not sure if this is the best?? Thank you

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[Soecara]

Bathing a guinea pig with mites is a very bad idea, the bathing agitates the mites and causes them to burrow further into the skin. This can cause intense itching and even seizures, so if there is a chance your guinea pig has mites a shampoo treatment or bathing in general is a very bad idea. Most sprays are also a bad idea as they require you to put an awful lot on the animal and contain ingredients that are not safe for guinea pigs when injested which is almost guaranteed to happen when they groom themselves.

Here in Australia both Revolution and Ivermectin are available for purchase at most pet stores and feed stores, and these are well regarded as the best options for treating both lice and mites. Ivermectin cannot be used on young guinea pigs weighing less than 350 grams, however Revolution can be used on guinea pigs of all ages.

If you wish to purchase a small bottle of ivermectin look for Vetafarm Avimec ( https://www.petbarn.com.au/vetafarm-...al-liquid-50ml ), it is a product marketed to treating budgies for scaly face mites but is just a 0.1% ivermectin solution so it is perfectly safe to use on a guinea pig when dosed correctly. The correct dosage for guinea pigs is 0.5mg of ivermectin per 1kg of body weight, and the Vetafarm Avimec contains 1mg/mL, so the correct dosage is 0.5mL of Avimec per 1kg of body weight. You don't need to be super accurate with dosage as this is a very weak concentration so you have a good margin for error.

As with all other ivermectin products treatment needs to be applied once a week for three to four weeks. To apply simply put the required amount of solution on the bald patch behind the ears.

Alternatively you could purchase puppy/kitten strength revolution (for animals up to 2.5kg in the pink packet). For this you only need to apply one dose (which is 1 tube per guinea pig, so the three pack of Revolution contains enough for three separate treatments), this can be put either behind the ears or on the back of the neck between the ears. This one treatment will continue to be effective for 4 weeks so just the one treatment is sufficient to eliminate all life cycles of the parasites.

Do remember whatever treatment you chose you do need to apply it to all of your guinea pigs, as even guinea pigs who are not displaying symptoms may have the parasites on them so you must treat them all to prevent it simply spreading again.