Scratching Could this be mites - how to treat?

[MamaCass]

I noticed yesterday Ollie seems to be itching, not a lot, and not all the time, but throughout the course of the day yesterday, I probably saw him itching himself 6-7 times. Today I noticed he is kind of twitching. It seems involuntary, and I have seen him do it a couple times. It is like a hop/bend. I walked over to his cage and he did it a couple times. I got excited as I thought he might be popcorning, but then mites crossed my mind. I had my husband check him out, and there is a thin spot of fur on his back, and when my husband separated the fur there was a very small scab there. I read the lynx page on mites, and saw the info on the medication - Where do I get it? How much do I give? I read the medication needs to be give 7-10 days apart, but how often? Do you think this is mites? My husband thinks I am paranoid.

 

[Ilovemypiggies1]

It could possibly be mites because you said he has a thin spot of fur on his back. We can't tell for sure because we can't see him in person but if you bring him to the vet, the vet can tell but not always since you cannot see mites with the naked eye. Skin scrapes are very painful for guinea pigs so i would not recommend getting that done. If you take your guinea pig to the vet and he suspects that Ollie has mites he will give you Ivermectin and tell you how much to give him, how often etc. As for the twitching, it could be that he is popcorning being they tend to hop and twitch when they're popcorning.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Sounds like he may have mites to me

Read http://www.guinealynx.info/mites.html and http://www.guinealynx.info/ivermectin.html

Won't hurt to treat him regardless.

 

[suzilovespiggie]

If you do a search thread on the ivermectin, there are mumerous threads. There are several that give step by step instuctions. I myself, have used these threads in the past. They are very helpful.
You can buy the ivermectin at a feed store or even WalMart for a very good price. At my local feed store it was 5.00 dollars. At WalMart it was 11.00 dollars. WalMart it is in the horse section.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Not all walmarts carry ivermec.

Don't get any of the sprays or shampoos. They won't help and may harm your pigs.

 

[MamaCass]

Can someone please attach a link to where I can buy ivermectin. Neither the Walmart or Petco/Petsmart near me sell it. I looked it up on line, and there are tons of different doseages/formulas and I don't know which is a reputable site to purchase from. Thanks.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

You won't find ivermectin at places like that. You either need to go to a feed /horse tack store or order it online. The ivermectin link I already posted has info http://www.guinealynx.info/ivermectin_products.html

 

[mariatito]

I just call my veterinarian and tell him about my two guinea which are scratching a lot during the day, so it seems to be mites.
He told me that Selamectin (Revolution) is much better than every medicine, even Ivermectin (he told me its a little bit toxic).
Treatment with Selamectin is very good, becouse you put the dose (only in guinea pigs after 2 months old) around their neck and their fat absorbes the medicine inside the body easily, and kills all the inside and outside interference. And once a month, as a prevention, it is ok for the animal to repeat the application.
Also, not to be wet the guinea 2 days before and two days after with the treatment with the Revolution.
He also told me, that sprays and shampoos in case of mites, it is not a good idea, becouse the mites propably is going to do a great PARTY on the skin of guinea (poor little thing)...

 

[Slave to the Wheek]

I just call my veterinarian and tell him about my two guinea which are scratching a lot during the day, so it seems to be mites.
He told me that Selamectin (Revolution) is much better than every medicine, even Ivermectin (he told me its a little bit toxic).
Treatment with Selamectin is very good, becouse you put the dose (only in guinea pigs after 2 months old) around their neck and their fat absorbes the medicine inside the body easily, and kills all the inside and outside interference. And once a month, as a prevention, it is ok for the animal to repeat the application.
Also, not to be wet the guinea 2 days before and two days after with the treatment with the Revolution.
He olso told me, that sprays and shampoos in case of mites, it is not a good idea, becouse the, mites propably is going to do a great PARTY on the skin of guinea (poor little thing)...

(First of all, be sure to take your time when making a post and checking the spelling. If there is a little red dotted line under your word, that is the 'spell-checker'. ...you should right click on it. When you do, you'll see suggestions for better spelling. It's so helpful for me.)

Your vet seems to be on the "cutting edge". Selamectin is technically approved for treating a certain mite that both dogs/cats and guinea pigs are prone to get and I've heard that some vets are experimenting with it for treating guinea pig mites.

In general though, most vets are still using Ivermectin. It can be given as a shot, topically on the neck, or given by mouth. Lice can be easily seen just by looking through the hair.

My vet uses Kitten Revolution (selemectin) for guinea pig Lice but he doesn't use it for Mites .

It's possible your vet may have thought you are your talking about Lice.
Either way, since both Revolution and Ivermectin must be prescribed by a vet maybe you can ask your vet to call in a prescription (let them know how many pigs you have, and precisely how much they weigh). Every pig in the house should be treated. It' would be much safer than trying to figure out the proper prescription strength yourself.

Whenever my pigs get mites, I just let my vet know, and he calls in the prescription at the vet clinic for me to pick up. He makes me set a follow-up appointment a month later to make sure the treatment worked. We've established a relationship now and he trusts that I know what I"m talking about. It saves me a fifty dollar vet visit. Especially since there is absolutely no way the vet can diagnose mites a hundred percent anyway, and the first protocol for treating itching guinea pigs is to treat for mites anyway..

 

[jenniwat001]

Treat for mites anyway, it wont hurt and will rule it out if the scratching continues!

On a slightly different note, in the UK most supermarkets and ALL petshops carry ready mixed ivermectin, with names like "mites be gone" or " one drop mite treatment" (mmmm catchy!) you get a couple of tubes in a pack, one tube for small pigs (upto 1 kg) and two tubes for over, job done. No measuring, mixing or dosing! Why they don'tdo it in the US I don't know! It's so easy and cheap! Anyway, sorry for the min rant. Hope your pig is ok.

 

[mariatito]

"Slave to the Wheek", thanks a lot for your advices. I am sorry for my English, its not so good, becouse I am from Greece and we seldom speak or write english, so my spelling is not so good, as you said. I will ask my brother which he knows a lot about computers, to find me a spelling-checker from the internet. Is that bad my english?
About my guinea, I told to my vet that I suspect mites, not lice. I also told him that I have only two female guinea pigs, no other pets.
I have an appointment with my veterinariar in about three weeks, so my guinea will be over two months to be safe for the dose of the medicine.
My pigs haven't loss any fur (I hope never), but they are scratchers lot of times during the day.
"Jenniwat001", thank you too, but here in Greece, Invermectin, is only in injection, no drops etc, that's why I prefer treatment with Revolution for my piggies. I will ask my vet anyway, if he can find "mites be gone" or " one drop mite treatment".

 

[Slave to the Wheek]

I've been curious about Revolution for mite treatment myself, be sure to keep us updated on the results. I did a lot of research online about Revolution and noticed that it was approved treatment for dog mites and always wondered why it hadn't been utilized for guinea pig mite treatment.

 

[mariatito]

"Slave to the Wheek", I will inform you for the resalts. My veterinarian told me that revolution is a very good medicine and safe in very small animals, like guinea pigs. He uses Revolution for dogs, small kittens, small rabits etc, first he takes the weight of the animal and then he gives the correct dose of the medicine.
This is what he is doing with all the medicine and treatments.

 

[jenniwat001]

Mariatito: Your English is far better than my Greek! Your doing very well! Let us know how the guinea pig does.

 

[mariatito]

I'm very glad to hear this! I'll inform you all for my guinea treatment!