Parasites I think my 2 girls have lice!!

[piggyluver1722]

I have 2 female guinea pigs and Im pretty sure they both have lice. Ive noticet for awile what looked like human dandruff on ones little rossette, but never really started looking until now. Thats when I looked it up on GuineaLynx and looked where they said to. Then I discovered little moving white specs that were about 1mm long. So now I have a couple of questions. Can Cavy lice be human transmitted? Also what do I treat it with, and how do I do it?

Thank you so much!!

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

If you keep reading at GL , it says they are species specific https://www.guinealynx.info/lice.html and how to treat them - Advantage is the most widely used med. You can also do topical ivermectin or Revolution. These two treat mites too.

 

[wheeek]

My sister's pig had lice, so we put a small drop of ivermectin behind each ear. All the lice died and we haven't seen any live ones since. Cavy lice can't be transmitted to humans. Hope this helps!

 

[JD In Van]

If only it was so easy to get rid of human lice. It's gone around my kids day care 4 times in as many months!

 

[piggyluver1722]

What kind of advantage should i use? The dog or cat and small or large?

 

[princesspoppy]

I used spot on and cleared up the problem in 2-3 days. A few spots in different parts of the fur(behind the ears,on the rump,tummy and back) Then just to be on the safe side i had them treated for mites in the vets.

 

[lissie]

What kind of advantage should i use? The dog or cat and small or large?

Advantage comes in same concentration no matter what you use, the cat or the dog one. It's just pre-measured by the weight. It's for convenience for cat and dog owners. For dosage, you can refer to https://www.guinealynx.info/antiparasitics.html#advantage
Or use the https://www.guinealynx.info/dose_calculator.html

 

[Binzer]

Does anyone have advice for a stubborn infestation? I have a few boars I rescued and I feel awful that they are in the basement where they get less interaction but I am on my fourth dose of ivermectin now and they are still scratching up a storm. I took the cages to the car wash and blasted them with hot water and shampooed the carpets, I have been spraying with vinegar on the carpet daily (just in case they are living there). I bathed them both with the last cage change as well. I am at a loss! I feel just awful knowing that they dont feel well. Im ready to try advantage but I am reluctant because the vet I work at (I am a groomer not a vet tech so I am clueless here and they are an avian/conventional pet vet so I dont take them there) does not prescribe advantage because he feels it isnt safe and there have been purity and dosage problems that have harmed pets ( Disclaimer I have not heard this). Any advice on where to go from here? The cavy vet said the ivermectin should have worked by now... do I do a skin scraping (it sounds so painful) Any advice would be helpful.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

A skin scrape is not going to help or do anything.

Are you treating them for lice or mites?

You may need a few more ivermectin treatments for eggs to completely die off but 4 usually does it. How are you administering it? What is their weight and the dose you are doing?

Advantage is safe. Your vet may be confusing it with Frontline which is not safe.

Advantage only treats lice - not mites. You should be able to buy it over the counter at most pet stores, if you are trying to treat lice.

 

[JD In Van]

Get your vet to do a skin scraping. There are other parasites that piggies can get besides lice and mites. They could have a fungal infection or ring worms.

 

[BabyBellie]

If only it was so easy to get rid of human lice. It's gone around my kids day care 4 times in as many months!

Just add a couple drops of Tea Tree oil into their shampoo. It can be used to treat lice but it also keeps them away. It works wonders. Once we started using it when I was a kid I never got lice again.

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Get your vet to do a skin scraping. There are other parasites that piggies can get besides lice and mites. They could have a fungal infection or ring worms.

You should never let the vet do skin scrapings. They are very painful for the pigs and often come up with false results.

 

[JD In Van]

You should never let the vet do skin scrapings. They are very painful for the pigs and often come up with false results.

OH thank you for the information. My cavy vet said they could do something with swabs to take samples of skin cells if needed for my boys isn't that the same thing?

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Just add a couple drops of Tea Tree oil into their shampoo. It can be used to treat lice but it also keeps them away. It works wonders. Once we started using it when I was a kid I never got lice again.

Tea tree oil is harmful. If you google it, it has known toxicity issues in dogs when used. It can cause kidney issues if asborbed in guinea pigs. It should not be used.

It may kill lice but also your pig.

 

[teyah]

Tea tree oil is harmful. If you google it, it has known toxicity issues in dogs when used. It can cause kidney issues if asborbed in guinea pigs. It should not be used.

It may kill lice but also your pig.

I think BabyBellie was actually suggesting using Tea Tree Oil for treating human lice regarding JD's comment on human lice. I also recommend Tea Tree Oil - we use it a lot here in Australia (for humans) for many different purposes.

 

[BabyBellie]

Yes I did mean for the humans. Sorry about any confusion there.

 

[BabyBellie]

I have just found lice on one of my girls and am heading out to get advantage to treat all the pigs. I'm a little confused with the dosage but am going to try to figure it out and speak to my vet. However, do I have to repeat the treatment later on like you would with a dog or cat? I've never had pigs with lice before so this is all new to me.