5 ticks!

[Laura M.]

I just noticed that one of my guinea pigs had a tick on his nose. Then I saw that another guinea pig had a tick on his nose. Then I realised that the first guinea pig had three more ticks in the mouth area! We have ordered a tick-twister, but it will arrive on WEDNESDAY. We do not feel comfortable twisting the ticks with tweezers, because we do not want to loose the grip and have the tick burrow in further. We can't remove them until Wednesday, unless there are other ways which we do not know about. Any suggestions? Also, would it be OK to leave the ticks until Wednesday? Can guinea pigs catch lymes disease?
Advice would be greatly appreciated. I have only owned my guinea pigs for just over a year, so this has never happened to me before.
P.S. We know for sure that these ARE ticks, not just something else. I can post pictures on request.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I would get in touch with the vet now, and ask for them to remove them today. I really don’t think that it is something that can wait for so long.

 

[Claire W]

I agree about having the ticks removed sooner rather than later. A vet should be able to do this for you

 

[Laura M.]

Are you sure that is 100 percent necessary, because my local vet is super expensive under normal conditions, and I am not even sure if they will think that tick-removal is classed as an emergency anyway.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes it’s necessary. They are blood sucking parasites capable of causing infection, so I really wouldn’t leave them

 

[Claire W]

 

[Bill & Ted]

I’ve seen tI know removers in Pet@Home!

 

[Swissgreys]

You can get a tick remover at pretty much any pet store.
Also many chemists and pharmacies sell them so maybe try there.
You could also have a word with friends who have dogs or cats and may have one laying around you can borrow.

But they do need to be removed asap.

 

[eileen]

you have to be careful removing them,as if not removed fully you can leave the head parts.you do need to remove ticks as soon as possible.just that guinea pigs are not large and ticks can suck a fair amount of blood.also can cause infection,carry disease.you could go to a normal vets.ticks live in long grass,so be careful where you place your guinea pigs run.I'm sorry you have to deal with this.it is quite unusual for guinea pigs to get ticks.please update the forum how you get on.

 

[Laura M.]

well, turns out they fell off before we could take them anywhere, so... that's kinda good.
thanks for the advice, I know what to do next time