Beaphar Ivermectin Spot On - Is It Good?

[Dilly's Piggies]

I've noticed my guinea pigs scratching a lot recently, for an unknown reason, no redness or hair loss, just scratching. Instead of taking them to the vet every month for Ivermectin spot on prevention, can I just buy my own from the pet store? I'm looking at Beaphar brand at the moment, but I want to know if it is actually worth it, at £2.50 per pipette (I have 8 guinea pigs), is this product just as good as what the vet will give?

If it's worth it, I will buy it every month for my pigs, I just want to be sure, thanks.

 

[Guinea pig slave]

Not worth the risk - you need to see a vet who can distinguish if they are static or running mites/lice.
Ivermectin is used for static mites (invisible to the naked eye) as they burrow under the skin causing immense irritation and if not treated, fatality
Running lice can be seen and a good shampoo specifically designed will help.
Never diagnose or treat a piggy yourself.
This is worth a look :
Gorgeous Guineas Photo gallery
Chrissy does amazing products and is excellent with skin issues.
One of my boys recovered with the use of Neem following a terrible bout of stress mites following the loss of his brother
Always consult your vet though in cases like this as the problem will not go away without the correct diagnosis.
Paws crossed and keep us updated.

 

[lawz]

the xeno spot ons are very good, quite expensive but you can't put a price on health and happiness of piggies.
ide say the beaphar is typically more prevention as apposed to treatment

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

Not worth the risk - you need to see a vet who can distinguish if they are static or running mites/lice.
Ivermectin is used for static mites (invisible to the naked eye) as they burrow under the skin causing immense irritation and if not treated, fatality
Running lice can be seen and a good shampoo specifically designed will help.
Never diagnose or treat a piggy yourself.
This is worth a look :
Gorgeous Guineas Photo gallery
Chrissy does amazing products and is excellent with skin issues.
One of my boys recovered with the use of Neem following a terrible bout of stress mites following the loss of his brother
Always consult your vet though in cases like this as the problem will not go away without the correct diagnosis.
Paws crossed and keep us updated.

My guinea pigs have none of those, no hair loss, no scabs, nothing visible in the fur, they just scratch, so I don't even know if it is a parasite causing the scratching, I just wanted to use ivermectin as a prevention. I honestly have no idea what is wrong with them, there isn't even a flake of dandruff... :/

 

[lawz]

My guinea pigs have none of those, no hair loss, no scabs, nothing visible in the fur, they just scratch, so I don't even know if it is a parasite causing the scratching, I just wanted to use ivermectin as a prevention. I honestly have no idea what is wrong with them, there isn't even a flake of dandruff... :/

is it exsessive scratching? or occasional ? only you can really determine if you think they're scratching too much, but they do scratch occasionally like we or animals do anyway

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

is it exsessive scratching? or occasional ? only you can really determine if you think they're scratching too much, but they do scratch occasionally like we or animals do anyway

I've had guinea pigs for 15 years (but I'm only 20...) so I know that their scratching at the moment is too much, my eldest is driving herself crazy with it. They live on fleece and soft beds, but the bedding is washed in non-bio powder, so I don't know what could be causing this... I thought maybe it was allergies, sensitivities etc, but surely not all of my 8 piggies would have an allergy, it must be environmental or something I'm doing wrong that is affecting them all in the same way, it's just strange?

 

[lawz]

i didn't mean to sound like you didn't know, just meant was it excessive or occasional but didn't know how tot word it without giving wrong impression. Maybe with the weather being as up and down as is could be environmental like you said, i know my allergies and hay fever has been driving me crazy. Couldn't hurt to try before and see how they get on with it, or phone vets to see what they would advise
Its hard to know especially as they have no other signs :/

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

i didn't mean to sound like you didn't know, just meant was it excessive or occasional but didn't know how tot word it without giving wrong impression. Maybe with the weather being as up and down as is could be environmental like you said, i know my allergies and hay fever has been driving me crazy. Couldn't hurt to try before and see how they get on with it, or phone vets to see what they would advise
Its hard to know especially as they have no other signs :/

Oh I know don't worry, I'm not hostile lol! I was just trying to say that I just know them and it really does seem excessive to me, it's just sad for me to see them drive themselves nuts with it, I want to fix it but I have no idea what the problem is in order to fix it, you know? I made my eldest piggy an appointment at the vets today, so they can give her a proper check, even if you just run your finger gently along her back she flinches around to scratch it, but I swear I can't see anything there, the skin is normal and healthy, you would think it would be red raw with the amount she especially scratches. All of them scratch too much but she especially is the worst. I hope the vet can shed some light on why this might be happening. All my pigs were treated with ivermectin from the vet in January and it's supposed to cover them for 6 months, so they aren't due another treatment until July, but the vet will probably let me treat them all anyway now incase. I'm wondering if maybe the textures of the fleece and soft beds are seriously irritating them, I wonder if other people with piggies on fleece/soft beds have the same problem... It's just a mystery!

 

[lawz]

hmmmm....could be mites then as some do live under the skin.
All mine live on fleece too and I'm not having any probe as such with scratching, one of mine has a sore on side(taking her to vet) but all others are ok.
are yours indoors or out? maybe if indoors something in the home could be irritating them?

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

hmmmm....could be mites then as some do live under the skin.
All mine live on fleece too and I'm not having any probe as such with scratching, one of mine has a sore on side(taking her to vet) but all others are ok.
are yours indoors or out? maybe if indoors something in the home could be irritating them?

Mine are indoors, I wouldn't even know where to start with what it could be inside the home, there's so many potential causes. Do you use sheepskin blankets etc? I'm wondering if it could be that, they would popcorn and lay on it when I first gave it to them, but they don't anymore, because they got used to it, but maybe it still irritates them or even causes static etc

 

[lawz]

Mine are indoors, I wouldn't even know where to start with what it could be inside the home, there's so many potential causes. Do you use sheepskin blankets etc? I'm wondering if it could be that, they would popcorn and lay on it when I first gave it to them, but they don't anymore, because they got used to it, but maybe it still irritates them or even causes static etc

I get all my fleece items from Snoozie's Cozies . Nikki makes everything and the quality is superb. could be an air freshener, or perfume or anything in the air thats heavily scented.
Its a hard one, piggies don't like to make our life easy do they?!lol

 

[DM030819]

I've never tried the Beaphar one but I've heard many people say that's not strong enough and so is a waste of time.

Most people use the Xeno spot on stuff. It used to be vet only but now you can get it online from Amazon and what not.

I've had piggies for a long time too, so I'd treated for mites before Xeno became well known. I've always used Easimec:
Easimec Ivermectin 0.5% 10ml

I've never had any issues with it and I've used it probably 10 - 15 times. One little bottle will easily sort out 8 pigs. I only have 3 and end up having to through away the majority of it (it only keeps for 12 weeks)

 

[lawz]

I've never tried the Beaphar one but I've heard many people say that's not strong enough and so is a waste of time.

Most people use the Xeno spot on stuff. It used to be vet only but now you can get it online from Amazon and what not.

I've had piggies for a long time too, so I'd treated for mites before Xeno became well known. I've always used Easimec:
Easimec Ivermectin 0.5% 10ml

I've never had any issues with it and I've used it probably 10 - 15 times. One little bottle will easily sort out 8 pigs. I only have 3 and end up having to through away the majority of it (it only keeps for 12 weeks)

is the easimec a cheaper alternative to the xeno range?

 

[DM030819]

It's only £11.00 but you do get stung on postage a bit.

The dosage is 3 drops per pig for 3 weeks so a 10ml bottle will cover loads of piggies.

It's apparently an own brand from Hyperdrug but it comes in a properly sealed little bottle. It's definitely worth a try, especially if you're just wanting peace of mind for a scratchy pig who doesn't seem to have mites/ lice etc. Two of my pigs were a bit more scratchy than usual a few weeks ago, no redness, scabs, flakiness of anything so I gave them all a course.

I'm not sure what a vet would say these days but about 8 years ago I had a Teddy pig with very itchy skin. I was recommended to treat him every 6 months with Ivermectin (by a non guineapig vet) and it actually stopped the hair loss and scratching. If I ever skipped a course he would get itchy again. I used Easimec for him

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

It's only £11.00 but you do get stung on postage a bit.

The dosage is 3 drops per pig for 3 weeks so a 10ml bottle will cover loads of piggies.

It's apparently an own brand from Hyperdrug but it comes in a properly sealed little bottle. It's definitely worth a try, especially if you're just wanting peace of mind for a scratchy pig who doesn't seem to have mites/ lice etc. Two of my pigs were a bit more scratchy than usual a few weeks ago, no redness, scabs, flakiness of anything so I gave them all a course.

I'm not sure what a vet would say these days but about 8 years ago I had a Teddy pig with very itchy skin. I was recommended to treat him every 6 months with Ivermectin (by a non guineapig vet) and it actually stopped the hair loss and scratching. If I ever skipped a course he would get itchy again. I used Easimec for him

My vet told me on the phone this morning that I should only treat with ivermectin every 6 months, as a preventative, but others are telling me this is not enough and ivermectin is a bad option, I should be using selemectin every month instead as it has a longer half life? Apparently this selemectin is also named Revolution, but I've never heard of this drug so not sure...?

 

[lawz]

I have heard of revolution but couldn't tell you anything, as far as i was concerned i always thought ivermectin was best?
I get why we use these products but side be concerend with our pets becoming immune to the meds over time if used a lot

 

[Poppy'sMum]

Spot on is not good to use, I heard it doesn't do the job as it isn't strong enough I would not treat on spec; any of these products should be used minimally & never for prevention. My vet has used Revolution in the past & now uses Ivermectin by injection, but only when selnick mites have been diagnosed. These live under the skin, are usually caused by stress & will eventually cause hairloss on the lower back, sometimes appearing as a "V" shape. Only a vet can diagnose them really, as they can't be seen. Your piggies might be scratching due to hay mites/lice that come in hay, this is more likely. They appear as black specks on the lower body/rump. on the hair shaft close to the skin & you can treat them quite easily by using appropriate shampoos, I use "Flea or Die" shampoo which is excellent & many swear by Gorgeous guineas "Lice n Easy". You need to shampoo all your piggies, leave on for advised time (10 mins for Flea or Die) then repeat exactly a week later. Throw your hay out, thoroughly clean their cages, throw out any wooden hidies or cardboard chubes & hot soapy was plastic ones. This will break the egg cycle. Hot wash any fleece or bedding at 60 degrees plus. Teddy/Rex type breeds do suffer from dry skin & Gorgeous Guineas Manuka & Neem shampoo is great for them as a normal shampoo

 

[Wiebke]

is the easimec a cheaper alternative to the xeno range?

Easimec is not recommended for a piggy with full-on mange mites; for that you need either injections as the most effective or xeno for tha appropriate weight range. If you have lots of piggies, then easimec can be effective for any companions with a functioning immune system to help them fend the mites off.

Please do not treat on spec and do not treat preventatively - most guinea pigs have mange mite eggs in their skin these days. They are normally kept under control by a working immune system. Treating on spec and undertreating can lead to these eggs develop resistence to ivermectin.
It is much more effective to hit your piggies hard when you are dealing with an acute outbreak and to not skimp on the cost/quality of the product in that case.

Please be aware that you always need to take into consideration that any itching can also be caused by other things; especially fungal (not necessarily ringworm) can look very similar in the early stages but needs different treatment. This is the reason why we encourage people to please seek competent veterinary care.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

UPDATE: Piggies went to the vets today and were diagnosed with either mites or lice, possibly both, so ivermectin topical treatment has been prescribed for 3 weeks, for all 10 of my piggies, my suspicions were right about parasites, they were spread from a new piggy I got only 3 months ago. So yes, the problem is now found and they're being treated, everything is being cleaned and renewed, hopefully they will feel much better soon. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[lawz]

Easimec is not recommended for a piggy with full-on mange mites; for that you need either injections as the most effective or xeno for tha appropriate weight range. If you have lots of piggies, then easimec can be effective for any companions with a functioning immune system to help them fend the mites off.

Please do not treat on spec and do not treat preventatively - most guinea pigs have mange mite eggs in their skin these days. They are normally kept under control by a working immune system. Treating on spec and undertreating can lead to these eggs develop resistence to ivermectin.
It is much more effective to hit your piggies hard when you are dealing with an acute outbreak and to not skimp on the cost/quality of the product in that case.

Please be aware that you always need to take into consideration that any itching can also be caused by other things; especially fungal (not necessarily ringworm) can look very similar in the early stages but needs different treatment. This is the reason why we encourage people to please seek competent veterinary care.

Thank you @Wiebke i was just enquiring about the product thats all