Bugs wont go after two ivermectin treatments?

[Roger & Roland the Pigs]

my two piggies zippy and nugget have both been through two treatments of spot on ivermectin (1 month apart as said on packet instructions) and the lice/mites are still moving around. I don't think they have the same "bugs" though. they are bar buddies so do not come into close contact (apart from noses and giving each other "kisses" through the bars), however I know how easily they could exchange "bugs". they both have long hair which I do trim regularly, but didn't know if their long hair was affecting the bug problem.

nugget was a rescue so I don't know how old he is, but i suspect he is at least 3yrs because he is slowing a little, his hair is ginger
nuggets bugs are a lot larger than zippys and stay close to his skin and look like mini rice grains that wriggle about, they are a pale yellow colour and seem to have little legs one end. they seem to make him itchy and I have noticed he has a patch of what looks like fungal on his back. Is this a cause of the bugs on him or could it really be a fungal infection to get checked out? nugget is also prone to dandruff and does have quite flaky skin, but I can distinguish the bugs from the dead skin flakes.

zippy is 1yr old and I adopted him from a farm, he has black hair
zippys bugs are even smaller than nuggets and are attached to his hairs mostly around his bottom, he has black hair so the bobbles are easy enough to spot, they also detach from the hairs if you run your fingers over the hair. he previously had the same bugs as nugget, but the first round of ivermectin got rid of them for him.
I cant tell if they are making him itchy though as he is a very jumpy and sassy pig anyway! other than zippys bugs he usually has really smooth and luscious hair and good skin.

I will try to get some photos of the bugs on them both and nuggets flaky fungal patch too.

my questions are:
shall I try the ivermectin treatment again?
is there anything I can do in the meantime (baths etc) to help them both?
will a normal vet have good advice on the problem? (I don't have any exotics vets near me so it would mean a stressful drive for the piggies and costly treatment)
is there any other parasite treatment available to the public that I could try?
what do I do in terms of hygiene to stop any bugs in their pens repeating the process?
is nuggets itchy flaky patch a fungal infection or just a side effect of the bugs?
are long haired piggies at a disadvantage to this sort of thing?
and could the bugs be harmful to other pets/humans?

thanks

 

[Piggies&buns]

Lice are pale crawling creatures, visible to the human eye. It sounds as if nugget has them.
Whether he has a fungal infection as well is for a vet to diagnose. Ivermectin won’t cure fungal infections.

Mites are not visible to the human eye. You can see the evidence of hay mites by the egg casings stuck to the hair shaft usually around the back end. It sounds as if zippy has them.

They are species specific so other pets and people aren’t at risk.

It seems you may have used a pet shop ivermectin product?
Products available from pet shops are rarely good enough and we do not recommend their use. They are too low dosed to actually cure it but may temporarily suppress but often it is found that the mites and lice come back. They can also lead to resistance due to being too low dosed.

A month between a treatment is too long (this is another reason why pet shops products aren’t recommended). Treatment only kills the live mites and lice not their eggs. If you don’t treat as those eggs hatch then they have time to start off laying new eggs and perpetuating the cycle.
The treatment for lice and mites is a course of three vet strength treatments with two weeks between each treatment.

You need to get them both to a vet for a proper treatment course. Don’t be tempted to use any low dosed pet shops products any further.
You also need to cut their hair short.
Disinfect the cages. F10 is the recommended disinfectant.
Throw away hay in the case of hay mites.

It is also recommended that you give a short course (two weeks) of vit c supplementation to a piggy with lice due to how they feed off a piggy, they can lower their immune system and a piggy can often do with a boost.

The guide below explains everything further

Thread 'New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights'

Jun 24, 2018

1 Double-checking the gender upon arrival
- Sexing
- Pregnancies and surprise babies
2 When to quarantine new companions?
3 Vet visits
- Health check/registration upon arrival
- Reclaiming vet cost for newly bought ill guinea pigs
4 Common illnesses in new guinea pigs
- Ringworm
- Respiratory infection (URI)
5 List of guinea pig...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 1
• Forum: New and Wannabe Owners Corner

• 

 

[Roger & Roland the Pigs]

thank you for the info, will do everything you say and see if it works!
I have 1 bag of open hay which I will discard, but sealed 3 bags of similar hay that I would love to try and keep, do you think this hay will be okay or should I discard it as well?
thanks