Roger & Roland the Pigs
New Born Pup
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
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