My guinea pigs don't have fleas, at least as I can tell, but my dog has had problems with fleas in the past. I noticed one of my guinea pigs scratching and for some reason I was just worried that she might have gotten fleas. I checked her and my other guinea pigs and I don't see anything. My dog doesn't have any right now either so it is unlikely that they would have caught fleas from the dog. I am just being overprotective and I always worry about nothing, but I am wondering if I can use diatomaceous earth if my guinea do get fleas in the future. As I have been researching it, some sites say not to use it because it could cause respiratory problems because of their small noses. But a lot of other sites say its perfectly safe for them. Sorry if this is a stupid question.
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Can I use diatomaceous earth to treat fleas on guinea pigs?
- Thread starter Mounds
- Start date
rudent
New Born Pup
I've never heard of using diatomaceous earth to treat piggy fleas so can't comment on its safety, but the standard treatment for guinea pig parasites is ivermectin, which comes as a spot-on or, for severe cases, 3-4 rounds of injections. The spot-on treatment is cheap though. Piggies do scratch from time to time so it's only persistent scratching & self barbering you need to worry about.
don’t do anything without checking with a vet
They can get mites and lice but please don’t put anything on your guinea pigs unless there is clear evidence of an issue. An occasional scratch is not of concern as piggies will simply do this. It’s only if it becomes excessive scratching and areas of clear skin irritation that you would look into if there is a problem with mites. There would be no need to carry out any sort of treatment unless a vet had diagnosed a problem, preventative treatment is not recommended.
Fleas And Flea Powders
They can get mites and lice but please don’t put anything on your guinea pigs unless there is clear evidence of an issue. An occasional scratch is not of concern as piggies will simply do this. It’s only if it becomes excessive scratching and areas of clear skin irritation that you would look into if there is a problem with mites. There would be no need to carry out any sort of treatment unless a vet had diagnosed a problem, preventative treatment is not recommended.
Fleas And Flea Powders
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Lady Kelly
Senior Guinea Pig
It's worth noting that there are no species specific fleas that can affect piggies. Any fleas that jump on to a piggy will not survive there so there is no need to treat them