do i need to treat my piggie for mites.

[alexmoss52]

Hi everyone, to start off my piggies don’t have mites but i’ve just been wondering with dogs obviously you use flea protection on them every couple of months, do i need to do the same for my piggies at all? i have never really thought about it but just wondered if i need to use anything to protect my piggies from catching mites at all

 

[Claire W]

No you don’t have to treat as a precaution unless they develop mites in which case, you should see a vet for the correct diagnosis and treatment

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

 

[Piggies&buns]

I agree with Claire. Please do not treat routinely or as a precaution. You only need treat for anything if there is an active, vet diagnosed and correctly prescribed medical issue.
The treatment for a diagnosed case of mites is as part of a correct length and strength course. Pet shop mite treatments aren't strong enough to deal with an outbreak in any event, but given the instructions tend to say to do it once a month for example, they wouldnt effectively get rid of a mite infestation anyway given the life cycle of mites. Also, routinely treating for something they dont have can lead to resistance making it harder to treat an actual case.

 

[alexmoss52]

ahh thankyou everyone, that’s what i thought to be honest i have never given them anything that isn’t prescribed by the vets, just had seen people saying they do monthly medication and wondered if i needed to be doing the same. thanks for your advice!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone, to start off my piggies don’t have mites but i’ve just been wondering with dogs obviously you use flea protection on them every couple of months, do i need to do the same for my piggies at all? i have never really thought about it but just wondered if i need to use anything to protect my piggies from catching mites at all

Hi!

Skin parasites are normally keep perfectly in check by good care, a good hay based diet and therefore a fully working immune system. Ivermectin and selamectin cannot kill any eggs burrowed in the skin but constant exposure to small dosages of it can contribute to the development of resistance. Prevention should therefore only used in cases where a guinea pig has actually previously had a mange mites outbreak and is having long term issues with a lowered immune system, on recommendation of the treating vet.

In all other cases, it is much more effective to promptly see a vet for a diagnosis and step in with a proper vet grade product if you are really dealing with an acute outbreak because then you can get much easier and quicker on top of it - which yours will hopefully never have in the first place.

We strongly recommend to not home treat on spec and to not use low dosed broad spectrum pet shop products. It is also a lot cheaper in the longer term to see a vet to make sure that you have the right culprit and treat with the proper strength product when really needed. Fungal skin infections and skin parasites can look a lot more similar in the early stages than textbook pictures suggest but they require different treatment. Sadly, far too many piggies suffer and even die needlessly and horribly because of misdiagnosis and under-treatment.

New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites

 

[alexmoss52]

thankyou for all hour information, it’s really helpful