Great news about Chip!

[GeePeeMama]

My husband and I adopted 2 guinea pigs 2 weeks ago. Our daughter named them Chip and Chuck. 2 days after getting them my husband and I noticed a pretty gnarly scab on Chips back, we had no idea what it was, also Chip had been itching a lot. We brought them both to the vet today and it turns out Chip has lice. We are so relieved. We were concerned it may be something untreatable but this is very treatable. We got some medicine for both Chip and Chuck (Chuck as a precaution although vet didn't notice lice on him). Chip will also be on antibiotics for 10 days. They were pretty stressed from the vet visit so going to let them relax a little then get to work cleaning there homes and bedding and giving them there medicine. I'm going to pick up some lice shampoo for me and my family as well and clean like a mad woman. Anyone else deal with these nasty bugs getting on your piggy? How did you deal with it?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Does he have lice or mites?
The treatment is the same for both - a course of ivermectin or selamectin treatment.

You don’t need to treat yourselves with lice shampoos. The mites and lice which infest piggies will not infest you. They are species specific and are only interested in the piggies.

The guide below explains the differences between lice and mites (there are two types of piggy mites), and how to deal with the issue.

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

 

[Bill & Ted]

Aw what a little cutie. If you have fabric bedding you can wash and then place the damp items into a bin liner and place in a freezer for 48 hours then let the items defrost naturally. The defrost will kill any eggs on their fabric bedding

 

[GeePeeMama]

Does he have lice or mites?
The treatment is the same for both - a course of ivermectin or selamectin treatment.

You don’t need to treat yourselves with lice shampoos. The mites and lice which infest piggies will not infest you. They are species specific and are only interested in the piggies.

The guide below explains the differences between lice and mites (there are two types of piggy mites), and how to deal with the issue.

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

He has lice. The vet said we could get it too from him, guess she's mistaken. Will check out your info thank you for sharing a link to it @Piggies&buns. So thankful it's not something more serious and that it can be treated.

 

[GeePeeMama]

Aw what a little cutie. If you have fabric bedding you can wash and then place the damp items into a bin liner and place in a freezer for 48 hours then let the items defrost naturally. The defrost will kill any eggs on their fabric bedding

Thank you for this @Bill & Ted. I actually use paper bedding for the piggies I cleaned it out really well and scrubbed his cage very good. I gave both the piggies the medicine the doctor gave me, they get another dose in 3 weeks. Fingers crossed.

 

[Merab]

Hope the lice clear up quickly

 

[Wheekallweek]

Don't worry, humans cannot catch lice from guinea pigs; they are nearly always species specific