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Hay mites/static lice treatment and storage

F&G

F&G

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi guys,

My guinea pig have hay mites. I have ivermectim and shampoo from georgous guineas. The question is,

1. If I applied the ivermectim today and gonna apply it for the next 3 weeks when should I bath my piggie to get rid of them from the hair? Can I bath them 48h before the next application?

2. I also got a new hay from HAYBOX. It looks fresh and hay mites free but I'm scared that they may be there. How should I storage the hay to not get the mites?..

Thank you
 
There is an excellent guide in the Health and illness section on dealing with mites.
I’ve just read it as I suspect we also have hay mites. It is very helpful.
Sorry I can’t link it for you.

Don’t panic about the new hay, just make sure you’ve disposed of the old hay.
I had fun yesterday doing a deep clean and disinfect of the whole cage.
My vet gave me a single dose of Xeno 450 for each piggy which they had today.

Hope your piggy is ok.
Hay mites are the least serious of the skin parasite.

A health expert will be along with more advice and guidance for you.
 
Can it spread on my furniture act? I'm really obsessed and have no idea what to do. I've been freezing the old hay but as the new one arrived today I'll bin the old one. Could I just keep it in the box? Is it safe enough? I dont want to end up having it everywhere 😭
 
I keep my hay from HayBox in its box - it’s fine like that.

The guide doesn’t say anything about mites spreading to furniture so I wouldn’t worry - just keep everything clean.
If you don’t have any cage disinfectant then add some white vinegar to water and use that for now.
Don’t worry - hay mites can be cleared
 
Thank you.

So you do have hay from HayBox and suspect the hay mites..?
Unfortunately, have no idea how to find the guide. Do you have any ideas when should I bath them if I applied the drops today?
 
I also had my current Haybox from April. I noticed my pigs are scratching a lot recently and yesterday I took a look into the hay with a flashlight, lots of mites were crawling on the box! Literally, all over the box.
I don't know what I am supposed to do with the rest of the hay...
 
Omg, I just ordered one! I'd bin it and get one from different brand. Since my piggies had mites I keep the hay in the attic, pack the hay in 3 sealed bags and freeze them for 48h before serving. I'm obsessed.
 
I could see them on my white piggy. They were black and moving. Sometimes I can see them on the outside of the freezer bag before freezing.
 
@F&G please don’t feed them hay that’s been frozen.
 
F&G said:
I could see them on my white piggy. They were black and moving. Sometimes I can see them on the outside of the freezer bag before freezing.
Click to expand...

That is same as mine, I can only see on my white piggie, and the thing is a bit brown-ish.
 
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Those are the casings and not the actual mites. As said above you can’t see them with the naked eye.
 
Siikibam said:
Hay mites aren’t visible so whatever it is you’re seeing isn’t that. Throw the hay away and get more in.

@F&G please don’t feed them hay that’s been frozen.
Click to expand...
Why is that? I was recommended to do it on the forum. I dont want them to be cover in black something and be scratching all the time.
 

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They likely won’t be guinea pig specific mites, but there are other types. The types of mites which can infest piggies are not visible (lice are pale bugs which you can see)
 
If it was recommended then ignore me. Is it damp when you feed it?
 
What are casings then? Can they spread around the house? I noticed them pretty much in every hay brand
 
I don’t think they can. What you see is the egg casings.
 
F&G said:
What are casings then? Can they spread around the house? I noticed them pretty much in every hay brand
Click to expand...

Does casing mean eggs? Since it is literally crawling, I am certain they are parasite. But you may be right that they are not hay mites, can be some type of book mites maybe...?
 
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Vivienne said:
Does casing mean eggs? Since it is literally crawling, I am certain they are parasite. But you may be right that they are not hay mites, can be some type of book mites maybe...?
Click to expand...
It will be an insect of some sort.
 
moodysuzy said:
dgar and his luscious locks, we have discovered he and his brother Prawn are covered in
Click to expand...

This is the kind I saw in my white pig, a bit brown and very visible. I've got treatment from my local vet, it's ivermectin, but it totally doesn't work. I'll definitely give lice n easy a go, thank you!
 
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Vivienne said:
This is the kind I saw in my white pig, a bit brown and very visible. I've got treatment from my local vet, it's ivermectin, but it totally doesn't work. I'll definitely give lice n easy a go, thank you!
Click to expand...
How many times have you used it to know that it doesn’t work?
 
Siikibam said:
Can you still see the casings? I’m not too sure about mites so will tag @Piggies&buns @PigglePuggle
Click to expand...

Yes, they are still everywhere and my pigs are still itchy. And as mentioned in previous thread, the same thing on my pigs are "crawling" on my Haybox. They are exactly the same colour as the Haybox cardboard, and they are very very tiny, less then 1 mm (from my ruler.)
 
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I had excatly the same problem @Vivienne .
I used the shampoo and ivermectim. It made a huge difference. I'm really scared them to be back. Once I had infestation of some lices around the utility room from the hay (my topic is on the forum) it was everywhere and I couldn't get rid of them for a month. Had to bin everything. dont know what it was but I'm very stressed everytime I get hay
 
Vivienne said:
Three times, in six weeks.
Click to expand...

We contacted a vet about our hay mites, they couldn't see us because of covid but suggested we bought Xeno 450 online and treated ourselves. We did the three treatments, two weeks apart, scrubbed the cage each time, froze all their wooden toys, replaced hay, etc.

It’s had zero effect, absolutely useless. We’re trying Flea or Die shampoo next. After that if nothing changes it’ll be another vet call I imagine. Our pigs aren’t bothered by them at all.
 
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