JessClarke
New Born Pup
I’ve kept guinea pigs for three years now. I started off with two long hairs (Pebbles and Pretzel) and a year later added another (Pip). I’ve had Pip for two years now and when I’d not had her for very long I thought she had some kind of mite. The older piggies are blonde and grey/brown but Pip is predominantly brilliant white. I saw lots of small brown specks of which a small number seemed to be moving. I treated them all with Beaphar and disinfected their outdoor hutch and sprayed generously with Hutch and Safe. The specks never seemed to go away and I kept treating Pip with ivermectin, took her to the vet, who couldn’t see any signs of parasites (seemed to think the specks were particles of hay). I was unconvinced and treated them all with Xeno 50. I think even after that I wasn’t convinced they’d gone and I took a sample of her fur to be looked at but they said it wasn’t mites.
My piggies always scratch themselves— not excessively, just every so often. I do intermittently check their skin for signs of parasites but haven’t found anything— looking for redness, scratches, hair coming out etc.
For the past 18 months or so, I’ve just figured I can see these specks because of Pips white fur. A few weeks ago though, I am confident these specks were moving so I treated them all with Beaphar and have gone to town with sprays on the hutch and cover.
A couple of days ago, I brought a new baby home (Petal) who is black and white, 12 weeks old. I have noticed that she has been scratching just every so often since I introduced them and I had her on my lap last night for some bonding time. On her black fur, I could see one small, but long-ish white looking thing which I’m guessing was some kind of louse.
I’ve been trying to source ivermectin for a few weeks since I gave the other three their course of it, but Beaphar is sold out everywhere. I’ve ordered 4 packs of Xeno 50 from pet drugs online out of desperation and am hoping they don’t take too long to arrive. I’ve seen a couple of threads suggesting adults should have the 450 but mine are all 800g and below and 450 is intended for 1.2kg and over. 450 also seems to be unavailable everywhere.
I don’t know what to do.
Currently they’re in an indoor pen with fleece liners which I intend to wash at 60* on an hour’s cycle and then spray with hutch & safe and then they’ll go into their outdoor hutch again and I’ll probably spray it some more before I do that. Am I doing the right thing? Should I throw all of the fleece bedding away and buy new?
I get wood shavings and hay from Pets at Home. Should I get it from elsewhere? Does anyone have any recommendations?
My piggies always scratch themselves— not excessively, just every so often. I do intermittently check their skin for signs of parasites but haven’t found anything— looking for redness, scratches, hair coming out etc.
For the past 18 months or so, I’ve just figured I can see these specks because of Pips white fur. A few weeks ago though, I am confident these specks were moving so I treated them all with Beaphar and have gone to town with sprays on the hutch and cover.
A couple of days ago, I brought a new baby home (Petal) who is black and white, 12 weeks old. I have noticed that she has been scratching just every so often since I introduced them and I had her on my lap last night for some bonding time. On her black fur, I could see one small, but long-ish white looking thing which I’m guessing was some kind of louse.
I’ve been trying to source ivermectin for a few weeks since I gave the other three their course of it, but Beaphar is sold out everywhere. I’ve ordered 4 packs of Xeno 50 from pet drugs online out of desperation and am hoping they don’t take too long to arrive. I’ve seen a couple of threads suggesting adults should have the 450 but mine are all 800g and below and 450 is intended for 1.2kg and over. 450 also seems to be unavailable everywhere.
I don’t know what to do.
Currently they’re in an indoor pen with fleece liners which I intend to wash at 60* on an hour’s cycle and then spray with hutch & safe and then they’ll go into their outdoor hutch again and I’ll probably spray it some more before I do that. Am I doing the right thing? Should I throw all of the fleece bedding away and buy new?
I get wood shavings and hay from Pets at Home. Should I get it from elsewhere? Does anyone have any recommendations?
