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Lice

mochalily2020

mochalily2020

Junior Guinea Pig
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Location
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Hi everyone,

I have taken my two piggies to the vet as I noticed some scabbing on their skin and the vet said that it is lice once he checked their fur under the microscope.

He gave me a spot on treatment to use 3 times during the course of 3 months.

I asked him if I needed to do any deep cleaning of the cage but he said that was not necessary as all guinea pigs have a certain amount of lice and this was just to help reduce the infestation as opposed to eradicating them as that is not possible.

I had heard people say this about mites but never about lice so I was wondering if anyone on the forum has had similar experiences?

The piggies are doing fine and I will start the spot on treatment tomorrow so any tips/experience would be greatly appreciated.
 
Lice are small pale crawling creatures which are visible to the human eye. Have you seen lice on them?
Lice are typically in piggies kept in poor conditions but they can appear in well kept piggies if they are stressed for example.

Mites are not visible. All you can see is their evidence - black specks on the back end which are the egg casings, scratching etc

Ivermectin is the correct treatment but the spacing of each dose is specific to the product you’ve been given - you will see us talk about the gap typically being two weeks between each treatment so that the lifecycle of the mite is caught (treatment only kills the live mite not the egg so the first treatment kills the live mites, second treatment catches the mites that were eggs at the time of the first treatment, and the third treatment makes sure it’s all gone).

You would be wise to do a deep clean and in the case of hay mites, throw hay away.

This guide below gives further detail about the three types of piggy parasites - lice, hay mites and mange mites

New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites
 
My piggies had mites just before Christmas and I deep cleaned the hutch, washed all the fleece and hideys at 60 degrees twice a week until the treatment was finished, through out all cardboard stuff and soaked the wooden stuff in F10. I was making sure that the mites never had a chance to come back and they didn't. Yes it was a chore to do but it is necessary otherwise you just keep going round and round in a never ending cycle of mites.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Lice are small pale crawling creatures which are visible to the human eye. Have you seen lice on them?
Lice are typically in piggies kept in poor conditions but they can appear in well kept piggies if they are stressed for example.

Mites are not visible. All you can see is their evidence - black specks on the back end which are the egg casings, scratching etc

Ivermectin is the correct treatment but the spacing of each dose is specific to the product you’ve been given - you will see us talk about the gap typically being two weeks between each treatment so that the lifecycle of the mite is caught (treatment only kills the live mite not the egg so the first treatment kills the live mites, second treatment catches the mites that were eggs at the time of the first treatment, and the third treatment makes sure it’s all gone).

You would be wise to do a deep clean and in the case of hay mites, throw hay away.

This guide below gives further detail about the three types of piggy parasites - lice, hay mites and mange mites

New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites
Click to expand...

Thats the thing i cant see them.. but the vet took chunks of their fur that fell and placed it under a microscope and said its lice for sure.

Would you recommend doing a deep clean immediately or giving it a while for the medicine to act?

I need to give 30 days between the 3 doses.

Thank you for your help I will read the article now
 
Ifs odd because you wouldn’t need a microscope to see lice - you can actually see them crawling about on the piggy. Mites would need a microscope though.
What medication have you been given? It is product specific, but normally it’s just two weeks between doses

Deep clean straight away and then again at the end of treatment. If it is hay mites, then you would also want to throw away the hay as that is how they come in, and try a new batch.
 
Yes when my little Cleo came and had lice I could see them crawling on her, my vet still took a sample to look at it under the microscope though to be sure (using a bit of sellotape for them to stick to). They can have a small amount you wouldn’t notice of course, hers were adult and there were eggs. Mites you can’t see so would need a microscope.
I deep cleaned the cage quite a few times over their treatment (I have three other piggies so they all had to be treated too) and washed all bedding at 60.
We used ivermectin (Xeno 50 and 500 depending on weight as my piggies all vary a lot), three treatments, two weeks apart.
Thankfully haven’t spotted any since, hope you can get rid of them! I didn’t stop scratching for a month knowing they were around! Nasty bugs!
 
alpacasqueak said:
Yes when my little Cleo came and had lice I could see them crawling on her, my vet still took a sample to look at it under the microscope though to be sure (using a bit of sellotape for them to stick to). They can have a small amount you wouldn’t notice of course, hers were adult and there were eggs. Mites you can’t see so would need a microscope.
I deep cleaned the cage quite a few times over their treatment (I have three other piggies so they all had to be treated too) and washed all bedding at 60.
We used ivermectin (Xeno 50 and 500 depending on weight as my piggies all vary a lot), three treatments, two weeks apart.
Thankfully haven’t spotted any since, hope you can get rid of them! I didn’t stop scratching for a month knowing they were around! Nasty bugs!
Click to expand...

Thank you that is really helpful ill deep clean today then

And yes omg i feel itchy even though i know i cant catch them 😂😂
 
Piggies&buns said:
Ifs odd because you wouldn’t need a microscope to see lice - you can actually see them crawling about on the piggy. Mites would need a microscope though.
What medication have you been given? It is product specific, but normally it’s just two weeks between doses

Deep clean straight away and then again at the end of treatment. If it is hay mites, then you would also want to throw away the hay as that is how they come in, and try a new batch.
Click to expand...

I was given revolution plus it appears to be a treatment for cats so the doses given are very small

We live in canada so i dont know if perhaps the medication differs a little..

I really hope all this helps they seem totally healthy the vet struggled to find the scab i was referring to so hopefully its over soon
 
mochalily2020 said:
Thank you that is really helpful ill deep clean today then

And yes omg i feel itchy even though i know i cant catch them 😂😂
Click to expand...
I was a bit over the top maybe compared to others with all my deep cleans but seeing loads crawling on a poor terrified 8 week old piglet that had just moved in made me want to get rid of as many as possible!
Er I know, they’re horrible little things! Just knowing they’re there was enough to freak me out a bit! :eek:
Good luck, hope you and piggy are rid of them soon!
 
mochalily2020 said:
I was given revolution plus it appears to be a treatment for cats so the doses given are very small

We live in canada so i dont know if perhaps the medication differs a little..

I really hope all this helps they seem totally healthy the vet struggled to find the scab i was referring to so hopefully its over soon
Click to expand...

Hi!

Revolution (selamectin) is safe to use for any of the guinea pig parasites, including lice. It is more commonly used in the USA and Canada than in the UK. Your vet will have computed the correct weight-based dosage.
Guinea Lynx :: Lice

Please keep an eye out on whether there are any distinct round bald areas with white crusts forming. In that case you are dealing with ringworm (fungal skin infection), which requires different treatment. In the very early stages, ringworm and skin parasites can look much more simular than textbook pictures suggest.
You can find more more information on ringworm in this link here if that should become necessary: Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

Revolution (selamectin) is safe to use for any of the guinea pig parasites, including lice. It is more commonly used in the USA and Canada than in the UK. Your vet will have computed the correct weight-based dosage.
Guinea Lynx :: Lice

Please keep an eye out on whether there are any distinct round bald areas with white crusts forming. In that case you are dealing with ringworm (fungal skin infection), which requires different treatment. In the very early stages, ringworm and skin parasites can look much more simular than textbook pictures suggest.
You can find more more information on ringworm in this link here if that should become necessary: Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
Click to expand...

Excellent thank you.

For now they only have one part of their backs that is slightly crusty and dark Lily specifically is shedding lots of fur if you caress her gently in this area but there is no bald patch her fur just comes out in clumps its very strange and surprising that there is no bald area yet given how much fur comes off that area..

Thank you for the link as well and I will keep everyone updated with their progress fingers crossed it turns out well soon
 
mochalily2020 said:
Excellent thank you.

For now they only have one part of their backs that is slightly crusty and dark Lily specifically is shedding lots of fur if you caress her gently in this area but there is no bald patch her fur just comes out in clumps its very strange and surprising that there is no bald area yet given how much fur comes off that area..

Thank you for the link as well and I will keep everyone updated with their progress fingers crossed it turns out well soon
Click to expand...

Some piggies do moult in Spring and Autumn. It can sometimes seem like they should be bare but never are. I hope that it is just that.

Without pictures, we can unfortunately only go by the information you are providing. All the best with getting on top of the bald spot.
 
That looks like the egg casings of mites. Did you change their hay as well?
 
I would (if possible though I know it’s difficult) try and get to another vet.
 
I'm wondering if there may be some confusion due to naming here - hay mites (which it does look like you are dealing with here) are sometimes referred to as 'static lice'.
Not the same thing as 'lice' - the pale crawling creatures which are visible.
 
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