Mange Mites

[weepweeps]

Noticed last night that Patrick has a V shape on his back.




So I’ll be getting him in at the vets today as it’s probably mange mites. But a full check up won’t go a miss anyway.

My question is will they be on Pebble too? He’s not got any symptoms.

 

[Wiebke]

Noticed last night that Patrick has a V shape on his back.

View attachment 265173
View attachment 265174

So I’ll be getting him in at the vets today as it’s probably mange mites. But a full check up won’t go a miss anyway.

My question is will they be on Pebble too? He’s not got any symptoms.

Hi

That looks suspiciously like a mange mite outbreak, I agree.

It could be from an mange mites egg reservoir in the skin - the mite eggs can't be killed off with ivermectin/selamectin but are usually kept under control by a fully working immune system. They can however make a return whenever the imune system is lowered for some reason (illness or stress) or in a piggy with a weaker immune system.

My Macsen is in the first group - he is another to develop the classic V on his back about once a year on average and my Nye had mange mites off and on throughout his life; thankfully none of his mates ever picked them up from him. The hay mites he carried into the Tribe I thankfully managed to get rid of in two goes. I am happy to say that Macsen is coming up to his 6th birthday and that Nye lived past his own 6th birthday nevertheless... In their case it was just a matter to step in quickly and make sure that none of the others picked them up.

You always have to treat all piggies in contact with each other as Pebble may or may not be able to fend off the parasites with his own immune system - you just can't rely on that and you certainly don't want them to establish a second base.

For more information on guinea pig specific skin parasites and their treatment:

Thread 'New piggy health problems: URI - Ringworm - Skin Parasites'

Nov 4, 2018

1 Vets and your customer rights
- What makes newly bought guinea pigs so vulnerable?
- Do I need to see a vet?
- Documenting illness and your customer rights
2 URI (Upper respiratory tract infection) and sensitivities
- Typical symptoms in order of development
- What to do immediately
- Sensitivity to hay dust and pollen
3 Ringworm (highly contagious fungal...

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• Forum: Wiebke's Home Care Guides

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[weepweeps]

I can’t believe how quickly the “V” came up. He’s been away on “holiday” recently so it was probably the stress of that.

He’s in at the vets this evening at 6.30.

 

[Wiebke]

I can’t believe how quickly the “V” came up. He’s been away on “holiday” recently so it was probably the stress of that.

He’s in at the vets this evening at 6.30.

All the best. It sounds like a classic mites reservoir case. The sooner you get into it, the quicker it will subside. With him back home, he will also hopefully have his immune system back on his side helping to suppresse the outbreak.

I would recommend to have some ivermectin at home in the future so you can step in with treatment asap. I do have with my own Tribe but then I have got a room full of piggies so keeping it from spreading through the whole place is the last thing I want!

 

[weepweeps]

Urrrrrrgh. I hate going to the vets.

So for £32 the advice I have been given is:

The vet thinks they have seen lice on them both. And the lice are brown (I thought lice were pale).

The vet was unsure of the length of treatment so I told her I’ve been prescribed 1 pippett every two weeks for 3 treatments so 6 weeks in total. She said “oh that sounds okay”

Xeno450 is out of stock nationwide so I should go to Pets at Home and get Beaphar Spot On. She said it’s the same as Xeno450.



Well I get home and I know it’s not going to be strong enough.

Beaphar is 150ug in each pippett so that would only be 300ug





Xeno450 is 450ug in each pippett.



So now I’ve got to call them back tomorrow and ask them if I can use three pippetts of the Beaphar on each piggy each time! And also ask if I can do it every 2 weeks for 6 weeks! So 18 in total!

What a waste of £32

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

Drove are supposed to have some good vets. This one must have been very inexperienced, with piggies at least.

It's a pity Xeno 450 is in short supply too.
(Does one suppose that people in the States are stockpiling it in case of Covid as they're so convinced that the vaccines are turning everybody 'woke' rather than preventing illness...)

 

[Piggies&buns]

Oh dear. I can’t believe the vet thinks xeno 450 and beaphar are the same.
Yes, lice are pale creatures visible to the human eye.

 

[Wiebke]

Lice come in a range of colours from brown to orangey to whitish. That's why they are usually prescribed as 'pale' crawling things because you can see them.

Getting hold of meds certain can be sometimes tricky for vets because demand surpasses production.

 

[weepweeps]

Still waiting for a call back from the vets. Hopefully they will be able to answer my question about Beaphar or find an alternative medication