Mange

[Zombiepanda]

Hello! I WANT TO PREFACE THIS BY SAYING I HAVE A VET APPOINTMENT SCHEDULED ASAP. I'm here because I’m stressing and just looking for some answers while I wait for Monday.

I think that one of my guinea pigs may possibly have mange mites. He has A v-shaped bald spot that when touched he will start biting me for touching. None of the others pigs have bald spots or anything out of the ordinary. No recent habitat changes no diet changes.

Which brings me to my questions. WHERE do these mites come from? Also, if the other are showing no symptoms how do I prevent them from catching? Or worst case treat them if they eventually show symptoms later? Do they all get an oral dose and topical for spots? What’s the usual procedure?

I know all these will be answered on Monday. I’m just over worrying. Just want to educate myself in the meantime. Thanks!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Great that you’ve got the vet appointment already lined up.

Mange mites burrow into the skin and they can be present on a lot of piggies all the time without you knowing. They are kept in check by a working immune system so if at any point the immune system is suppressed (stress, illness etc) then you can see an outbreak.

Ensure you thoroughly clean the cage and accessories with F10 vet grade disinfectant

The guide below details mange mites further.

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

 

[Zombiepanda]

I have my fingers crossed that this isn’t from mites and that he’s actually rubbing himself up against the new ledge supports or the new bedding/pee box. I noticed him rumbling last night and his back is the exact height and he rubs himself against those corners. Fingers crossed! I’ll find out tomorrow!

 

[GPTV]

Aww don't panic - mites/mange mites seem to be opportunistic, years ago when my lot had ringworm they were doing really well & healing nicely...

Then Squiggle had the itches & then telltale 'v' as your handsome lil man has.
Squiggle & Co went to the vets & we were prescribed (Ivermectin) Xeno 450, I bought 1x 6 pipette pack from the vets (about £30) for immediate use & ordered another pack online Xeno Spot On (£20 much better!) as I had 4 girls at the time & the vet recommended 3x treatments of the spot on each.

The first dose kills the adults, second dose 7-10 days later kills any newly hatched adults & third dose a further 7-10 days after, kills off any stragglers!
You'll probably find he'll itch/scratch more for a few days after treatment as the mites burrow into the skin & die off. This is quite normal.

After the initial biting and scratching, Squiggle recovered quite quickly, her hair grew back within a few weeks.
The other 3 had preventative treatment but weren't really affected anyway.

Some vets will give Ivermectin injections instead of spot on treatments.

I cleaned my hutch thoroughly & daily for a few days. If you have any fleecey/material things wash them in a hot wash & they'll be fine.

Good luck with your vets appt tomorrow.
Glad you managed to get a quick appt, mites are a nuisance but easily treated if caught early

Let us know how you get on
Xx

 

[Piggies&buns]

I have my fingers crossed that this isn’t from mites and that he’s actually rubbing himself up against the new ledge supports or the new bedding/pee box. I noticed him rumbling last night and his back is the exact height and he rubs himself against those corners. Fingers crossed! I’ll find out tomorrow!

Obviously only a vet can diagnose but the V is a classic sign of mange mites. He is likely rubbing himself on the ledge due to the itchiness of the mites

 

[Zombiepanda]

Thank you! That’s actually the first thing I did when I read the words “mites” and “can be fatal”. I stripped their hutch down and washed EVERYTHING in scalding water. Replaced all the bedding and hay, etc.

What’s the typical preventative for the others? Oral or injections? Or spot treatment if any itchy areas pop up?

Then Squiggle had the itches & then telltale 'v' as your handsome lil man has.
Squiggle & Co went to the vets & we were prescribed (Ivermectin) Xeno 450, I bought 1x 6 pipette pack from the vets (about £30) for immediate use & ordered another pack online Xeno Spot On (£20 much better!) as I had 4 girls at the time & the vet recommended 3x treatments of the spot on each.

The first dose kills the adults, second dose 7-10 days later kills any newly hatched adults & third dose a further 7-10 days after, kills off any stragglers!
You'll probably find he'll itch/scratch more for a few days after treatment as the mites burrow into the skin & die off. This is quite normal.

After the initial biting and scratching, Squiggle recovered quite quickly, her hair grew back within a few weeks.
The other 3 had preventative treatment but weren't really affected anyway.

Some vets will give Ivermectin injections instead of spot on treatments.

I cleaned my hutch thoroughly & daily for a few days. If you have any fleecey/material things wash them in a hot wash & they'll be fine.

Good luck with your vets appt tomorrow.
Glad you managed to get a quick appt, mites are a nuisance but easily treated if caught early

Let us know how you get on
Xx

 

[GPTV]

Thank you! That’s actually the first thing I did when I read the words “mites” and “can be fatal”. I stripped their hutch down and washed EVERYTHING in scalding water. Replaced all the bedding and hay, etc.

What’s the typical preventative for the others? Oral or injections? Or spot treatment if any itchy areas pop up?

The other 3 had the Xeno 450 spot on drops too, none of them had the itching really, only Squiggle - she was more highly strung than the others though, the previous months ringworm treatment really stressed her out, I think that's why she had the mites & not the others? Her immune system was low.

The Invermectin in injection form or Xeno spot on's are both effective. I don't know of an oral version?
In recent years my vet has usually favoured the spot ons. Xx

 

[Zombiepanda]

I looked it up and apparently the US doesn’t carry xeno, so I’m curious what the vet will end up prescribing. It seems like selamectin is more available for small animals here than invermectin. Thank you for all your help! I’ll update tomorrow!

 

[Bill & Ted]

I looked it up and apparently the US doesn’t carry xeno, so I’m curious what the vet will end up prescribing. It seems like selamectin is more available for small animals here than invermectin. Thank you for all your help! I’ll update tomorrow!

I think they will be the same stuff, just under different trade names
Guinea Lynx :: Ivermectin Treatment Guidelines

 

[Zombiepanda]

They couldn’t determine whether or not it was mange mites, but went ahead and prescribed Ivermectin anyways. The doc said that should take care of whatever it was! I hope it starts working quickly. Thanks everyone!

 

[Swissgreys]

I had similar issues with one of my piggies. They couldn't offer a conclusive diagnosis despite taking a few skin samples, but went with Xeno as a precaution and the whole thing cleared up really well.

 

[Zombiepanda]

That’s awesome! I’m hoping for the same results curious- how long does it take to start seeing results? As in for them to scratch less and seem more comfortable and less agitated?

 

[Swissgreys]

That’s awesome! I’m hoping for the same results curious- how long does it take to start seeing results? As in for them to scratch less and seem more comfortable and less agitated?

I'll be honest and say it did take 3-5 days for it to look like it was really making a difference.
In fact for the first 24-48 hours it seemed like Eddi was actually itching more (but that may have just been my paranoia).
Just make sure you keep going with the full treatment course (for us it was 3 separate treatments, each 2 weeks apart).

 

[Zombiepanda]

I was actually thinking that same thing! I wonder if it’ll seem worse before it gets better. If it is mites, maybe the treatment agitates them before they actually die off?

that’s pretty much our treatment plan also! Except he said if after the second round of it wasn’t nearly gone, then time to switch treatments instead

 

[Zombiepanda]

Hey again! I just wanted to ask, to anyone whose dealt with ivermectin, does it cause dry skin? My piggy that I was worried about it’s much better, but they’re all very itchy after a second dose. Looks to be dry skin patches and dandruff

 

[Lisanjake]

Hey again! I just wanted to ask, to anyone whose dealt with ivermectin, does it cause dry skin? My piggy that I was worried about it’s much better, but they’re all very itchy after a second dose. Looks to be dry skin patches and dandruff

I know I’m a month late but I ASSUME it’s the bugs dying off.
I only read this thread as I think my girls have the same thing. Off to the vets today hopefully if I get an appointment this morning!
Are your pigs okay now?