Little Ones
Forum Donator 2023/24
Lol it was a miracle that I didn’t actually get bit! I was diagnosed with OCD as a child so you can imagine my absolute horror when it happened, as well as me obsessively checking myself constantly to make sure none were on me. When he took me home to my mums, the fleas were crawling all in the car and everything. I got my mum to douse me in flea spray when I got home, but even then I still felt like they were all over me. My mum was so mad at my dad.We got bitten by cat fleas as kids - over a year after she'd died. We had a lovely shaggy 70's carpet. A council guy came round to spray and he said this was actually very common in ex-cat households: the fleas drop off the cat and lay eggs in the 'environment' and when they hatch they get back on the cat - unless there's not a cat anymore! She was flea-treated regularly but there's always one or two that get through and we had her for quite a long time. It was not great for your dad to blame you though! I was a particularly delicious child and always had insect bites but mum got pretty good at spotting ones which might be flea bites and dosing the cat (although I played with lots of cats) My sister very rarely got bitten by anything but I still think that's because she's a smelly elephant
We all have a first time - and we only knew about them because we've had quite a high turn-over of guinea-pigs so we've had new ones coming in more regularly from different places. That sounds awful doesn't it - but about half of them were older local 'left-over' pigs and they came here to find company so we only had them a year or so (yes - a lot of heartache) and the others were rescue so they were 'mature' when they arrived too. Sometimes piggies pick things up outdoors - things can hop off passing wildlife and find a new home. Some things are pig-specific but some are more general.
At my baby group (when it was on!) I occasionally mention 'worms' in small children and most people looked really surprised but there's usually a first time for that too and it's wise to get a heads-up so you know what to look for. Especially once they get a bit older and start playing in sandpits!
And don't get me started on bl**dy 'moths'!
You're not overthinking... if Little ends up being treated it might be a juggling act. I think the ivermectin stays in the system for a few days but I'm not sure how long. If BB has no adverse reactions it probably won't hurt him to have an extra cycle of treatment if you end up having to treat Little so that both complete treatment at the same time. I must say - I've not heard of doses four weeks apart before but I know there are different regimes out there for different critters and you might have been given a different product to the one I usually get. However, on the general instruction leaflet (that comes with the Dechra Xeno450 spot-on tubes) it says, "For the treatment of an existing infestation, repeat doses are required two weeks and four weeks after the initial application". I'd be a bit sensitive as to whether my vet had perhaps misread? And I would be tempted to e-mail in and just confirm that. If they're only treating pigs with symptoms and Little gets symptoms he should be treated... but you've not had BB that long have you? Little might just be scratching because he's a lovely fluffy boy rather than because he's got passengers.
As I understand it with mites the irritation isn't so much caused by them scampering about it's a side-effect of them feeding. Some mites digest the top layer of skin cells to feed - and some of these are loose anyway - but it's their saliva (if you can call it that) that causes the irritation so even if the mites are killed off it might take a little longer for the sensation to calm down. With mine the scratching usually calms down within say, 36 hours... but BB might be a sensitive boy!
We’ve had BB 2 weeks, so it’s likely he’s brought them with him. Little seems to have some irritation today
I was petting him earlier and everywhere I would pet would send him itching - similar to what BB was doing. Little has really thick, dense fur as he’s an agouti so if I pet on the surface nothing happened, but when I buried my fingers in a little to pet him he would itch. We’ve called the vets and they’re arranging some for us to pick up.
This is what it says on our box and pipette:
Have they done it incorrectly? Are we meant to give some in two weeks too?
