Need Advice after mite-treatment

[Hallin]

Dear Forum,

After 7 years of being blessed with piggies, my older male guinea pig (Alvin, neutered ~7 years old) was suddenly diagnosed with mange mites.
According to the vet it was due to the new guinea pig being introduced. Anyways, I've put him and the rest of the herd on Ivermectin and out of pure horror that I've not been throrough enough, I'm now on my 8th or 9th week of cleaning frenzy.

My strategy:
Throw every house out
Replace the fleece with paper bedding until I'm sure the mites in the fleece are dead
Clean the cage with scalding hot water
Wipe everything down with F10
Clothes I've been wearing for cleaning/holding them are in quarantine/bags

He's happier, he's woundless, no big clutches of fur/skin peeling (scabbing? English isn't my mothertongue x_x), but I see some minor sort of dandruff in the area where the mites were at their worst. Is this normal or should I pour even harsher chemicals on the cage and continue the cleaning? :/

Thanks in advance if you've bothered reading this far!

 

[sport_billy]

Continue doing what you are doing, mites are in cycles hence why if you re using Ivermectin topically you apply every so many days to kill off the new ones hatching i believe. Good news he is not bleeding, shows you have it under control.

Worth reading this thread here How To Treat Guinea Pigs Cage For Mites

Welcome to the forum, sending lots of healing vibes to your piggy

 

[Wiebke]

Dear Forum,

After 7 years of being blessed with piggies, my older male guinea pig (Alvin, neutered ~7 years old) was suddenly diagnosed with mange mites.
According to the vet it was due to the new guinea pig being introduced. Anyways, I've put him and the rest of the herd on Ivermectin and out of pure horror that I've not been throrough enough, I'm now on my 8th or 9th week of cleaning frenzy.

My strategy:
Throw every house out
Replace the fleece with paper bedding until I'm sure the mites in the fleece are dead
Clean the cage with scalding hot water
Wipe everything down with F10
Clothes I've been wearing for cleaning/holding them are in quarantine/bags

He's happier, he's woundless, no big clutches of fur/skin peeling (scabbing? English isn't my mothertongue x_x), but I see some minor sort of dandruff in the area where the mites were at their worst. Is this normal or should I pour even harsher chemicals on the cage and continue the cleaning? :/

Thanks in advance if you've bothered reading this far!

Hi! Please take a DEEP breath and calm down!

You need to give 3 applications of ivermectin at the product specific interval (4 in a severe case, which you are not dealing with). The interval between each application is 10-14 days with a high dosed product depending on the brand. Please do not bathe during treatment unless specifically advised in very bad cases with large open sores, as it could cause fitting.

One deep clean is enough. Get rid of the hay an infestation could have come in and use fresh hay after the deep clean. If you really wish to, you can give a gentle bath at the end of the treatment to remove any debris from dead skin cells.
Please DO NOT overreact and throw the whole chemical industry at them long after any treatment is necessary.

The hair will regrow on its own within about a month after the end of treatment.

Most guinea pigs have mange mite eggs in their skin (they can even be born with them if their mother was infected). these eggs are normally kept under control by a fully operational immune system, but they can make an appearance whenever the immune system is lowered through stress, illness, pregnancy, old or very young age. mange mites are called trixacarus caviae. They are often mixed up with hay/fur mites so the advice can be confusing when you look online.

The best way to treat either is with a good quality high dosed ivermectin product whenever there is an acute outbreak. If you do this pretty promptly, it will never get past nuisance level. Guinea pigs with a very low immune system, like frail elderlies or neglected pregnant sows can be hit hard quickly, but if you are on the ball, again, it is not going to be the end of the world. Be aware that skin parasites are a fact of life with any pet.

What comes with the hay are usually hay or mites (chirodiscoides caviae); they are less serious in that they fix their tiny egg cases to the hairs initially at the bum. We have had an increase of hay mites in recent years due to a change in large volume harvesting methods and selling more imported hay in chain pet shops.

Here is a list of guinea pig specific skin parasites and how to treat them: What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)

 

[Hallin]

Hi! Please take a DEEP breath and calm down!

You need to give 3 applications of ivermectin at the product specific interval (4 in a severe case, which you are not dealing with). The interval between each application is 10-14 days with a high dosed product depending on the brand. Please do not bathe during treatment unless specifically advised in very bad cases with large open sores, as it could cause fitting.

One deep clean is enough. Get rid of the hay an infestation could have come in and use fresh hay after the deep clean. If you really wish to, you can give a gentle bath at the end of the treatment to remove any debris from dead skin cells.
Please DO NOT overreact and throw the whole chemical industry at them long after any treatment is necessary.

The hair will regrow on its own within about a month after the end of treatment.

Most guinea pigs have mange mite eggs in their skin (they can even be born with them if their mother was infected). these eggs are normally kept under control by a fully operational immune system, but they can make an appearance whenever the immune system is lowered through stress, illness, pregnancy, old or very young age. mange mites are called trixacarus caviae. They are often mixed up with hay/fur mites so the advice can be confusing when you look online.

The best way to treat either is with a good quality high dosed ivermectin product whenever there is an acute outbreak. If you do this pretty promptly, it will never get past nuisance level. Guinea pigs with a very low immune system, like frail elderlies or neglected pregnant sows can be hit hard quickly, but if you are on the ball, again, it is not going to be the end of the world. Be aware that skin parasites are a fact of life with any pet.

What comes with the hay are usually hay or mites (chirodiscoides caviae); they are less serious in that they fix their tiny egg cases to the hairs initially at the bum. We have had an increase of hay mites in recent years due to a change in large volume harvesting methods and selling more imported hay in chain pet shops.

Here is a list of guinea pig specific skin parasites and how to treat them: What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)

Thank you for your replies, Weibke and sport_billy. I'm less worried now, haha.

The 'harsh chemicals' I was referring to was Johnson's Hutch Cage Spray. I was afraid what I had done so far wasn't enough to kill the mites off on the cage itself due to the sight of the dandruff. It never occurred to me that it might be harmless leftovers from the treatment (if I understood you correctly, Weibke?). I'll try washing him next week and see if it turns out alright.

Crossing fingers that I've been thorough enough! Happy wheeks from Alvin. ^-^

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for your replies, Weibke and sport_billy. I'm less worried now, haha.

The 'harsh chemicals' I was referring to was Johnson's Hutch Cage Spray. I was afraid what I had done so far wasn't enough to kill the mites off on the cage itself due to the sight of the dandruff. It never occurred to me that it might be harmless leftovers from the treatment (if I understood you correctly, Weibke?). I'll try washing him next week and see if it turns out alright.

Crossing fingers that I've been thorough enough! Happy wheeks from Alvin. ^-^

Hi! For an occasional cage or hutch deep clean (not a regular clean) we recommend vet grade F10 disinfectant, which is also proven to kill ringworm spores (as the only one). It is widely available online and something I'd strongly recommend to have at home.


When you bathe piggies, please do so in a basin set on a towel in your shower or bath. This prevents injuries from freak jumps but makes sure that your piggies cannot escape. If your piggy is a freaker, I would refrain from bathing. To be honest, any skin cells come off eventually even without a bath. The stance on bathing has shifted massively over the last decade. We recommend bathing only when absolutely necessary, usually only for prescribed medical baths and a bath at the end of ringworm treatment to get rid of any fungal spores still sitting in the coat in order to prevent a reinfection.
Otherwise, keep it to local washes with baby warm water (like bum and foot baths for guinea pigs that struggle with keeping their genitalia clean), very dirty piggies that struggle to clean themselves or very messy boars).
After a mild mites infestation, a bath is usually not necessary in my experience.

All the best!

 

[kelise02]

Hi so I’ve got a new guinea pig and the owner who I brought it from didn’t tell me she had mites but i’ve got the treatment and everything, bella had her first ‘dose’ on saturday the 6th so the next will be on saturday 20th but I was wondering since it’s my first time dealing with it when do i know if the mites have actually gone? and also i’ve separated her from my other guinea pig royal so when do you advice I put them together ?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi so I’ve got a new guinea pig and the owner who I brought it from didn’t tell me she had mites but i’ve got the treatment and everything, bella had her first ‘dose’ on saturday the 6th so the next will be on saturday 20th but I was wondering since it’s my first time dealing with it when do i know if the mites have actually gone? and also i’ve separated her from my other guinea pig royal so when do you advice I put them together ?

Hi!

A full course of ivermectin takes three applications at the product specific time. It takes generally two rounds to get on top of either invisible mange mites or hay mites, whose egg cases are visible. the third round is there to mop up the stragglers.

You need to either treat all piggies within contact of each other or wait until 2 days after the third round (in more severe cases, the 4th round).

Please be aware that the risks are all yours when you rehome from the free-ads. Owners wanting to get rid of pets (especially pets that will require the expense of any medical treatment or that are pregnant) can be extremely economical with the truth and won't be there to answer any messages or phone calls either after the piggies have left their house...

Please always have any piggies that come from a background without a quarantine vet checked. We do not recommend any home treatment on spec with too low dosed pet shop products, as it can go badly wrong.
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)

 

[kelise02]

Hi!

A full course of ivermectin takes three applications at the product specific time. It takes generally two rounds to get on top of either invisible mange mites or hay mites, whose egg cases are visible. the third round is there to mop up the stragglers.

You need to either treat all piggies within contact of each other or wait until 2 days after the third round (in more severe cases, the 4th round).

Please be aware that the risks are all yours when you rehome from the free-ads. Owners wanting to get rid of pets (especially pets that will require the expense of any medical treatment or that are pregnant) can be extremely economical with the truth and won't be there to answer any messages or phone calls either after the piggies have left their house...

Please always have any piggies that come from a background without a quarantine vet checked. We do not recommend any home treatment on spec with too low dosed pet shop products, as it can go badly wrong.
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)

thank you so much for the advice and in a way i’m happy I got her because I feel like she was being abused so now I can give her a better life