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OMG! I need help now...

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Tayz

Tayz

Teenage Guinea Pig
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ok, my 3 guineapigs have had bad mites and we think we have got rid of them all(still treating just in case) but now they have lots of scabs on their bums...i searched this on google and found this.....is this true......please.....i want someone to say no.......it says the animals dies within 3 weeks...have my pigs only got 3 weeks to live? i'm really panicking...
Ivermectin is used to rid animals and humans of many internal and external (blood sucking) parasites . Lice and hair mites which do not ingest the blood of the host are not affected by ivermectin administered orally or by injection (See notes at bottom of page).

In guinea pigs, ivermectin is the drug of choice for treatment of the selnick mite. Trixacarus caviae, a burrowing sarcoptid mite, is a member of the arachnid family. Transmission occurs primarily through direct contact with infested animals although eggs can be carried to them inadvertently. Mites will seldom leave the host unless brushed onto the bedding or as a result of overpopulation or the death of the host. With no host, they will usually die within 3 weeks. However the eggs, which are laid in burrows in the skin, may survive off the host for long periods of time. These species specific microscopic mites cause unbearable itchiness for the animal and can result in thinning and/or patchy loss of hair and scurfing of the skin (may resemble dandruff). Severe infestations can be life threatening. The most serious infestations occur in the young and ill older animals subject to stress and poor environmental conditions. The response in healthy animals, perhaps due to grooming or suppressed immune response is less severe. "Maximal parasite load is reached approximately 1 month after infection (Rothwell et al., 1991) then slowly regresses if left untreated. Mortality is common in some reports." (Harkness and Wagner)



is it true...please don't be -prays-
 
Don't panic! Scabs on bums could be all sorts of things, if you've treated the mites then it should be on the mend? Are you sure it's mites causing the scabs - could they have been fighting? If so this is a common place to find bite wounds. Could you take some pics?

Google is great but sometimes does make you panic! Best asking on here, other more experienced people should be able to help more than me!

Are they eating / drinking / acting normally?

Sophie
x
 
yeah they have had it awhile now...they always are fighting... we keep treating them and it keeps going away but then comes back...if it is them fighting what would suggest i do?
 
I don't think you need to panic. Scabs I think can be normal after mites. I know my guinea had a scab and in time it fell off and left a small scar.
 
Are the boys or girls?

If they are fighting you should watch them and see who's starting it, then you'd probably have to split them up. Bite wounds are usually small and quite deep, sometimes a chunk taken out, then they scab over.

But don't rule out mites - perhaps take them back to the vets to make sure

Sophie
x
 
I agree, I seperated my 6 into two groups, treated them for mites and then shampoo them etc with some nice GG stuff and they were ok
 
ok, i know who is starting it...the only problem is she hates been alone without me or the othr pigs....i'll probaly try keeping her in the cat carrier cage for a few days....but i'lll have to play with her once every hour and give her something to do...or she will start crying for her best friends and her mummy.....
 
Hi,

I think the thing you are panicking about is where it says "they will usually die within 3 weeks." I have read and re-read that several times, and I'm pretty sure they mean the MITES will die and NOT the guinea pigs. If the mites don't have a host animal to live on, they eventually die. I do see why you were very worried about your piggies, but hope you can rest assured on that.

Sue
 
Mites live on pigs all the time but they get out of control when the pigs are stressed. My guess is that they are getting stressed due to fighting and this means the mites keep returning. If i were you i'd separate the one who starts it then go to a rescue and let her choose a friend x
 
I think they just mean if you haven't / don't get them treatment they die. They have started treatment and will be fine.
 
We used to have mite trouble with our abyssinian, Muffin. The smooth coated ones never seemed particularly troubled. Ivermectin cleared it up, with the occasional dose of antibiotic when it was at its worse. We used to take all the piggies to get treated when Muffin had an outbreak. On one visit the vet suggested that Muffin might be the only one showing irritation because she had a slightly weaker immune system than the others. Since then I have started adding a little dried Purple Cone Flower (echinacea) to their diet and I we've never had an outbreak since. That's been ages, if not a couple of years, now - maybe just coincidence.

I'm sure your piggies will be fine - but check back with your vet if the scabs don't seem to be healing.
 
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