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Shedding & Mites/Lice

piggl

piggl

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Just got back from holiday a couple days ago and noticed one of my boys has loads of white dots in/on his fur (attached around 3/4 way up the hair strand), which I assume are egg casings due to mites/lice.

I was wondering if a) that dandruff/dry skin is actually a thing, and if that could be the case? and b) His hair is shedding badly, like I pull gently on his fur and it comes out heavily. He has always shed, but not to this extent. Can the shedding of the fur be due to the potential lice? And the hair loss is not in a pattern or anything to indicate anything more serious than lice/mites, I was just wondering if the lice/mites being on his skin/fur may increase the amount of shedding? He is also not balding, his hair is still full-enough.

Just to be clear I will likely be phoning the vet tomorrow, as it does indicate to lice/mites but I was just wondering if anyone could share any insight. Thanks in advance!
 
It can cause shedding.
Run your fingers down the hair shaft. If it is egg casing (ie hay mites) then you will feel the casings stuck fast to the hair shaft - they won’t come off. You can then be confident it is mites
Dandruff will come off when you touch it.

With lice, you will see the pale crawling creatures themselves.
 
Piggies&buns said:
It can cause shedding.
Run your fingers down the hair shaft. If it is egg casing (ie hay mites) then you will feel the casings stuck fast to the hair shaft - they won’t come off. You can then be confident it is mites
Dandruff will come off when you touch it.

With lice, you will see the pale crawling creatures themselves.
Click to expand...
Yeah they are definitely egg casings! I will phone the vet tomorrow.

I’ve dealt with mites once before with a failed bonding piggy, and I was unable to cut his hair, but as bean is mine i would like to cut his hair to just get rid of the mites as soon as possible.
My worry is how much to cut and also the temperature right now. It’s like 11 degree average, reaching around 4-5ish overnight. Will trimming the hair to about 1/4th of the length still be enough to get rid of the casings, but also keep him warm.

Would it be safer for me to leave his hair as is. I am very scared of him being unable to keep himself warm/regulate his temperature especially as it is cooler now.

I assume Reggie will need treatment aswell? He lives alongside bean in his own hutch, but there are grids between them. They also “share” bedding (just the same fleece).

Also apologies about my confusion with the lice. I was getting lice and the different names for hay mites mixed up. He definitely does not have lice.
 
Bump! I now have an appointment booked Thursday morning, I really can not make my mind up on what to do with his hair.
It is so cold right now!
 
piggl said:
Yeah they are definitely egg casings! I will phone the vet tomorrow.

I’ve dealt with mites once before with a failed bonding piggy, and I was unable to cut his hair, but as bean is mine i would like to cut his hair to just get rid of the mites as soon as possible.
My worry is how much to cut and also the temperature right now. It’s like 11 degree average, reaching around 4-5ish overnight. Will trimming the hair to about 1/4th of the length still be enough to get rid of the casings, but also keep him warm.

Would it be safer for me to leave his hair as is. I am very scared of him being unable to keep himself warm/regulate his temperature especially as it is cooler now.

I assume Reggie will need treatment aswell? He lives alongside bean in his own hutch, but there are grids between them. They also “share” bedding (just the same fleece).

Also apologies about my confusion with the lice. I was getting lice and the different names for hay mites mixed up. He definitely does not have lice.
Click to expand...

Hi

You need to treat both boys. Unfortunately, since the egg casings are usually fixed in the hairs of the underlayers where the are not visible, you would need a fairly radical hair cut in order to remove as many eggs as possible. It is OK for a heated indoors setting with some fleece and snugglesafes to sneak underneath at night but not for less protected environments with the first autumn frosts on the way.

If in doubt, don't cut the hair unless you struggle to get on top of the hay mites otherwise.

Wiebke

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Hi, Bean was to see the vet last week and she gave him 1 "treatment" of xeno at the clinic, because they only had 1 tube in.

Now she said that 1 should be enough but from what I know, all those little casings on his fur are just going to keep hatching and restarting the cycle. I am wondering if it is safe for me to order more xeno online and continue to use this, leaving 2 weeks in-between each treatment.

I also have f10 to clean the whole hutch and any wooden items. Question, will the mites attach themselves to the hutch? I know they need to live on something, but if I am cleaning the hides/toys, would the hutch also become a risk?

Thanks!
 
The standard treatment is three treatments two weeks between each.

Just give the hutch a spray down with f10 and wipe as part of normal cleaning routine
 
Piggies&buns said:
The standard treatment is three treatments two weeks between each.

Just give the hutch a spray down with f10 and wipe as part of normal cleaning routine
Click to expand...
So you wouldn't advise against completing the full treatment?
 
piggl said:
So you wouldn't advise against completing the full treatment?
Click to expand...

He needs a full course of treatment to get rid of mites.
As you know - The treatment only kills live mites and doesn’t touch any eggs that are present at the time of the first treatment. Those eggs therefore hatch and need to be killed by the second treatment. The third treatment catches any stragglers.
 
I am currently dealing with this and on his second appointment Jasper still had live ones, confirmed by a cello tape test. I was also told 1 treatment is enough - it wasn't. Definitely complete the full treatment - for peace of mind and also so you don't have to start all over again. It seems uncomfortable for them too.
 
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