Swabs for mites - how are they usually done?

[Kay701]

So we're having issues with persistent hay mites - have got a plan with the vet which should work this time, combination of ivermectin and shampoo - and have seen two vets about it. The first vet looked at them and took a swab with sellotape to check for mites which both girls reacted fine to.

However the second vet examined Waffle's skin more closely, but by pushing her hair up the wrong way and it must have been quite rough as waffle was shaking for the rest of the appointment, which she's never done at the vets before. The vet then took a swab with a metal looking think with some kind of gel on. She scraped it on the same place on Waffle's skin several times. Waffle started off submission squealing and then full on screamed repeatedly the vet just said 'that was dramatic'. Thing is I don't think she was being dramatic, Waffle is not a dramatic piggy, and it was horrible to see her in such distress.

Waffle is completely fine, calmed down as soon as we got home and is now happily running around with Honey. I'm mainly looking for sympathy because I found it quite traumatic. And also I wanted to ask, does anyone know what the difference between these two types of swab is? Is one better? Could I ask in future for the sellotape swab if necessary or is there a reason for the scraping one? don't want to put either of them through that if there's a less painful alternative.

 

[Wiebke]

So we're having issues with persistent hay mites - have got a plan with the vet which should work this time, combination of ivermectin and shampoo - and have seen two vets about it. The first vet looked at them and took a swab with sellotape to check for mites which both girls reacted fine to.

However the second vet examined Waffle's skin more closely, but by pushing her hair up the wrong way and it must have been quite rough as waffle was shaking for the rest of the appointment, which she's never done at the vets before. The vet then took a swab with a metal looking think with some kind of gel on. She scraped it on the same place on Waffle's skin several times. Waffle started off submission squealing and then full on screamed repeatedly the vet just said 'that was dramatic'. Thing is I don't think she was being dramatic, Waffle is not a dramatic piggy, and it was horrible to see her in such distress.

Waffle is completely fine, calmed down as soon as we got home and is now happily running around with Honey. I'm mainly looking for sympathy because I found it quite traumatic. And also I wanted to ask, does anyone know what the difference between these two types of swab is? Is one better? Could I ask in future for the sellotape swab if necessary or is there a reason for the scraping one? don't want to put either of them through that if there's a less painful alternative.

Hi

Are you dealing with hay or mange mites? They are two different species. Hay mites fix their tiny egg cases to hairs, typically around the bum and the underlayers while mange mites burrow their eggs into the increasingly inflamed skin.

 

[Kay701]

hay mites I was told by the first vet, and I can see the tiny egg cases.

 

[Kay701]

however the second vet said their skin looks a bit sore?

 

[Wiebke]

hay mites I was told by the first vet, and I can see the tiny egg cases.

Hi

Hay mites if you have a persistent outbreak can cause hair loss and somewhat sore skin but not to the deadly degree as mange mites.

What I would recommend with hay mites before you give the bath is to give your piggies a short haircut (even short-haired piggies). It is radical and not very sightly but the hairs will grow back.
What this measure achieves is to mechanically remove the eggs (and therefore the next generation of mites) from he body, which massively reduces the problem you are dealing with. There is also a lot less space to fix new eggs. Egg cases are hard to reach chemically and medically so removing them is the best way prevent the next wave from emergencing. You will still need the ivermectin and the shampoo to get on top of the existing mites and any new or missed eggs. But since some strains of hay mites are very persistent, this simple measure can help to get the problem under control.
An Illustrated Guide to Hair Cutting
Bathing (including cleaning grease glands)

Additionally, I would consider switching to a UK source of farm hay; there are quite a number of online order places. Resistent hay mites typically come with imported industrially havested hay which churns up a lot more soil during the harvesting process compared to more traditional smaller scale harvesting methods.
A Comprehensive Hay Guide for Guinea Pigs (incl. providers in several countries)

I hope that this will help you get a bit more of a grip on the problem.