[Aunt Sally]

... but it's true.

My children are in their 30s now and I'm sure treatments have changed a lot since the g'pg dunking days 

[Beetroot queen]

beetroot queen, thankyou, that os exactly what the vet said. He was born on the first of dec, so he was very young, but had to be seperated because he is old enough to breed with her . The vet thinks its the stress of the new home/seperation that has brought this on. I was hoping what the vet said about bedding was true, because pigs need hay i was worried about getting more hay for him! Im going to ring the woman i had him from tomorrow, my friend dosent want me to, but i dont care, her pigs need treatment. The vet said some people believe a small number are always present on the pigs, then if they are ill, or stressed etc, it lowers the pigs immune system, allowing the mites to thrive ...like i said earlier, he has had his first dose, but i just dont want him to be in pain, is there anything i can do other than wait for the ivermectin to take affect, and anything i can do in the future to stop this happening again?...thanks

If he is in an indoor cage pop him onto a fleece blanket for a treat they popcorn like made. Might take him mind of the itch.

Did the vet say anything about his bedding, I am sure I remember somewhere reading that it can make the itching worse. It used to be on an old guinea pig forum I used but the site has gone now. If it does make it worse you can replace the bedding with a fleece blanket for a few days, if you pop newspaper underneath with a couple of towels they love it.

I am thinking about changing my girls for good to fleece, sorry off topic now  

[dizzylizzie]

ok, i will do that now..thanks. Could i have done anything to stop this? i feel so bad, i havent even had him a week. , would bathing the sore relieve the itching?
Do you ever get the feeling you should just not have animals
he is still eating and drinking, he has scoffed the red pepper and baby toms he had in there tonight, but im going to put a few munchies in after cleaning him out, that should keep him busy for a while thanks for your very prompt help and advice, very much appreciated

[Beetroot queen]

ok, i will do that now..thanks. Could i have done anything to stop this? i feel so bad, i havent even had him a week. , would bathing the sore relieve the itching?
Do you ever get the feeling you should just not have animals
he is still eating and drinking, he has scoffed the red pepper and baby toms he had in there tonight, but im going to put a few munchies in after cleaning him out, that should keep him busy for a while thanks for your very prompt help and advice, very much appreciated

You couldnt have stopped this happening, he is just a little too worried, he not a chilli pig hes a stressy pig. LOL he will be okay just carry on doing what you are doing. 

[joyfull]

Lizzie do you know which pet shop his mum came from? - perhaps they need to see BQ's list then they could warn people about the effects of stress on these in the future.
Hope your little one is felling better soon, xxx

[sunshineband]

When we kep gpigs I seem to remember some sort of vaccine against mites -- can't remember if it was mange mites or not.

Anyone know anything about this? if you onyl have one or two piggies it might not be too expensive 

[dizzylizzie]

well last night, we cleaned the little man out, put down a clean fleece that we keep for the dog, the guinea pig seems very happy with this as his balls move around better.The vet said we may not see an improvement untill his second injection, but this evening its looking better, and he is running around, playing and squeeking, definitely looking so much happier . He is still shaking his head, but not as much so im guessing its not quite as itchy. I was going to put a photo up so others can use it as a reference, but my lap top is in for repairs, so im on my sons computer and my camera hasnt been installed on this one, so the photos will have to wait till i get mine back!
About the vacine, i dont really care about the cost, if anyone does know of one, i will be very glad of info about it
Joy, i know where they got the pig from , so im going to ring them tomorrow, i spoke to the woman i got him from today, and she was horrified......she says he cant have possibly caught it from her house :blink: :blink:...oh well...i did try!
Thanks for all the info from everyone.....BQ, im never going back to bedding, my little man loves this fleece, so thanks for that

[sunshineband]

Here is article about ivermectin that I found, which might be helpful in disucssion with your vet

http://www.guinealynx.info/mites.html

[dizzylizzie]

Hi, thanks for that ivermectin is what he is being treated with, although im a bit concerned as he is under the weight that was advised for use ...however, he is fine and seems loads better today, racing around and being a bit of an imp, so we are sure he is feeling more comftable . He is back to the vets in 2 weeks, but like i say, already looks alot better today

[joyfull]

so pleased for you all that he is picking up Lizzie  xx

[sunshineband]

Glad to hear he is improving -- they can be very ill with a mite infection 

[dizzylizzie]

My son has taken photos with his camera, so here is my little guinea pig with his poorly head




as you can see, he is quite alert and growing rapidly though

[joyfull]

Oooh right where his rosette is  . He is sooo cute Lizzie 

[too many girls]

i'm not a lover of guinea pigs as a rule (never had one, but when i was 4 a friend put hers down the back of my t shirt as a joke and i thought it was a rat )) but that sure is one cute piggy

[Beetroot queen]

They all love fleece my six adore it. They behave like children on a bouncy castle when they are on it 

Poor head but he looks chirpy so that is a thumbs up for his new mummy