A cavy with running lice (or
"pälsätare",
as we say in Sweden), gets itchy and in severe cases
the cavy might even try to
bite off its own fur. The cavy loses hair, and the
coat looks thin. The poor cavy usually scratches a lot.
A mild infestation might go on for
years undetected, only to get a lot worse in a
stressful situation (for the cavy). The cavy can lose
fur when pregnant, after a show or travel, when its
cavyfriend has died, if it has gotten a new cavyfriend,
and in any other stressful situation.
To treat your guinea pigs successfully you need to find out what is wrong, you need to know what kind of parasite is bugging your pet.
Running Lice are easy to detect and treat.
You do not even have to
see a vet. If your cavy has dark fur, the lice themselves
are easy to see, they usually look like little white or
yellow worms, about 1 1/2 to 2 mm long,
crawling around in the fur. Most often they stay near the
cavy's skin, not far out on the hairs. If the cavy has
lots of them you can see them easily in the short fur
around the eyes.
Part the fur and look, but beware - they move away fast.
In Sweden we usually use lice schampoo for dogs, bathe all the pigs at least three times with 10 - 14 days inbetween. The pig has to be completely dry before it is put back into its cage. Treat all cavies at the same time. Do not let unbathed cavies touch bathed cavies. Cavy lice only spread to cavies. Treat your friend's cavies too, if they ever meet yours.
Make sure that all cavies are absolutely dry before they are put back into their cages.
You can also use Ivomec, given orally is ok (injections are not needed), but this is only recommended if you have more cavies than you can bathe in one day. Ivomec is a strong medicine - do not use it when you do not actually have to. I recommend that you invite your friends to help you bathe (and dry) your pigs instead of using Ivomec against running lice.
Also remember that Ivomec is a very strong poison, some dogs might die from only a few drops. Wash you hands thoroughly if you have used Ivomec.
Running lice only spread via direct contact, fur to fur, cavy to cavy. They can only live on cavies. It may be interesting to know that you only have to bathe all cavies, you do not have to clean out cages just in order to get rid of the running lice...
Three different species of these lice are known to live on cavies. Gliricola porcelli is the most common. They are not blood suckers. But they irritate the cavy a lot, so it is important to treat all affected animals immideately.
Copyright Eva Johansson.
Last update: 2nd of December 2005.