[Gpdd] Health: Guinea Pig Lice

[Ruth Leibowitz]

Dear Megan -- Re guinea pig lice --

When I brought my dear Nani Alice home for the first time I belatedly 
noticed white things sticking to her fur, which turned out to be lice eggs.  
My vet identified them by looking at them under a microscope.  He told me 
that lice tend to be specific to species.  So, if your guinea pig does 
indeed have lice they probably did come from the pet store and not from 
cats. I forget the name of the medication prescribed by my veterinarian, but 
it was a brand commonly used for cats and dogs for fleas and other pests 
except in MUCH SMALLER amounts.  He admitted that the medication had NOT 
been "approved" for guinea pigs, but that in his community of vets it had 
often been used and worked well.  I used it with Nani, and because she 
shared a home with another pig I had to give it to him as well.  I was also 
told to keep the cage extra clean, changing bedding more frequently than 
usual during this time.  The medication worked, there were no side effects 
that I could see, and several months later both piggies are lice free.  I 
never saw the lice though -- just the eggs.  So you will probably have to 
have your vet look at them to confirm what the crawling things are.  But 
just to let you know that if they are lice there is treatment that is not so 
hard on the piggies and works well.

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