[Gpdd] [gpdd] Health: Re-Paranoid about Parasites

[Roberta Kjesrud]

I don't think cavies have dandruff, so the flakes  are probably a sign of something.  My pigs, Pixie and Izzie, both  had lice.  If they are actual lice, you can see them wriggling  around.  If they are nits (eggs), they look like dandruff  flakes.  Neither of them lost weight or fur while they had  lice.  But they sure itched a lot.  And it took me a while to  figure out what the problem was because the first few times I looked, I  only saw the "dandruff" and not the live lice.  
  
  I highly recommend Peter Gurney's cure: Neem Oil.  I found it in  the health food store.  I diluted it according to his  recommendation (in vegetable oil) and slathered it on my pigs.   Neem Oil is actually used to flavor Asian food, it obviously is  non-toxic.  After you leave it on for a few days, you can  shampoo.  Then you need to reapply to kill the hatched nits.   One sequence of treatments was all it took.  The only  downside--Pixie hated the way she smelled!  
  
  Here's a link to Gurney's advice: http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/skinp.html
  
  Roberta
  Slave to Cocoa, Pixie, Izzie (all crossed over) and baby Spritz, age four weeks
  

		
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