[Gpdd] Health: Mites and Ivermectin
EVE BLACKE
shiksachick at hotmail.com
Wed Mar 15 20:59:53 EST 2006
Hi Julie,
I recently went through a mite infection with my one pig Paddington. The
vet gave him the initial dose of ivermectin by injection. He didn't care
for it and neither did I. It did help him, though. For his followup dose
as well as treating my other guineas, I searched for a vet supply store
online. I got generic ivermectin along with syringes delivered to my house
in 6 days for less than the cost of a single vet visit and I was able to
treat all of my piggies and have a reserve *just in case*.
It is really easy to make up an oral dose. The ivermectin is marketed for
cattle (1% injectable) so you have to dilute the ivermectin to make it piggy
friendly. You also have to have an accurate weight for your piggie to give
the appropriate dose. You need a small 1cc syringe with the needle. Draw
out 0.5cc of the ivermectin and squirt it into a small container. Then take
4.5cc of warm water and squirt it into the same container and MIX
THOROUGHLY. It's EXTREMELY important to be as accurate with these
measurements as possible! You are only using a tiny portion of this amount.
The dose is 0.2cc per kilogram of pig....so if your piggie is 1000grams or
2.2pounds exactly, draw 0.2cc of the mixture into the syringe (without the
needle this time) and administer it to the pig. My pigs didn't kick up a
fuss and readily accepted it. What's left over has to be thrown out and
you need to make up a fresh mixture for their followup dose.
The site I got my ivermectin on was KV Vet Supply along with the 1cc
syringes and a 10cc syringe (made the water measurement easier). Necessity
is the mother of invention......I don't have a good exotics vet and what the
latest one put my pig through just to receive his first dose was
unacceptable to me so I searched for hours online before settling on KV Vet
Supply.
*****An underdose won't solve the problem and an overdose can kill. If you
aren't comfortable with the math or don't understand how to come up with the
right dose for your piggie, consult guinealynx or your vet. If you choose
to administer diluted ivermectin to your pigs, you are doing so AT YOUR OWN
RISK*******
I hope Dougall gets better real soon! He does need ivermectin, though, if
it's mites....I'm not aware of any natural remedy. Just know you have
options!!
Eve along with the furry brood!
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