[Gpdd] HEALTH: mites

[warmbreath at comcast.net]

Joanie is right about mites and cleanup for the reason that mites are a more 
complex little species than is widely known.  In my learning about rabbits 
on etherbun I learned there are 5 kinds of mites that infest buns, I THINK 
they all affect pigs to but I'm not 100% sure. There are ear mites, 
burrowing mites, dog and cat mites, fur mites, one may be rodent specific, 
etc. and only one infests the environment.  Some of these categories might 
overlap but there are some conclusions that we can derive to make and keep 
our piggies more comfortable and healthy. The number one premise is you cant 
allow mites to infest your pigs.

Because your piggies, or at least one of them may have come from a shelter, 
breeder, or pet store (which means breeder too) they most likely bring one 
or more species of mites into your home. For this reason I always treat a 
new pig ASAP with Ivermectin hopefully first shot before he comes into the 
house, and leave his box and bedding outside as I bring him in. Many of the 
mite types will die off and if the second dose of Ivermectin is given in the 
proper time frame, then it's likely that the mite infection may be gone 
BUT, if it's the type of mite that can live in the environment for a while 
and reinfest they may recur, also a few may slip through the shot schedule, 
and there's worry that some resistance to the common drugs is developing. So 
its better to clean the environment as thoroughly as possible because you 
aren't going to know what kind of mite you have.

Allot of vets want to do a "scrape" test on your pig to diagnose mites. Dont 
do this, it MAY find burrowing mites if one burrowed exactly where the vet 
scrapes, but it will hurt your pig, cost money, and it wont find most of the 
other kinds of mites, worse since the test most likely wont find a mite the 
vet will say you dont need to treat for mites, Baloney!! A new pig likely 
has mites of some type somewhere, and if your pig is robust he may not even 
show any signs as his immune system can keep the level of infestation low 
however if he becomes ill at a later time and that immune system drops he 
can be hit with a huge infestation of mites almost overnight. Most mites can 
be diagnosed by hair loss, black flecks (feces) itching, discomfort, 
seizures, lots of black gunk in the ears, dont assume that it's ear wax.

Revolution is the big new "thing" because you can take it home and no shot 
is required, but there seems to be some toleration developing to it plus it 
doesn't kill any of the common (or uncommon) INTERNAL parasites such as 
worms that Ivermectin kills. So if you do chose Revolution do 2 treatments. 
And remembers you wont be getting internal parasites. Plus if you will 
remember back to our debate and information search about e.cuniculi in pigs. 
The rabbit breeder that wrote a comprehensive article on the occurrence, 
treatment, and prevention of e.c.in her rabbitry concluded that not one bun 
in her large facility who had been treated with Ivermectin (usually at a 
young age) ever came down with e.c. in her facility. Conversely of the few 
buns she had that developed e.c. not one of those had ever been treated with 
Ivermectin.  (Remember Ivermectin is not the drug of choice to treat an 
active  e.c. infection)

>From all this information over my many years with piggies my choice has been 
to treat every new pig with Ivermectin, 2 courses, and once a year to 
alternate with another drug for mites to wipe out any that may be developing 
an immunity if you continue to have outbreaks from time to time. I treat 
every pig at least once a year with Ivermectin and with any outbreak I clean 
the environment to as much as I possibly can, like vacuuming everything, the 
baseboards, bookshelves, throw away the vacuum cleaner bag after vacuuming, 
move and clean all the furniture, dust with a vinegar wetted rag etc besides 
sterilizing the cages and equipment.

Mites cause real pain to piggies and can actually drive them crazy to the 
point of seizures so mites deserve our attention to their swift and frequent 
demise. I apologize about the pig who had hair loss message that started 
this. Right off it was discussed as a fungus, which it may be, but I thought 
OH! fungus, which I know little about, so I didn't think of mites. Thank 
goodness other great members covered the mite problem.  The most common 
cause of hair loss in pigs is from mites, and if its in stripes along each 
flank in a she pig its likely due to a hormone problem due to cystic ovary 
disease or similar. More than one reason for piggy hair loss, more than 1 
way to treat mites, more than 1 kind of mites, and loss of consequences for 
not treating both hair loss and mites.  So get your piggies those ivermectin 
shots, 2, 7 to 10 days apart without fail. Assume that mites are present and 
watch for signs esp. when your piggie is sick. And if your pig comes down 
with a mite infection seemingly out of the blue get him in for a thorough 
check up, often its the first sign of some illness. Track weight etc to help 
find the problem. So look at mites as everywhere, and both a disease and a 
symptom
best regards Sandy and Sammy