[Gpdd] [HEALTH] Parasites

[Ann Evans]

Dear Jaime & Mimi and the GPDD Family,
Do not worry about the medicines used for treating parasites upsetting 
Mimi's tummy. In the UK the medicines are given straight from the 
bottle. At Dr. Frank Bonsack's veterinary hospital we mix them with a 
little juice called Ribena, to make them taste better. However I have 
never seen a piggy get an upset tummy from ivermectin or Panacur.

Why you should treat your cavy for internal and external parasites?
This is also called worming but also involves bathing your cavy to kill 
fur lice.
This protocol is based on the work of Vedra Stanley-Spatcher of the 
Cambridge Cavy Trust and Guinea Pig Hospital. She is also the founder of 
the British Association of Rodentologists.
http://www.britishassociationofrodentologists.co.uk/
The protocol is not an exact copy of Vedra’s but has been slightly 
modified from my experience in worming cavies since the early 1980’s.
The purpose of this document is to educate and hopefully cavy owners 
will seek out vets that will worm their cavies. The drugs that are used 
for worming cavies are the same drugs that are used to worm cats and 
dogs, thus every veterinarian should have these drugs.

All cavies should be wormed or treated for internal and external 
parasites. They pick up parasites from the pelleted food, hay and fruits 
and vegetables that they are fed. They can also get parasites, protozoa, 
and foreign bacteria from water, other cavies, rabbits, dogs, cats, 
mice, rats and insects.

A cavy’s digestive system is very similar to a sheep’s digestive system. 
When you feed your cavy hay, which all cavies should get free choice 
everyday, it is no different than you allowing them to graze in a field 
of hay. The hay that you buy was grown in a field that contains insects 
in the soil and on the plants and all types of wild animals running 
through the field. Also, there are birds that fly over and nest in the 
fields. All of the animals and insects defecate and urinate on the hay. 
The hay is cut, left to dry and baled. It is not disinfected or 
irradiated to kill bacteria, parasites and parasite eggs. The same holds 
true for all of the ingredients that go into the pelleted food your cavy 
eats. The hay and grains are held in silos that are infested with 
insects, rats and mice. Even the bread you buy at the grocery store is 
allowed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to have so many insect 
parts and insect eggs per loaf of bread. It is always good to feed your 
cavies a cup of fresh fruit and vegetables each day. There is no way to 
remove all the parasites, parasite eggs and bad bacteria from the fresh 
food that you feed your cavy. Therefore, all cavies need to be wormed. 
Worming is both preventative medicine and is used to kill the parasites 
that your cavy already has. Worming can stop life-threatening diarrhea 
caused by parasitic and bacterial infection of the cecum. What worming 
also does is kill mange mites, rabbit ear mites, dog ticks, cat lice, 
liver flukes and an entire list of internal and external parasites from 
tapeworms, nematodes, Cyrtosporidium and Giardia to name just a few of 
the parasites that infect cavies. In addition, fur lice die within the 
body tissues and their decomposing bodies have been shown to cause 
abscesses of the lymph nodes.

Parasites can invade the wall of the stomach, small and large intestines 
and cecum and invade the liver, pancreas, lungs, nervous system and 
heart. The walls of the intestines and cecum are one cell thick. 
Therefore, these parasites may not show up in a fecal test. Giardia, a 
protozoa has a suction cup that keeps it attached to the gut wall, thus 
giardia often do not show up in fecal tests.  A sheep farmer does not 
first do a fecal test on the entire herd of sheep. The sheep are wormed 
on a schedule. This is true of million dollar racehorses. Once again 
worming is both preventative medicine and kills existing parasites. 
Parasites release toxins that can damage every organ and carry bacteria 
that interfere in the cecum's ability to process and absorb nutrients. I 
have treated many cavies that were constantly loosing weight or had soft 
stools yet they did not have any teeth problems, infections or signs of 
parasites. I start worming all cavies at 3 months of age. I give orally 
0.4 ml 2.5% Panacur = fenbendazole or 0.4 ml 2.5% Valbazen = 
albendazole. The dose is based on metabolic rate not on body weight and 
is 10 mg of either of these drugs for 5 days. I also give orally 0.1 ml 
of 1.0% Ivermectin sterile solution for injection. Very Important !!! 
0.1 ml equals 2 drops of 1.0% Ivermectin.  I give the Ivermectin orally 
on day 1 and 7. This will cover the mange mites and internal parasite 
spectrum. Then staring at 6 months of age and then every 3 months for 
the rest of their lives they get orally 0.2 ml of 1.0% Ivermectin and 
orally 0.4 ml 2.5% Panacur or 0.4 ml 2.5% Valbazen, one dose of each.

Since all my cavies are rescued and sometimes the females are pregnant, 
I start worming all cavies at 3 months of age and pregnant cavies. Also, 
while they are in quarantine they get bathed with an anti-parasitic 
shampoo that contains 0.15% pyrethrins. They get 3 baths 7 days apart. 
The purpose of the baths is to kill lice, mites and ticks and fleas. I 
work the lather up into their ears to kill mites and lice in the ear 
canals. I use Adams shampoo for puppies and kittens that contains 0.15% 
pyrethrins or the Adams D-Limonene Flea & Tick Shampoo. I just use a 
nickel size amount in the palm of my hand and rub my hands together 
until I get a good lather and then apply it to the wet cavy. Make sure 
to work the lather into the ear canals. Leave the shampoo on for 10 
minutes. Wrap your cavy in a towel to keep it warm, and then rinse. You 
can use an ear cleaner/dryer solution after bathing but it is not 
essential. I then towel and blow-dry on low heat. I bathe my cavies 
every other month with an antiparasitic shampoo or antifungal shampoo 
such as Betadine or Poviderm.

Ivermectin can be bought from feed stores or the Internet 
http://www.this-little-piggie-marketplace.com/. I always use a sterile 
needle and syringe to remove the Ivermectin from the bottle. I then 
expel the Ivermectin into a small cap. I aspirate 0.1 – 0.2 ml using a 
1.0 ml slip tip syringe. This way I never contaminate the Ivermectin in 
the original bottle. I order 2.5% Panacur from PCP direct.
http://www.pcpdirect.co.uk/Search.asp
They have very reasonable prices and shipping and you will get it in a 
week. They take major credit cards. However, you may have to notify your 
bank that you are going to buy from the UK online so that they approve 
the charge. My bank charges me a 3% surcharge for a foreign transaction. 
Panacur is a suspension, so must be shaken before dispensing into 
another cap. I use a separate 1.0 ml syringe to administer 0.4 ml 
Panacur. I refrigerate both medications but administer them at room 
temperature.
I hope you find this helpful.
In the United Kingdom vets are required to worm cavies if the owner 
requests that it be done. It the vet refuses to worm the cavy or refer 
the owner to a vet that will worm the cavy the vet can be charged with 
animal cruelty. The withholding of preventative treatment until the 
animal is actually suffering is no longer an acceptable practice.

Cheers,

Ann and the Rescued Piggys of Piggyville, Tampa Florida USA.