Weight Loss - Mites?

Brabdog · Post » Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:12 pm

Hello,

One of our male pigs, Smoothie, lost about 70 grams (he generally fluctuated around 1250-1275) and weighed 1180 - 1200 (based on 2x/day weighings) when I weighed him a couple of weeks ago. His appetite seems good, still eating dry and fresh and hay, poops maybe a little smaller than they should be. Scratches a lot, so I figured he had lice.

A little over a week ago we took Smoothie to our Exotics Vet; she checked his teeth, said his heart and lungs sounded good and said he definitely had lice, maybe 'scabies' also ( I described how he fell over sideways sometimes while furiously scratching) so she gave him a shot of Ivermectin, and shaved away a lot of the hair around his ears and head due to all the nits. His weight has been 1150-1160 since returning from the Vets.

The Vet also gave us some Mycodex shampoo and told us to go ahead and shampoo him - we waited a week after the shot and then shampooed him yesterday (Sunday), and the cage. He is due for another Ivermectin shot this Friday.

Now this a.m. Monday his weight was down to 1135, although I observed him eating some dry, and hay, and he ate his fresh food.

Questions:

1. This morning I also noticed that he keeps picking up his bedding material (Carefresh) in his mouth. Anyone ever notice this behavior or know what it means?

2. Vet says Mycodex is safe, she has never had a problem with it... any experiences?

3. Anything else I should be looking for? Vet said to keep an eye out for any straining during urination, but I haven't noticed any problem.

4. At what point should I consider supplementation with hand feeding critical care? I really didn't want to start hand feeding as long as he is eating on his own... but am getting increasingly worried about the weight loss.

Thanks,

Don

Post » Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:52 pm

Stop using the Mycodex. I was going to say it was safe thinking it was an antifungal product, but it is an OTC mite product with pesticides in it:
http://store.yahoo.com/vetamerica/mycwit3xpyr.html

Active Ingredients: Pyrethrins 0.15%
*Piperonyl Butoxide, technical 1.50%

A pig can have a mite or fungal outbreak if their immune system is down. There may be something else going on with your pig. Check the teeth page for signs of malocclusion on the off chance it might be teeth related. Watch how he eats and hand feed if he continues to lose weight.

You might need some general diagnositics to figure out what's going on.

Brabdog · Post » Mon Sep 20, 2004 3:35 pm

Thanks for that feedback. How do we address the mites if we discontinue the Mycodex?

Brabdog · Post » Mon Sep 20, 2004 5:13 pm

Actually I meant lice in msg above, not mites.. and I did some reading here, looks like folks like Advantage for lice so maybe we can give that a try after the Ivermectin shots are completed.

BTW, our Vet (Dr. Goodman mentioned in the Vets section of Lynx) said that Ivermectin was ineffective for pigs if given orally.

Post » Mon Sep 20, 2004 5:15 pm

Ineffective for mites? Lice? Or both?

Post » Mon Sep 20, 2004 7:51 pm

Your vet is mistaken. Send him to any reputable reference for small animals and you'll find oral doses.

Yes, Advantage or topical ivermectin will take care of the lice.

Brabdog · Post » Tue Sep 21, 2004 12:57 pm

Lisam - Vet didn't specify, just said that for GP's oral was ineffective. Another exotics vet in the area I sometimes take my pigs to has told me the same thing. Based on Lynx's info, I will definitely ask Goodman for clarification this week when we take Smoothie for his follow up injection.

Post » Tue Sep 21, 2004 1:29 pm

Yes, maybe you could take the testimonies of the hundreds of guinea pigs who have been cured of mites by oral ivermectin!