Cavy Flea Treatment

[swirlysf]

I apologize for creating this thread if there is already one about this topic already. I looked through Guinea Lynx, as well as through the search link in the forums, but I couldn't find that didn't go into detail about flea treatments beyond that of treating the animal, the home, and the yard, and being careful about what kind of products to use on them.

Anyway, what I wanted to ask is what methods can be used to treat fleas on a guinea pig?

I'm asking because today at work, I got a phone call from a girl who said she has fleas on her guinea pig. She called one of the vets in the city, an exotic specialist, who told her to use flea powder on her guinea pig, one that was safe to use on kittens.

After looking through the powders we had, I told her that in my honest opinion, I wouldn't recommend the flea powders that we carried. Most, if not all of them, stated that it was only recommended for pets older than 12 weeks old. It made me wary to read that on the label. If it was really safe for younger/smaller animals, I would think it would state that it would safer for animals older than 6-8 weeks, not 12. The one that didn't state that was for pet bedding only, to which I told her I didn't think it would be a good idea to use around her pig because of the cedar oil in it.

My coworker recommended using cedar bedding for a short while, about a week. I did not agree with him, telling him that I did not think it would safe for a guinea pig to spend even that amount of time around such aromatic oils.

Was I wrong for going against what the vet recommended? For not agreeing with my coworker? What should I recommend the next time I get such a phone call?

I myself have a flea treatment plan for my guinea pigs, but it is a preventative one, not one that I use directly on my cavies. I treat my household, making sure to spray on the carpet and upholstery, especially right before I pet-sit my neighbor's dog (who I make sure is up to date on his Frontline).

[Also, I wasn't sure if this should go under the medical forum or cavy chat. If this does go under medical, feel free to move this.]

[PinkRufus]

You were right to recommend against flea powder or cedar shavings. Both of those can be very harmful (if not fatal) to guinea pigs.

The same treatment used to treat mites/lice should work on other external parasites such as fleas.
https://www.guinealynx.info/lice.html

https://www.guinealynx.info/parasites.html

[swirlysf]

I was thinking Advantage, but then I remembered that they changed the formula. Would the new Advantage II be alright to use? They do have one for kittens lighter than 4 lbs.

Revolution would be okay to use as well right?

[PinkRufus]

I would *think* so, but it would be a good idea for you to wait for someone with more parasite experience to chime in.

[babytulip07]

Revolution or Ivermectin would be your best bet. Those will kill just about any parasite the guinea pig has. Fleas are actually fairly rare on guinea pigs (usually they can get bitten by them but not live on them), so its more likely that the guinea pig has mites.

[DMac]

I agree that the fleas are not living on the pigs, so treating the source - cats, dogs, environment, etc. - will be necessary to really get rid of them.

[moonfall]

My roommate's ferrets have fleas, and she is going to have to treat the carpet and furniture. I haven't seen any fleas on the piggies yet; do guinea pigs not get fleas?

[Feylin]

Something else to point out to the person is that a vet recommending dog/cat flea powder for pigs is probably a vet who doesn't know enough about guinea pigs to be properly treating them.

Not the vet's fault, they simply don't get the training, and you'll find lots of them doing the best they can with incorrect information.

[PinkRufus]

Ditto Feylin.

[swirlysf]

Well that's the strange part Feylin. The girl on the phone told me which vet clinic she called to ask about the fleas. I recognized the clinic and asked if she talked to a vet, or to a vet tech. She said vet, and when I asked her which one, she couldn't tell me who exactly.

There's three vets at that clinic, two who are exotic specialist and whom I've seen before with my piggies. Granted, I wasn't too impressed with them so I switched, but I was surprised to hear that kind of advice from their clinic as they tend to see quite a number of exotics everyday. Of course, the girl could be wrong about which clinic she called. She was strangely agreeable to everything I said, answering everything with a high pitched "okay." However, at the same time, it seemed that she wasn't quite sure what she was doing as she was unable to clearly answer my questions, taking quite a few pauses before answering.

I would have asked her more questions, but she hung up. Which is a shame because the last time I got a call from someone about fleas and guinea pigs, I asked enough to tell the person that I thought that their guinea pig had mites, not fleas. I then directed her to my current vet who treated her piggy for it.

[Piggywig]

I have a question on this also. I was reading these links, and see that it is time for Louie's follow-up Ivermectin shot. The vet didn't know about this.

However, and this is gross, I know, I found a dead mouse near his cage - we've had some get in our house due to the cold weather, and had to set out some poison. He started scratching soon after I found this mouse, scratching a lot. He tested negative for ringworm. So I want to treat him for fleas also, even though I haven't seen any or any signs of any (flea dirt). I'm not sure what might have jumped off that mouse and onto him.

I made an appointment for the vet's today. Would an Ivermectin shot plus a flea treatment be too much at once? I'm just so icked out by what might be on him. What is the best flea treatment? I know Advantage is mentioned, but just plain Advantage is not available any more. It is all Advantage Plus. Is that safe at all?

Is Revolution safe? I want to do what is best.

[Piggywig]

He also tested negative for mites and lice when he was tested.