White bugs crawling on my pig's hair. How do I treat pig lice?

The best way to treat lice in pigs is with Ivermectin. It is the safest and most reliable drug. I suggest you contact your local vet to get this medication and to get dosing information. Other possible medications that would work: diazinon, lindane or deltamethrin. These medications are harder to find and are considered not as safe. All these medications are ineffective against lice eggs so it is necessary to treat the animals and the environment multiple times.

The best thing to use for lice in pigs in ivermectin. Make sure you are using the correct concentration (typically 1% works best) and dose for Penelope's weight. It can be mixed in with the food or squirted into her mouth. It must be given in two doses two weeks apart. Ivermectin can also be given injectably.

Ivermectin in pigs can only be given by subcutaneous injection at the neck, so no you cannot give it to Penelope orally. I would have a friend come over to help hold her so you can give her the shot.

Typically, unless your piggy comes to you with mange you are unlikely to encounter an infection. This is not true however if your pig is going to be in contact with several other pigs on any sort of regular basis, particularly those of unknown health status. Should your pig become afflicted with this, it is relatively easy to address. The best way is with two injections of ivermectin separated by two weeks. There are two common mites in pigs. The sarcoptic mange mite can be passed between dogs, pigs, and humans. The demodectic mite can not be passed to dogs as it is species specific. Hope this answers your questions and concerns.

Since both are microscopic, you will need your vet to do a skin scrape and tape impression, then they can look at it under the microscope and tell you which one is found. Lice can look like white flakes on the skin, but then again this can also be dandruff, so it is important to always look at this under the microscope. You will need to schedule an appt for Nova to get this diagnosed and treated. Best wishes.

Thanks for reaching out. Treating with topical medications could have residual effects that could affect a newly hatched chick. Injectable ivermectin could help but most of these lice are chewing, not blood sucking, so could be less effective. Lice are typically visible to the eye and can be found on the underside of wing feathers. Check before treating. Good luck.

Guinea pigs often get ringworm, so I would encourage you to have a follow up appointment with your veterinarian and discuss testing and possibly treating for ringworm. In the meantime please practice good hygiene after handling him as human can be infected with ringworm too. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.