Hi, we have six guinea pigs, mom, dad, and four babies who are 8 days old. We noticed on the male who has been separated from the mother and babies since half way through the pregnancy he had hair loss and sores, so we took him and the other 5 to the vets. She prescibed ivermectin, 450mcg every two weeks for the dad.
However, when bathing the mother today we found the same symptoms on her neck which had been hidden by her long hair. We now think that both she and most likely the four babies have also got mites! We have some 'beaphar' from a pet shop which contains 4 pipeetes each containing 150ug of ivermectin. Are these safe to give to mom and babies? Also, if we treat the mom and she is breastfeeding how long will the ivermectin stay in her system, is it safe for the baby guineas?
I'm really stressed about this as the reason we took them to the vets was to identify any thing like this and now I'm at a loss of what to do. I don't want the mum to be in pain but also don't want to treat the babies when they are too young.
Any help would be greatly appriciated.
Thank you

Cedar shavings are a good and natural way to get ride of mites.

Any type of medication given to the mother will immediately go to the babies. Moms body is giving everything to her babies. Anything you give her will directly affect the infants.

Contact the vet and ask those questions. They will know more about what to do.

But, cedar shavings won't hurt and may be a quick and simple solution. However, use the cedar shavings a treatment only. The oils and smell is too much for these guys to handle full time.

Good luck

Thanks, it says here http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/guineapigs/a/woodshavings.htm that cedar shavings can be harmful though. Do you know if it is really bad to separate mom and babies whilst I treat the mom with ivermectin? They're already eating fresh and dry food so could be OK on there own. Thanks for your help :-)

There have been many studies done concerning pine chips and cedar chips. Most experts agree that this type of bedding should be avoided for animals. Of the two, pine chips are safer but still not completely safe. The oils can cause respiratory problems etc.

Having said that, I use a pine & spruce blend for my rabbits. It's screened and therefore a little bit safer (in my opinion). I've never had any problems with this product and the pine also has bug repelling properties.

This is really a judgment call that you have to make. I would talk to your vet but you should know that most vets don't know a lot about exotic animals and guinea pigs fall into that category.

Here's a site I found that may help a little, but please don't diagnose this or treat it without consulting a vet.

Guinea Lynx :: Hair Loss

Good luck and we'd love pictures. :)

Yes cedar is harmful long term which is why I said to use it as a type of treatment. Any wood based bedding has the potential of being harmful which is why you should bed them down with carefresh recycled paper based bedding. You can mix the cedar chips into that and everyone should be OK. But its up to you and what you feel comfortable doing.