Worried about my guinea pigs

Question
QUESTION: Hi, please, please help me.
i have 3 guinea pigs. 2 boys 1 girl. the boys, i think have MANGE MITES they have bald patches, they scratch, have sores and i think it is dandruff. BOTH OF THE BOYS HAVE IT. the girl dosn't because she is separated.

But my dad wont spend the money on taking them to the vet, he bought lice spray and i have been srpaying them all once a day.

Will this spray help them recover or will they die without vet treatment.

Please tell me the truth i am soooo worried about them an tell me what to do.

thank you so much. Lucy


Mange Mites   ANSWER: Hello Lucy,
Thank you for being concerned enough about your three babys that you would write me.
Unfortunatly, this sound pretty bad. I often get people in the same situation as you, there parents wont pay vet bills. It makes me sad that not all parents were like my mother who took them to the vet almost obsessivly. I do hope that you can convince your father that he MUST, MUST get at least one of them to the vet. It is not required that you take both, but still required.
I do not and will never want to see your babys pass away, but this can be life threatening. Sweety, take them ASAP to the vet, get two or three piggys worth of what the vet prescibes, and just for a warning, this will cost over $100.

Feel free to give me a follow-up or ask me any other questions you may have!


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hey, just letting you know that my dad read your response and he decided to take them to the vet. but i called them as they were about to close, and they said that it was not an emergency. so we are going to try tommorow. Will they live?  thank you. Lucy

ANSWER: Lol, just responded to your other follow up, yes they will ive till morning hun.
-Nicole M.E. Bury

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi again, letting you know my dad took them to the vet and yes it was MITES...she gave them both the treatment(a needle) and they squealed so much. but know i am worried because one of the guinea pigs had 3 FITS. he was scratching uncontrolablly and loosing balance, and his eyes rolled back a bit. is this just a side effect? will it kill him if it happens again?

one question i forgot to ask was how do guinea pigs get mites in the first place?

thank you for putting up with me...lol...Lucy.

Answer
Heya Lucy!
Putting up with you? I love this volunteer work, its super fun! lol ;)
Well to answer your first question about the fits or 'episodes', this is probably not normal. I do not have any personal expierience with mites but I could not find ANY other reports about this, which is odd. I suggset calling the vets office and asking to speak to the vet who you saw, tell him/her about this and see what they say.
As for 'how do guinea pigs get mites in the first place?', This could be one of three things. If you bought them within the last 2 months then they may have had it from there previous owner/breeder. Second is that somebody in your house, human cat or dog, could have come in contact with it and passed it on without it infesting themselves (which it cant do to humans, not enough fur). A third and unlikely cause is that the wind may just have blown a mite or an egg into the cage, and it hatched or found piggy one and two.

Ttyl ;)