lice, mites and worms

Question
We have 7 guinea pigs that have a gotten lice. We keep our guineas with rabbits. The rabbits do not "appear" to have the lice (but they could have it too). We have bathed each guinea pig with Critter Oil and soap which has killed the living lice but not the eggs so we are repeating the process until all the lice are gone. I have 3 questions:
2. One guinea pig, who had the worst infestation, has lost TOO much weight but is active and eating. Could he have gotten some kind of internal parasite from the lice?
2. If he has a internal parasite can I deworm him with our cat dewormer "WRM Clear"by HomeoPet? I would use a small dose.
3. Where do these lice come from? We give our rabbits and guineas Timothy Hay. We also have ducks and chickens in our yard. Could the lice come from them or the hay? Thanks

Answer
Hello Anna and thanks for the question.

I am glad that the infestation worked out "ok" for you. I have had break outs and I live in the suburbs! LOL.

Ok, to answer your questions:
1) If one of your GPs has lost a great deal of weight BUT is active (not lethagic) and eating, odds are, he will be ok. ANY TIME a GP losses weight quickly or has diahrrea for more than 24 hours you should see a vet. If I were in your shoes, I would just keep him in close observation for a few more days.

2) GPs do not often get worms. You would have to see a vet for this as I know NO TREATMENTS for worms or internal parasites. Looking on th web and to some of my favorate GP meds sites I can find NO worm content at all (other than a very rare nervous system worm which kills almost instantly).

3) If these were lice, it most likely came from the hay. Hay Lice is the number one type of lice to affect GPs. If they were mites they probably came from field mice or any other number of wild animal. Ducks and chicks cannot get mites though I am not sure about lice.

Thanks, good luck and I hope this helps,
Ryan
PS: If this does help you out, please rate me. : )