Parasites in guinea pigs and how to deal with them. Why are water mites dangerous, their habitat, appearance and physiology Drops from a subcutaneous tick for guinea pigs

Infection occurs on the street or during contact with other animals. Interesting fact, a subcutaneous tick can wait for months for a favorable time in the layers of the skin. Active reproduction begins during a noticeable weakening of the immune system.

Diagnostics

Guinea pig tick symptoms:

• severe itching;
• hair loss;
• peeling of the skin;
• combing;
• dandruff;
• dull coat;
• alopecia;
• touch causes pain.

If you have one or more of these symptoms, contact your veterinary clinic. The sooner you start treatment for ticks, the easier it will be and will give a quick result.

Treatment

Appoint proper treatment only a qualified doctor can do it. Mostly prescribed injections of "Ivermectin". The dosage is determined based on the weight of the animal, an injection is given once a week. The following drugs are often prescribed:

Apply the required amount to the skin and hold the pet for 15 minutes in your hands so that he does not scratch the medicine.

Repeat the procedure after two weeks.

Don't expect instant improvement. It will be possible to cure a guinea pig from ticks only after 2-4 weeks, depending on the complexity of the situation. It is recommended to supplement the diet to strengthen immunity.

Do not self-medicate. The drug is prescribed only by a qualified veterinarian. A course of treatment can include only one drug. Two or more will cause severe intoxication of the body. A second procedure is mandatory, since parasite eggs cannot be destroyed due to strong protection. After 10-14 days, they come out of the egg and receive a new dose of antiparasitic agent.

• Class: Arachnida Lamarck, 1801 = Arachnids
• Squad: Araneae = Spiders
• suborder: Araneomorphae = Araneomorphic spiders
• Family: Theridiidae = Tenet spiders
• Genus: Hydrachna = Water mite

Species: Hydrachna cruenta Mull. = Red spider, water mite

Red spider, water mite - Hydrachna cruenta Mull.

Bright red, small, round, like a ball, mite. Quickly moving its eight legs, this tick quickly rushes through the water and looks like a rolling bright red ball.

Several of these mites, planted in a jar of plants, have a very beautiful view and live quite well, feeding on well-aimed crustaceans in the water. In the aquarium where this tick is placed, neither fish nor large predatory insects should be planted, otherwise it will quickly become their prey.

The persecution of such a tick by a thick water bug with a comb is interesting. Rowing with all its strength with its huge paws, the comb rushes after the water mite. But the cunning tick, noticing the approach of the enemy, instantly changes direction, and the bug flying at full speed, not being able to keep this swing, flies past. The ticker rushes on. The comb is behind him. The tick is back on guard, the comb again misses. And so on endlessly, until the bug manages to somehow squeeze it against the walls of the jar or attack by chance.

Subsequently, some mites seem to attach themselves again, but this time to an aquatic plant, and undergo a second molt, with which they also reach sexual maturity.

The water mite, like its other relatives, is small in size, it will be difficult to see it with the naked eye. A photo of a water mite for study is taken under a microscope, and then enlarged several times. recognize water dweller from arachnids can be according to the following characteristics:

• adult size is no more than 3 mm, males do not grow to such sizes, their body length is no more than 2 mm;
• the body has a round shape, a very small head is difficult to see even with magnification;
• the color of the aquatic inhabitant is usually bright, the colors may vary, mainly yellow, orange, red ticks are found;
• like other arthropods, there are four pairs of limbs, the first is modified;
• one or two pairs of eyes on the head;
• adults are almost completely covered with bristles.

water mite great swimmer, he managed to achieve this through long legs.

Interesting!

Breathing is carried out by the entire surface of the back, oxygen is absorbed from environment. An arachnid can survive even if the ratio of oxygen to other substances is 1 to a million.

Representatives of the genus Limnocharis do not have small bristles on the body, their legs are poorly developed. They move only by crawling along the bottom.

There is a subspecies living in salt water. The sea tick is practically no different from its freshwater relatives.

Food

• plankton;
• aquatic invertebrates;
• small crustaceans;
• seaweed.

On a note!

The water mite is not at all dangerous to humans, the arthropod will not even think of attacking such a large warm-blooded individual.

reproduction

Reproduction occurs sexually. After mating, the female lays eggs on algae, they attach to the chosen prey and go through a complex process. life cycle from three juvenile stages. Only after making this long journey in an inert state, the larva hatched from the egg will become a sexually mature individual. It is impossible to find a separately floating egg or water mite larva; only adults can be in this state.

habitats

Water mites can be found in almost any body of water, whether fresh or salty. They are common in:

• large and small rivers;
• salt and freshwater lakes;
• mountain streams;
• seas and oceans.

Interesting!

Analysis of stagnant water from a forest puddle showed the presence of water mites in in large numbers.

With the naked eye, you can find the location of ticks on the shallows of rivers and ponds in clear weather. If you look closely, then very small, slowly moving brightly colored dots are noticeable on the sandy bottom, these will be the desired water sports arachnids.

Danger to humans and animals

water mites(Hydracarina) belong to the class of arachnids (Arachnoidea), to the order of ticks (Acarina) and form a well-demarcated group, with a similar lifestyle.
These animals are widely distributed and inhabit a variety of water bodies. On excursions they come across very often, involuntarily attracting attention with their bright color, which is characteristic of many species. They are also found in large reservoirs (Hydrochoreutes) and in the smallest ones. Most often they can be found in ponds densely overgrown with vegetation (Limnesia, Frontipoda, Limnochares). They are found even in small ditches, pits filled with water, in puddles, etc., especially in spring (Acercus torris О. F. Mull., Hydrachna globosa, Hydryphantes). Even in winter, when fishing through an ice-hole, water mites are caught in large numbers (Limnochares aquatica L.).

Water mites, hydracarines. Gone strongly. 1 - Limnochares aquatica is bright red in color, leads a benthic lifestyle, crawling along aquatic plants, can't swim; 2 - Hydrochoreutes ungulatus male - yellowish in color with a translucent dark liver, has very long swimming legs, not shown in the figure, an inhabitant of large reservoirs - lakes, ponds; 3- Piona nodata - red-brown in color, found in large reservoirs; 4 - Acercus torris male - yellow-brown in color, on the legs of males there are special thickenings that play a role in copulation, found in small puddles; 5- Limnesia undulata female - yellow, occasionally red with a translucent black liver, an inhabitant of shallow waters; 6 - Frontipoda musculus female - green, less often yellow or reddish, with short swimming legs, sitting in a bundle near the mouth, lives in heavily overgrown water bodies; 7 - Arrhenurus neumani - red, rarely green in color with a posterior body appendage characteristic of males of this genus; 8 - Hydrarachna geographica - bright red with black spots, has short swimming legs, is found in ponds and puddles, especially in spring (length 8 mm - "queen" hydracarine); 9 - Hydryphantes ruber female - bright red, found in shallow ponds, ditches, puddles, mainly in spring.

Appearance. Ticks have a sac-like non-segmented, more or less rounded body and are equipped with four pairs of six-segmented legs, which usually end in two claws.
The mouthparts are elongated into a "beak" adapted for sucking.
The coloration of water mites is remarkable and especially attracts the attention of observers; it strikes with its brightness and diversity. The red color predominates, which unusually distinguishes animals against the background of the dark bottom of green plants (Umnochares, Hydryphantes, Hydrarachna Arrhenurus, etc.). There are colors: blue-green, orange, yellow, brown, etc. It often happens that the same species varies greatly in color. So, Limnesla undulata is both yellow and red. Frontlpoda musculus is more often green, but it can be yellow and red. Arrhenurus neumani is red, but green is also found, etc. What variegated tones can be observed in some species is shown by the example of the “queen” of water mites - the geographic tick (Hydrarachna geographica), which has bizarre black spots scattered on a bright red background. In most cases, the patterns on the body of ticks depend on the fact that dark lobes of the liver and an extremely diversely colored excretory gland appear through their skin.
With such a conspicuous appearance, it would be expected that water mites would be exterminated en masse by other animals. However, this is not observed, and, for example, they are very rarely found in the stomachs of fish. It has even been noticed that a fish, having grabbed a water tick, does not swallow it, but spits it out. Do not touch them and other aquatic predators from the world of insects. This phenomenon is apparently due to the fact that water mites secrete a poisonous or unpleasant-tasting liquid from their skin glands, which scares off enemies. Under such conditions, bright coloring is not. only does not harm ticks, but can even be useful for them, playing the role of a color signal that saves them from the danger of attack. A similar "warning coloration" is known in a number of animals (for example, ladybugs). It is possible that here we have something similar.

Masonry of water mites. (According to I. I. Sokolov.)
I - eggs of Piona carnea: 1 - many clutches on a buttercup leaf in eat. led; 2 - three masonry in stole. form; II - Hydryphantes eggs; 3 - masonry in stole. form; 4 - the same masonry with a large magnification; III - clutch of Linnochares aquatica: 5 - in ed. led. on an elodea leaf; 6 - the same stole.

General move development water mites is quite complex. Mature females lay their eggs on underwater parts of plants, stones, piles and the like. Usually eggs are laid in groups, very rarely they are drilled one by one into the plant tissue. Most often, the eggs are colored red or yellow-red and therefore catch the eye, despite their small size, especially since females most often lay eggs in the neighborhood of each other, so that egg clusters can be quite significant (Fiona carnea and etc.).

Pupae of the tick Hydrarachna sp. on a water scorpion. Some led away.

Varieties of ticks