RatPalace.com - Pet Rat Care and Discussion

Thu Feb 09, 2006 5:36 am

I have this mite problem that never wants to leave my rats. I clean them every four to five days, and when I clean, I mean soaking and scrubbing each shelf right down to toys and everything in the cage.

I notice my problem with my males, you can see them on my white ones but you really start to notice them when they ich a lot and kind loose hair(I notice that in my fancier rats)

They get baths about once a month, both with mild kitten shampoo with flea/tick/mite treatment. And then with shampoo for sensitive skin. So they go away for awhile and then come back. I've tried everything, even very small doses of flee treatment for dogs.

I notice my baby (the one as my av.) has mites agian! Someone help, I'm annoyed and fustrated with this. . .

Thanks a bunch,
Rae

_________________
Rae AkA LiL OnE
all about the OnE aNd OnLy
www.myspace.com/sexirae34
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
'Kiddos'
My Girlies - *Pinkie* Tauj, Uno, Monkey, & Lady
My Boys - *Ferdinand*, Paris, Achillies, Toby, Bandit, Jasper, & Oscar

Thu Feb 09, 2006 6:12 am

Have you seen a vet and got treatment with ivermectin? The shampoos are usually not enough to shift the problem properly, and you really need to get every rat dosed with ivermectin (the most usual medication) or one of the other suitable products (revolution, frontline, advantage have all been used - though ivermectin is by far the most common product). You will need to get this dosed carefully by the vet, based on accurate weights of the rats. You need to give it orally or dropped onto the back of the neck once a week for three weeks. You need to bleach the cage, hot wash (as hot as possible) all cloth components, bleach or throw out any non-cloth contents of the cage, treat the carpet around the cage with a suitable product (a flea spray or powder - but make sure the rats are out of the room until it's cleared the air) and then vacuum thoroughly, and treat any play areas - beds, sofas, carpeted play rooms etc. It's worth freezing any litter or bedding that you get for 24-48 hours before use (probably easier to freeze as much as you need just before you use it) as mites can be transported in litters, even in sealed packets.

As the puppy/kitten shampoos haven't worked, you really need to see the vet to get a stronger insecticide prescribed for them. It's vital to dose very carefully by weight as they are very easy to overdose with them, and they are nasty in overdoses. If you can see them, however, it's probably not mites. How large are they, and what colour? Most mites are invisible to the naked eye, though occasionally you might see "moving dust" with certain mites. But if they are easy to see, they may well be lice or fleas. If fleas are the problem, you may want to check any other animals in the house, such as dogs or cats - while rat fleas are completely unrelated to cat/dog fleas, cat and dog fleas will attack and bite rats, even though they can't live on them full time.

Hopefully, following this procedure and getting medication for them from the vet will sort out the problem for you, once and for all. Crossed Fingers

_________________
Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Thu Feb 09, 2006 10:00 am

thanks so much,
I'm trying any alter. to the vet(the funds are really short at the time) Stephen, my boyfriend is off in Military training and he always helped me with the money. He can send me some a little at a time until his training lights up which is in the next week or two. I will bleach the cage and do everything you said and see if that works.

As for the colors almost red, their not grey, like I read lice can be. I gave them some anti-itch spray and changed the bedding to paper.

Also, can like the bedding be causing the mite infest? I've been using Aspen but it seems sometimes causes one of mine to get a little irritated. (She's been to the vet a couple times and turned out all I needed was some med. we can buy @ the geocory store)

Again, it seems like everything happened when I have no money and Steve is gone. When he was here everything went so smooth. Sorry for venting..

Thanks so much by the way!

_________________
Rae AkA LiL OnE
all about the OnE aNd OnLy
www.myspace.com/sexirae34
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
'Kiddos'
My Girlies - *Pinkie* Tauj, Uno, Monkey, & Lady
My Boys - *Ferdinand*, Paris, Achillies, Toby, Bandit, Jasper, & Oscar

Thu Feb 09, 2006 9:58 pm

The red colour could well be because they're full of blood. If they're visible, and more than just tiny dust specks (if that) then it's probably not mites. But either way, yes - bugs can come in on litters and beddings. Carefresh is the most common culprit, but I think I've seen other mentions of them coming in on Aspen - and like I said, they can be on the packets, on your clothes, etc - anything that could have been in contact with either pet or wild rats is a potential source.

If you absolutely can't get to the vet, it is possible to buy ivermectin paste (horse wormer) from stores and give them a tiny tiny dose - but I must admit I wouldn't ever do that because it is easy to overdose... but it is possible. If you look under the health section on the left hand side of the screen, there is an article there about treating with ivermectin paste. You need to give them a tiny bit of the paste - a 1lb rat needs a piece the size of an uncooked grain of rice, and no more (or around half a cooked grain of rice). If your rats weigh less, you will need to give them less, so you will need to weigh all of them before you dose them to make sure you give the right amount. You also need to mix the contents of the tube thoroughly to make sure you don't use an area of paste that could have a higher concentration.... some sources say you don't need to do that, but I'd still recommend it just in case. Better safe than sorry.

Again - I'd say that it's best to visit the vet - some will allow you to take in just one of the rats for examination, and will give you the medication to take home and dose the others if you ring around. But if you absolutely can't do so, then this is an option (though personally it's not one I'd go with). Just remember the weighing and adjusting the dose accordingly.

_________________
Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Fri Feb 10, 2006 11:49 am

Strangely tonight I found Ivermectin paste as I was doing a search for the 'culprate' (sorry I can't spell for anything) I also found a spary used to treat kittens can be used for the 'red bugs' and a method to do that. I think it was called Hert or Heart. Something to that nature.

**I vul. @ an Animal Shelter and I took my girlies down with me and a few of us were reseaching this until about 1:30 this morning. Its now almost three so if there is some off the wall spelling typos...you know why lol.

I'm going to try that, and when using bleach is it alright to use it on the food dishes too? I know @ the shelter we never do and it can cause bad problems if not done the rightway. I used a bleach alteritive dawn soap before, do you think it has the same effect as reg. bleach?

_________________
Rae AkA LiL OnE
all about the OnE aNd OnLy
www.myspace.com/sexirae34
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
'Kiddos'
My Girlies - *Pinkie* Tauj, Uno, Monkey, & Lady
My Boys - *Ferdinand*, Paris, Achillies, Toby, Bandit, Jasper, & Oscar

Fri Feb 10, 2006 12:16 pm

Andy has pretty much covered it all.
1. Ivermectin treatments.
2. Scrubbing the cages with bleach--10% bleach solution, not straight up bleach and rinse well.
3. You shouldn't have to bleach the food bowls, I wouldn't.
4. FREEZE your bedding! Even if you have to throw a dozen ziplock bags in the freezer, freeze it for at least a day before you use it!! And don't keep unfrozen portions in the house (your defeating the purpose).
5. If you have any wooden/straw objects in the cage, chuck 'em!! I have found wooden houses to be hiding haven for mites. Blech!! A wooden chew is ok, but I really don't recommend the housing.

Good luck!!

_________________
Karinka
Stop by and see StellaLuna Rattery
www.stellalunarattery.com

Sat Feb 11, 2006 12:27 am

Thanks! Where would I find Ivermectin treatment? At any petstore or like a warehouse or tack place? I think I know what I'm going to be doing this weekend after work.

So that means my girlies wooden ladders are going too? They're not going to be too happy about this. I'll have to go out this weekend and redecorate thier cage. Thanks again, I'll update you all on the progress
!!

_________________
Rae AkA LiL OnE
all about the OnE aNd OnLy
www.myspace.com/sexirae34
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
'Kiddos'
My Girlies - *Pinkie* Tauj, Uno, Monkey, & Lady
My Boys - *Ferdinand*, Paris, Achillies, Toby, Bandit, Jasper, & Oscar

Sat Feb 11, 2006 1:15 am

The wooden ladders might be okay, but I'd probably take those out and chuck them, then buy some new ones and put those in once you've cleared the mite problem. (heck, they're wooden, freeze them too!).

If you can't find ivermectin paste locally, go to www.jefferspets.com
They have it cheap. Look under the horse stuff. But make sure you get the straight up ivermectin paste, not a paste that has ivermectin and other horsey stuff in it. **Horsey stuff...sounds very professional, doesn't it?!?**

Good luck!

EDIT: Here's the direct link to that product, item #JV-BB...
http://www.jeffersequine.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=1&mscssid=VH8SLSV0JS4X9KR5274T25DUV8C123M8
EDIT AGAIN: I take that back, the link doesn't work. Mad

But at least you have the item # if you need it. Mr. Green

_________________
Karinka
Stop by and see StellaLuna Rattery
www.stellalunarattery.com

Mon Feb 13, 2006 3:21 am

Thanks, and I had to do something...
- I threw all wooden things away *the ladders & chews*
- then chucked the toys as well *they needed to be anyway*
- Bleached toys and cleaned both cages completely
- Bathed the rats with two different shampoos *one kitten that kills flea, ticks, and lice then the other that does that and helps 'hot stops' and sore skin.*
- Dried and Brushed all 12 of them out
( I can't get to the store and whatnot b/c I worked all weekend and have no car @ night. They needed to be relieved, so once I get that paste I'll do it over again.

anything I missed and could do for next cleaning?

_________________
Rae AkA LiL OnE
all about the OnE aNd OnLy
www.myspace.com/sexirae34
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
'Kiddos'
My Girlies - *Pinkie* Tauj, Uno, Monkey, & Lady
My Boys - *Ferdinand*, Paris, Achillies, Toby, Bandit, Jasper, & Oscar

Mon Feb 13, 2006 3:35 am

Treat the carpet or floor around the cage, and any play areas with a spray or powder, but make sure the rats are out of the room until it's all settled and vacuumed up.

_________________
Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Thu Feb 16, 2006 9:05 am

Alright, I usually use this carpert fresh stuff for the odor...is there anything better like flee treatment carpet stuff I could be using?

_________________
Rae AkA LiL OnE
all about the OnE aNd OnLy
www.myspace.com/sexirae34
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
'Kiddos'
My Girlies - *Pinkie* Tauj, Uno, Monkey, & Lady
My Boys - *Ferdinand*, Paris, Achillies, Toby, Bandit, Jasper, & Oscar