RatPalace.com - Pet Rat Care and Discussion

Tue Feb 07, 2006 5:57 am

I am seriously freaked out. I found out that my rats and mice have pinworms!! I have to pick up a dewormer tomorrow from the vet..but still I am disturbed

Considering I have to touch their poop (cleaning cages and cleaning up little presents) I think I probably have them too. Sure I wash my hands but I still think there is a good chance I have them

This scares the heck out of me...O_O

Anyhow I found out about this because the vet called about Big Boys necropsy and said that he died of a GI hemmorage and they found a few pin worms. She says that the pin worms did not cause the hemmorage, but they were still present...

ugh

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<3 to my Fats and my Meeces

Tue Feb 07, 2006 5:58 am

"This infection is caused by a small, white intestinal worm called Enterobius vermicularis (EN-ter-O-be-us ver-MIK-u-lar-is). Pinworms are about the length of a staple and live in the rectum of humans. While an infected person sleeps, female pinworms leave the intestines through the anus and deposit eggs on the surrounding skin."

OH MY GOD!!!!! *DIES*

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<3 to my Fats and my Meeces

Tue Feb 07, 2006 6:26 am

OMG

I must admit, I have never heard of this happening in rats. Puppy Dog Eyes

I'm so sorry and hope your ratties are feeling better quickly.

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Debbie and the gang of spoiled furries

Tue Feb 07, 2006 6:48 am

I think I am dying.....

ergh

I looked it up and it seems its fairly common in rats and mice and very very common in people

I thinkI might have to kill myself though. I can't live like this...ugh

The thought of worms in my body and crawling out of me at night to lay eggs on my skin is too much to handle!!!! Faint

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<3 to my Fats and my Meeces

Tue Feb 07, 2006 7:03 am

Ok I just found out some info that saved my life! You cant get pinworms from pets!! yay they have a different kind I guess.

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<3 to my Fats and my Meeces

Tue Feb 07, 2006 7:37 am

Just goes to show, never panic wink

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Rest In Peace, My Lil Naked Man- Dobie, 2004 -Nov 11, 2005. My perfect acting English Gentleman, my heart still cries.
King George I- 2001-August 2004 My heart is always with you, my sweet departed friend

Tue Feb 07, 2006 7:41 am

Worms are so so common, especially pinworms (also called threadworms) in humans - but please don't worry yourself over rat ones - they won't get to you. Mostly, they cause no problems (and often never even get found unless they cause problems in heavy infestations, or incidentally during other exams (like the necropsy).

If you ever do find yourself infected, just go to the chemist/pharmacist and buy yourself some antiworm stuff - they sell it as tablets or drinks in the UK and they're not too bad as they have to get them into kids. Pripsen rings a bell.

Worms are thoroughly gross to think about, but we, as humans, have so much stuff living on us that they're just one more thing among the bacteria, fungi, mites, lice and all other manner of critters that find their way in/on us.

Edit: As Ratguide says about Rat pinworms (which are totally unrelated to human ones) - "This parasite is not considered pathogenic unless there is heavy infestation or in the immunocompromized" - so there you go. Normally it's not even regarded as a problem unless there are signs of illness.

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Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:21 am

Heh thank you. I really paniced. THEN only after doing more research I realized that I was fine wooh.

Worms give me the willies

I am concerned about my babies though so I am going to get dewormer ;D

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<3 to my Fats and my Meeces

Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:36 am

Ivermectin should sort out pinworms in rats. Just be sure to treat all of them, and obviously clear out the cage if you go the eradication route - much as you'd do for mites etc. otherwise, they'll just reinfect each other.

http://ratguide.com/health/digestive/endoparasites.php has more advice.

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Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Tue Feb 07, 2006 9:24 am

OH MY GAWD EWW!

*hugs Rouge* I love and treasure all life. But worms that live in or on people (tapeworms, ringworms, butt-hole worms) all creep me out. Creep me out a LOT. Maggots and squirmers..BLARGH

Love to your rats, may their butt-bugs soon be nothing but a distant nightmare >_>

Tue Feb 07, 2006 9:57 am

Well hopefully I can reassure you on one point - ringworm isn't actually a worm - it's a fungal infection. Scabies, on the other hand, is very similar to mites (or sarcoptic mange) - I must admit, I find the thought of insects burrowing into my skin way freakier than worms.

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Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Tue Feb 07, 2006 10:47 am

butt worms lol what a way to phrase it !

Hehe and I have had ring worm before ( I worked at a groomers) and it sucks. Its not a worm though like willow said wink

I have bad scars from it though Sad

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<3 to my Fats and my Meeces

Tue Feb 07, 2006 6:46 pm

	Celynny wrote:
	OH MY GAWD EWW! hugs Rouge

Yes lots of hugs for rouge so she can spread the worms..er I mean love Blink

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<3 to my Fats and my Meeces

Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:42 pm

GAH don't be gross >.<
You're both gross. EWWY wormy things.

I just have a normal and healthy aversion to parasites, in any form. The only cute parasite is a dead one >_> I'm all about loving life and crap, but parasites freak me out. Like. Gag.
I've been corrupted by Hollywood

Wed Feb 08, 2006 12:12 am

Oh there are some horrible parasites - worms that live inside your skin, and poke their heads out occasionally.... they have to be wound out on a matchstick over days or weeks (so that you don't snap them and leave bits inside to fester) and you keep the matchstick with them around it to make sure it can't retreat back into the skin of the patient. Then you have the flies that lay their eggs under the skin, and you develop what you think is a boil but it has a fly larvae growing in it.

Oh, and everyone has mites living inside their eyelash follicles. wink

I am so eebil. LOL

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Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Wed Feb 08, 2006 2:32 am

Celynny is going to pluck out her eyelashes now... The matchbook worm thing is something I have NEVER heard of...and even though I am fond of worms that would ick even me out. The fly thing really icks me out. I dont like maggots...worms are ok but maggots are icky. And that seriously was icky. Shaz

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Wed Feb 08, 2006 2:46 am

LittleWillow wrote:

Oh there are some horrible parasites - worms that live inside your skin, and poke their heads out occasionally.... they have to be wound out on a matchstick over days or weeks (so that you don't snap them and leave bits inside to fester) and you keep the matchstick with them around it to make sure it can't retreat back into the skin of the patient. Then you have the flies that lay their eggs under the skin, and you develop what you think is a boil but it has a fly larvae growing in it.

Oh, and everyone has mites living inside their eyelash follicles. wink

I am so eebil. LOL

I hate you, shut up ;_;

LOL

Wed Feb 08, 2006 2:49 am

Isn't the "matchbook" worm a huge problem in 3rd world countries where people still work all day in and drink contaminated water? I forget the name of the worms but I think I read something about them in National Geographic. Gross. I saw an interesting (and by interesting I mean gross) show on I think National Geographic or Discovery channel about the worst parasites - there's one that will swim up a guy's thingermajigger when he's swimming (I think it's a fish - or maybe a worm), and a tiny little itty bitty worm that goes in your eye. They had an interview with a guy who had it and he said he was watching tv when he felt something in his eye and his vision was a little weird, like when you get an eyelash in your eye. When he went to look in the bathroom he could see it on his eye Blink

Oh and I think Bot Flies are the ones that lay larvae boils on things.

Yick!

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~Mikaela and the RitterRatten~

Blaze~Shadow~Luna~Chinchilla~Malt~Merry~Pippin~Nim~Tiri~Cinder

Wed Feb 08, 2006 3:25 am

Oh man...One of my cats once got some kind of parasitic thing on his neck...I think they're called bore worms(?) Anyway, this thing came up on his neck with a little hole in the middle, and we thought it was an abscess...and then we saw this little weird thing moving inside. I took a needle and tried to pick it out, and eventually I did...and it was this 1/2 inch long maggot looking thing. Shocked

It was officially the grossest ever.

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--Brittany

"He who breaks a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom."

Wed Feb 08, 2006 3:38 am

Yes Britt it is a minnow..well of sorts. Bots are bugs that horses get alot.. flys lay their eggs on horses legs, the horses chew off the eggs. Eggs are swallowed and the larvae hatch out then burrow into the stomach and intestinal lineing...they can cause sever problems. There is some sort of parasite that is in the stomach that when the larva hatch they work their way up the throat so the host inhales them into the lungs..yummy huh? Shaz

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Wed Feb 08, 2006 1:42 pm

Yup yup - lots and lots of gross parasites out there. I spent quite a while studying them at university. I must admit I prefer viruses myself. They don't gross me out as much for sure and are quite beautiful under the electron microscope.

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Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Wed Feb 08, 2006 6:38 pm

Wow all of these things are going to cause me to tear my flesh off and shave my eyelashes lol

Hehe while I love bugs and all, worms or other things burrowing inside my body is just a no no

Those "butt worms" aka pinworms are especially bad for women.. I mean they will crawl all up in your girly parts and everything Thumbs Up

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<3 to my Fats and my Meeces

Wed Feb 08, 2006 7:45 pm

Butt worms are gross. They should just not exist ;_;
Hmmph yucky butt worms.

Rouge if you tear your skin off you'll be one zillion times more prone to getting bacterial, viral and parasitic infections. Think of how tasty you'd be to all those things if you were skinned. Pulsing blood and muscle would pretty much guarantee that you'd be crawling in a matter of minutes. Assuming you lived at all. If you died there'd be even more drawn to you by your decay O_o; Mmmmm Decay.

I wonder how long a human could live if they were skinned, or at least had a majority of their body skinned. Isn't that the problem with burn victims and infections - that they are essentially skinned? I was never very familiar with that. I know burn victims are susceptible not only because the skin that keeps out infection is stripped away, but its trauma also weakens the immune system etc....So...would skinning be similar?

..What a morbid topic. >_>; I need to go ask Hannibal I think.

Wed Feb 08, 2006 8:59 pm

Perhaps If I just throw myself into a fire then have someone thoss my blacken chared corpse into a grinder...perhaps that would solve the problem of warms wanting my tasty tasty body lol

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<3 to my Fats and my Meeces

Wed Feb 08, 2006 9:30 pm

No I dont think so. Consider the miniscule amounts of protein that would be left. There would be tons of bacteria (at the least) waiting to come break you down all the way and bring your body full circle.

I don't think that would work. You'd probably have to be jetissoned into space...but I bet something would eat you there too O.o, something we haven't discovered yet.