Just came back from the vet for mites

[mia9_28]

It was horrible! The vet thought it was some viral infection even before considering that it was mites. When I said I thought it was mites, she started looking in his ears.... :gaah:

I had also mentioned that I had found a flea on Smokey.. or it looked like it anyway but she thought nothing of it.

Anyways, after a while, she left the room for a few minutes and came back saying that she did a bit of research and that it was most likely mites. -_-'

She weighed Smokey only.... and gave them both a dose of 0.12mL... if she would have weight Charlie, she would have figured out that he weights more.

So I now have revolution with a syringe with a huge NEEDLE and I am terrified to stab them in the back when I apply it.
Any suggestions on how to apply it behind their necks?
When should I freeze their toys and clean their hammocks and cage? And how should I clean the cage?
Should I also clean my bed sheets?

Any suggestions would help!

 

[lilspaz68]

that's a huge dose...and it was already applied at the office? Revolution is fairly safe so don't worry about the dosage okay?

IF the dose was Revo and the boys already got their dose, they don't need anymore. The one dose will be effective in their blood stream for 30 days which is longer than a buggie's life span.

I don't scrub cages etc etc, for just this reason, the bugs die before the Revo is ineffective.

Ivermectin you MUST do the massive cage cleaning every week after dosing for 3 weeks. Ivermectin only kills adult buggies, so each week new ones hatch and basically your rat is re-infested. There is only 3 life cycles so once you have killed off the 3rd round of newly hatched adults they are finally gone.

 

[mia9_28]

She didn't give them anything.
She gave me the dose in a syringe and I'm scared to apply it myself since they move a lot and there's a pretty big needle on it.

What would be the usual dose for a rat that weighs 530g?

 

[lilspaz68]

.06 cc if she gave you Cat Revolution (60 mg/ml), and .03 cc if she gave you Dog (120 mg/ml)

do you have a medicating syringe at all? Could you pull down the med syringe to .06 cc (won't hurt to give him this much even if its the stronger Revo.) and then use the needled syringe to "fill up" the med syringe?

 

[SQ]

If you are in Fredericton, I can come over and help later today.
I can also weigh Charlie.
For future reference, I would strongly recommend Dr Scott Stewart in New Maryland or Islandview as he is an amazing rat vet.

Otherwise, will the needle come off the syringe?
Can you call the clinic and find out the strength of the revolution? ...... And make sure it was revolution that you were given.

I wash all cloth and freeze wooden things and cardboard tubes etc for 72 hours.
I also do a good but not extreme cage cleaning.

 

[victoria]

I would just dispense the Revo onto the back of a spoon and administer it like that. I keep my Revo in an insulin syringe so it doesn't evaporate and I do it that way because I'm afraid of poking squirmers.

 

[lilspaz68]

I would just dispense the Revo onto the back of a spoon and administer it like that. I keep my Revo in an insulin syringe so it doesn't evaporate and I do it that way because I'm afraid of poking squirmers.

:doh: why didn't I think of that!

I found these awesome little teeny glass jars with metal lids perfect for storing Revo in, if anyone wants any let me know...they cost a whole 59 cents. :cheeky:

 

[MomRat]

We were given a whole tube of kitten revo and a needled syringe when we had to dose our colony - stab the needle through the membrane covering the top of the vial, suck up the right amount, pop the needle off the syringe and apply the revo with the plastic tip of the syringe...

 

[ChrisK]

Yup.. so in other words... you do NOT have to stab your ratties with the needle. Revo is applied to the outside of their skin/fur only.

I've used revo before and applied it to the ratties' fur on the area on the back of their necks, one rat at a time, and then kept that rat out of the cage for a while so the area could dry without the rattie or other rats grooming that area. It only takes a few minutes to dry.

 

[mia9_28]

I just called the vet and it is 60mg/ml

Also, SQ, I had called for an appointment with Scott but he is on vacation until the 15th and I couldn't wait that long.
I got Sharon Slipp instead.. never again!
And I have my own scale. Thank you though!
Although, is there a site with the dosage necessary for rats according to their weigh?

I could always try to remove, or break off the needle I suppose.. then I would feel safe giving it to my rats. If I can't, my mom said she'd hold them down for me.

 

[SQ]

:sad3: sounds like she knows little about rats .... but at least you were given revolution for the boys.

The revolution dose for rats is 4 mg to 8 mg/Ib or 4mg to 8mg/454.4g (Rat Health Care book)
I give 6mg/454.4g .... ie 6mg/Ib
The dose she told you works out to approx 6.2 mg/Ib for Smokey, so it should be fine according to the Rat Health Care book.
If Charlie weighs as much as 800g and is given the dose she said, he would be getting over 4 mg/Ib so the dose of 0.12 would still be fine according to the Rat Health Care book.

The spoon idea previously mentioned by Victoria sounds like it would work.

 

[NinjaRatMama]

Sabrina, sorry it was such a crappy visit! I know how much you wished Dr. Scott was in town. Hope you figure out the proper dosage and a good way to administer it. I have no insight whatsoever with this matter though.
But good luck getting rid of those pesky mites especially!!

 

[hsm]

You can get a needless insulin syringe from pretty much any pharmacy. They won't mind giving it to you without the needle, and then you should be able to transfer the medicine into it from the needled syringe fairly easily.

Otherwise, the dosage information the others gave you seemed fairly sound. I can't remember the website I used when I dosed my boys with revolution, and I didn't memorize the information.

 

[mia9_28]

So, is the dose she gave me correct or should I give .06 like lilspaz said?
I'm a little confused.. lol

And Meagan, I know. She was horrible and she didn't know what she was talking about what so ever! Ugh.
And I will definitely use the spoon method.. or break the needle off... I just want to be 100% sure about the dosage first.

 

[SQ]

Personally, I'd give the dose suggested by the vet as it agrees with the info. I have and which I have been using for years (4mg/Ib to 8mg/Ib).
Or, if you give both weights and say how many mgs you want to give per 454.4 g(Ib), then exact individual amounts can be calculated.

(0.06 ml is 3.6 mg which for a rat weighing 530g is approx 3 mg/Ib).

 

[lilspaz68]

Basically you have 2 choices...

Debbie D's dosages which SQ has supplied

or ratguide.com's dosages where they recommend 6 mg/kg (a lot less than Debbie D's)

I prefer ratguide as that is the ranges my vet uses.

 

[SQ]

Confused enough yet?

1. The Rat Health book says 4mg to 8mg/Ib

2. The Rat Guide ( http://ratguide.com/meds/anti-infective ... lution.php) says

Selamectin Topical Application: (mauve packet labeled for kittens, concentration listed above under Availability)
6 mg/kg once per month
or
Selamectin Topical Application: (mauve packet labeled for kittens, concentration listed above under Availability)
4 mg/kg to 8 mg/kg once per month or up to once every two weeks based on veterinary assessment.

Both sources agree with approx. 4mg/Ib or approx 8mg/kg,
(although this dose is higher then what lilspaz68's vet perscribes and lower then what my vet perscribes.)

Any of those doses are likely ok, although I wouldn't go lower then Lilspaz68's recommended dose.

 

[victoria]

This thread reminded me of an article I found when looking for a Revolution dose for mice. http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=we ... 8QZ_0yQgkQ

In a clinical trial, mice infested with
M musculi and M musculinus were treated
with selamectin at either 12 or 24 mg/kg
body weight on 2 occasions with a 30-day
interval. Evaluation of treatment was made
at 15-day intervals following the first treatment
up to Day 90. Thirty days after the
first treatment, efficacy was 98.8% for the
12-mg/kg group and 89.9% for the 24-mg/
kg group. Both treatments were 100% effective
by Day 90.

The research was done on mice but it implies that Revolution is more effective at lower doses and you likely have to do a second dose if you go with the higher dose. Debbie D has much higher doses than those recommended in most veterinary guidelines and I'm not sure why.

 

[mia9_28]

Wow.. just wow.

The syringe was stuck! (Oh and the needle came off) So I pressed slightly harder and everything came out! On Charlie! Ugh, I feel like it's my fault.

Is this dangerous? Should I bathe him? I tried to get some of it off but it's all over his fur.
Now Smokey, the one with the symptoms is left untreated while Charlie got an overdose of it!

:wallbang:

 

[victoria]

How much did you put on? I would just wash it off to be safe. I think you will need to wait two weeks before treating again. Revolution is pretty safe, so even if you overdosed him he is unlikely to have side effects. (This is why I prefer the back of the spoon trick.)